New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-14
RAILROADS IN CHINA.
A SUMMARY OF PRESENT AND PRosPEc-
TIVE ENTERPRISES.

THE TREASURY BUREAU OF STATISTICS PUB
11sHEs AN INTERESTING ARTIcLE-AMERI-
CAN INTERESTS IN CHINESE RAILROADS.
Washington. May 10 (speciaD.- Railways present
and prospective in China form an interesting chap-
ter IN the publication just Issued by the Treasury
bureau of Statistics, entitled Commercial CHINA
in 1899" With 5000 miles OF waterways now open
TO navigation by steam vessels of all NATIONS win
5000 miles OF telegraph now In daily use with over
800 miles of railway In operation ana over opO
projected the details Of the proposed
of railway lines to connect the great waterways
and cities Of this densely populated empire are In
terestlng The statement is as follows:
CHINAs FIRST EXPERIMENTS.
Chna's first railroad was opened in 1876 between
Shanghai the New-York Of China. and Wusung.
fourteen miles distant. lying more directly upon
the seacoast on an estuary of the Yangtze. with
which Shanghai is connected by the Wusing River
It's existence however was very oret Iot ,n i've
local authorities bought up the line, which mad been
constructed by British enterprise tore up ame ra,s
and abandoned 1t. Five years later an Engnsn en-
gineer who had been placed In charge OF some
coal mines near Tien-Tsin. found IN existence "a
tramway over which coal was transported on cars
pushed by Chinese workmen, and gradually ex-
tending It north and south finally placed steam
engine upon II for in transporting coal, ana
Chinese prejudice after finding that the use OF the
engines aid not bring the disaster ant % or Se
eral franc. and extended little by little until It
6 az on 'h the north and proving
cessful and popular. was further extended from
Tien-Tsin TO within short distance Of Peking with
tire system prov ng so popular that II soon Decaine
being gathered from native as well as foreign in
terests and individuals. From Picking 1t has been
extended southwestwardy to Paoting and thence
is expected to penetrate the important coal and iron
regions lying within easy reach - o-o IT.,
This comparatively. short system of $50 miles.
connecting the capital of the Empire with two OF
the important treaty ports on the coast ana WIN
is the germ from which has sprung a prospective
railway system OF more then ten times Its present
length.
ALL NATIONS REPRESENTED.
In this prospective railway enterprise all the
great nations or at least representatives Of all the
great nations, are Interested. Starting from Man
chura the extreme northeasterly dependency OF
China is a projected Russian line to connect with
the great Russian trans-Siberan Railway, now
nearing completion which viii bring It's sr ond
Talien7Wan. on the Gulf OF Peehlli TO this pro- i
ready given assent and work upon IT is IN pro
gress the men and property utilized IN IT'S pns
bringing into Northern China Russian influence
and military force which have led the map makers
10 shade, whether Justly or unjustly that portion
of the map OF China as Russian sphere OF IN
huence." - -
This Russian line passes to the amt
port G E aTqndx we and
IN order 70 minimize the danger TO this commerce
by the proximity OF the Russian line ana n, RUSSIAN
struction of a road from Shan-Ha-Kwan, already
touched BY completed line from Tn Pen 4sod d. re
way communication with the capital. the great
yae of where The anf sh hps arranged With
China that there shall at least be no concessions
a favor n of any g s6m Rough With
prIety termed british sphere Of ntiuenG s.,,,s
Tn at he north
tie Valley in Central China. Is already checker ei
iuns from Tien-Tsn. enthusiastically TO Shanghai,
at a distance Of from 100 10 $50 miles from the
canal bnt az consderable distances from it at
places and having length OF pr9boaoy q" I milgs
sma PoT Brs OF ne but part Of
the proposed line extends through the Province or
and mining rights under their Kao- Chau conces-
sion British and German capital have comp M 1sd
road At two points midway 1t is tapped by
purely German lines, which run eastwardly to the
German possession and port OF Kao-Chau, pene-
Tang coal and Iron e the eI pPa
Shan-Tung. being more than S6,WOVO
REACHING 100000 PEOPLE.
Lying west Of the Britsh-German line. which
connect Shanghai with Tien-Tsin and Picking. and
from 200 to 400 miles distant is another important
line. which is TO connect Picking with Hankow. the
most important interior city Of China Hankow Is
on the Yangtze River. at the head of what may
by large seaworthy steamers that bring II into
direct water communication with Shanghai and
importance of line which connects this great
business centre of nearly million people with the
PASSES through an Important agricultural and
mining section having population r OF sV1 ne'
about $50 miles long. Is in the hands OF Belgian
syG ss a' Of his mportant line is series Of
the great iron and coal districts OF Northwestern
rh
deposits OF the world the proposed line being under
abe 81 granted being not only the privilege
of constructing the proposed roads but also the
mining OF coal and iron and other business oppor-
In the great territory south of the Yangtze
American and British lines are the only ones for
which concessions have yet been granted, except
in the extreme south adjacent to the French terri
tory of Tonkin where several comparatively short
French control Running southward from shang-
hal at a short distance from the coast. Is British
line to connect the treaty ports Of wenchow.
Ningpo and Hangchow with Shanghai, and which
is likely be extended to the treaty ports further
down the coast and finally 10 Hong Kong. or,
rather. the recently acquired British territory ad-
a short British line now under construction and
with the great southern commercial centre of Can
ton The length OF this line now projected, and for
which concessions have been made. Is about two
hundred miles. From Shanghai westwardly there
Is also short British line proposed 10 extend 10
Soochow and Nankin
THE GREAT AMERICAN LINE
American railway concessions in China are UP to
the present time confined TO n single but very i'm
portant line which Is TO connect Canton. the great
commercial centre of Southern China. with Han
kow the great interior city and commercial centre
already described This line. which Is about six
hundred miles in length. passes through rich and
important agricultural section having a population
equal to that OF the United States, and at It's
centre taps important iron and coal area. The
direction OF the proposed line is almost due north
and south and while 1t practically touches the sea-
board at its southern terminus, where II reaches
the Yangtze, at the north is several hundred miles
interior thus bringing to the great port OF canton
the products OF the upper Yangt2e valley. which
section is quite similar TO that OF the upper Mis-
sissipp In own country:
Al Hankow the proposed American line will con-
meet with the proposed Belgian line which will bring
II into direct communication with Picking, the cap
ital OF the Empire thus placing In direct communi-
cation the capital OF the Empire at the north, the
great commercial centre, Hankow, in the interior
and the great producing centre In the western in
terror with the great seaport at the south Canton
This concession was granted to American capital