The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-20

London Globe.

n ffeSent interest,".
London Globe
The British Commercial Agent I'm Russia.
in report just issued by the Foreign Of
flee, gives an account of the physical fea-
ture of the country through which the
Trans-Siberian Railway is to pass. He de-
clares that Ii Is not too much TO say that
the completion of this gigantic thorough
fare. which is to bring Paris into direct
overland communication with Vladivostock
will, commercially and otherwise, be one
of the greatest events of the opening years
of the new century.
Proceeding to describe Siberia. he states
that, broadly speaking, under the name OF
Siberia is usually included all the terri
tories of Russia beyond the Urals, all Ash
attic Russia, except the Trans-Caucasus,
Caspian and Turkestan regions, or. in
other words, the expanse of territory
stretching from the Polar ocean to the
Chinese frontiers. and from the Urals to
the Pacific. 1t embraces two vast gov
ernments of the Obi basin. Tobolsk and
Tomsk. known as Western Siberia; two be-
longing to the basin Of the Yenisei. those of
Yenesejsk and Irkutch, as well as the
Yakutch territory, washed by the Lena,
Yana, Indigirka and Kolim rivers, all form
ing the so-called Eastern Siberia, and from
an administrative point OF view, the gov
ernor generalship of Irkutch; two "ob-
lasts or regions, those of Akmolinsk and
Semipalatinsk, the northwestern parts of
the Central Asian steppes. and. admins
tratively, the governor generalship of the
steppes, and, lastly. the Amur- Primorskaia
borderland, or governor generalship of the
Amur, consisting of the extreme north
eastern frontier zones along the Boring
sea, Sea of Okhots, and Kamtchatka, with
the island of Sakhalin. The total area COW
cred within the boundaries enumerated is
over 2O,0O0,0O0 square versts, or, I'm other
words, is an expanse of territory one and a
half times the size of Europe.
The population, according to the census
of January, 1897, was 7.091, PA, as against
!. $50 in 1858. The increasing number
OF immigrants has probably now brought
the total population up TO over 5000 900.
The densest parts, comparatively speaking,
are the governments of Tomsk and To-
bolsk The average distribution is 05S per
square verst- Males predominant as re-
CARDS numbers, the proportion of women
varying according TO the provinces from
81 to 102 per 100 men. coming to total
average of SO per 100 of the stronger sex
Among the larger towns, two of which
exceed $4,000 inhabitants, are Tomsk and
Irkutch, with 50. 430 and 81. 434. respectively.
followed by Omsk, with over 10000 Bar
noul, Blagoviestchensk. and Tiumen with
1900 each. krasnoyarsk with 26ooo. and
Petropavlosk and Tobolsk with about 90
600 each. The inhabitants of the towns
form but per cent. of the general popula-
ton, small proportion. speaking little
for the industrial activity of Siberia gem
orally.
Dealing with vast expanse of territory
exceeding in area the whole of Europe and
some forty times the size of the British
Isles, IL would require bulky volume to
give any adequate idea OF the diyersities
of the country and climate, its peoples and
customs, its old and new land routes and
unreasonable waterways. in general to
describe the resources and possibilities In
cluded in the term Siberia What IL is and
at the same time what IL might be. even
when duly considering its extensive polar
wastes, is seen from the fact that the
total population OF this Greater Russia has
but lately begun TO exceed that of London
IL will be TO Russia's increasing millions
what British dependencies have been to
the United Kingdom. The railroad now ap-
preaching completion will give the desired
impetus TO colonization and development.
and by making the whole country q vast
transit route between east and west open
IL out TO the whole world.