Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-01

portation and enough seed to sow the
greater part of the as yet unborn farm.
The Trans Siberian railroad will bring
these products of Siberia and the Amur re-
gion to the more westerly markets, as well
as bring the more westerly human beings to
the regions where they are most needed.
Leaving aside the commercial aspect of
the road, it will also serve to preserve the
military supremacy of Russia in Asia. BY
means of the road Russia was enabled to
transport more than 10000 troops into
Manchuria within two weeks - and this,
when the road was only semi-co mpleted.
According to the plans of the car he will
be able to throw half a million men and
sufflclent quota of horses into Manchuria
and the AmUr region. within six days.
soon as the road and its various branches
are finished.
Hfndranccs to the Work.
The actual construction of the road was
herculean task. Nature seemed to take
| umbrage at mans audacity in invading her
widest precincts and everywhere placed OBJ
stacles in the path of the road In the
winter she piled up enormous drifts of
snow, through which the hardy Cossacks
had to tunnel their way that the engineers
and laborers might continue their work In
summer she sent such swarms of mosqui-
toes that the workmen had to live in high
towers to get respite from these pests. And
when she played no such pranks she reared
enormous mountains of finty granite,
through which tunnelfng was impossible
and over which the road had to be con-
structed a great additional cost
Fuel, too, was scarce and Cossack bows
were employed night and day to bring
twigs and sticks on the backs of patient
donkeys, that the workers might eat and
be kept warm. Still, there were eompensa-
| tons. The engineers and officials lived in
comparative comfort and travelled from
place to place behind fast Russian horses
hitched three abreast. These hardy ami
mails travel at a great rate the center one
trotting and the others galloping Occa-
sonally itinerant musicians happened along
to amuse the workers and the jewellers in
that vicinage.
Guarding the Line.
In order to maintain a sufficiently high
degree of efficiency sectional stations have
| been established every verst, or two-thirds
| of an English mile. The station consists
| of one-story house. made of wood con-
tanning two rooms and kitchen. Between
the two rooms and set into the wall is a
tiled oven. which serves as heater for both
apartments. Here lives the guard and his
family. He wears a uniform and when
incapacitated from work through injury or
old age he is retired on a pension. BY
means of these stations, 1900 in number
the government is enabled to maintain
complete supervision over the entire road
bed.
Having carried this gigantic undertaking
thus far, Russia is now concentrating
branch to connect the Trans Siberian road
with the Trans Caspian road The branch
is to begin at Omsk and will join the
Trans-Caspian line at Taskend whence
branch will extend to Merv. within eighty
miles of the historic Herat-the danger
point between Russia and Great Britain.
So Russia Is following in the footsteps
of the United States-buiIding an empire of
farms on its prairie lands. She works ever
with an eye to the future when all Europe
will be arrayed against the white car in
death struggle for the mastery of the
most ancient part of the world-when Rus
STA will have to depend upon her own re-
sources to sustain her in that struggle
And the white is building well,
An advertisement has appeared In a Lon
DON paper in which a lady expresses her
desire for a servant who will be expected
to cook and dress children"