Arizona republican., 1899-06-02
Its Effect on the Commerce of This Country in the East.
THE BEAR LOOKING SOUTH
A Variety of Russian PrOjCCfS for Gridironir q China and inc Orient With Railroads, When a COnSid- erabIe Part of inc Worlds Grain Market will Be Occupied by Russia.

Washington, June 1.-(SpeItaL)- )-
 Russia, the Trans-SibeIian railway and their relation to the trade of the orient in competition with the United States are elaborately discussed in tht current number of the summary oi Commerce and Finance, just preparec by the treasury bureau of statistics The fact that the Trans-Siberian road which will bring the products of Russia's fields, forests and factories tc the doors of China is nearing compile tion and that Russia is also pushing for a combined rail and water route to the orient through Persia and the h. dian ocean seems to justify study oi the rapidly developing industries Of that great nation whose cont guous area exceeds that of any other country in the world and whose population is only exceeded by that of a single na- tion, China.
 Discussing the question of Russia s trade relations to the vast oriental market in which the people of the United States now feel especial in- terest, the report calls attention to the fact that Russia, like the United States, has such a variety of soil, cli- mate and minerals that she is able to produce within her own borders a large proportion of the necessities and comforts of life. Corn, wheat, barley and rye furnish an ample supply of breadstuffs; vast stock-growing areas produce cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, wool, hides and provisions in abun- dance; beet sugar is produced in great quantities; hemp and other fiber plants flourish in certain provinces; cotton is successfully grown in the extreme south; virgin Morests promise an enormous lumber supply; coal, iron and other minerals required for manufactures are believed to De abundant, and her mineral oil is so plentiful and cheap that it is freely used as fuel and is also becoming a serious competitor with our own in the markets of Europe and Asia.
 With these natural supplies of all materials required for manufacturing, she is strengthening her industrial system, following closely the lines marked out by the United States, and now manufactures of cojtons and woolens, iron and steel and their pro ducts, machinery, lumber and other of the requirements of her people are be- ing established and increased. Foreign capital is encouraged to contribute to this activity, and with her 125, ,000, GOO of industrious frugal people she seems likely to increase her ability to supply her own markets, and in certain lines may also increase her exports. When to these developments in the produc- ing lines are added the new transpor- tation routes by which these supplies may be sent to the markets of Asia and Europe, and, indeed, of the world, putting rail in competition with water, and water again in competition with railway lines controlled and owned by the government, and all these combining to bring undeveloped areas and resources into development, their importance to the commercial world and to the commerce of the United States seems worthy of con- sideratfon.
 With the completion of the Russian Chinese railway system (See Commer- cial China, in summary of Commerce and Finance for March, 1S99,), the question naturally presents itself: What are the chances of Russian com petition in this immense international market, where the standard of want is, to be sure, low as yet, but where expansion of wants is sure to follow after contact with European methods, and where there is now a growing de- mand for products of the United States?
 The Trans-Siberian road is now complete from it's junction with the railway system of European Russia on the western border of Siberia to Lake Baikal, nearly two-thirds the dis tance toward the Pacific and the con- struction of 600 miles of track east ward from Lake Baikal will bring | Siberian trains to the navigable | waters of the Shika and Amoor riv- | CTS, which flow into the Pacific, and | put into operation a compete rail and | water system across Russia and Si- beria, connecting the Atlantic with | the Pacific, and thence to the ports of | the great consuming countries of the | orient.
 The Russian government, however. will not rest content with the mere connection of their transeontinental line with the navigable waters of the Amoor and Shilka, Dut will push the