The times., 1901-04-22
RUSSIA'S RAILWAY SYSTEM.
Remarkable Feats of Construction
in Recent Years


ST. PETERSBURG. April 2L-At the
close of the last fiscal year the total of
Russian railways in full operation. prac-
tically open to traffic. under construc-
tion, and authorized to be built State and
joint stock company, was 9,9i5 miles. The
earning power of these properties is
matter which the Russians may contem-
plate with pardonable pride and in this,
also. the investor is more deeply inter-
ested than in miles operated and extern
sions contemplated. At the close of the
fiscal year 1900 Russia's interest bearing
debt of G655. .715. .229 included G2S0. 100000 of
railway bonds, underlying which there
were more than q 900 miles of railroad.
Railroad bonds issued by joint stock COM
panies at the same period represented an
obligation of ELI. POO. 600 almost all of
which is guaranteed by the Government
! The majority of these bonds are payable
in the units of currency existing in the
countries where the bonds are held in
pounds, francs, dollars, etc. Russia s
hobby is railroad construction, and a very
/ profitable hobby it has proved to be- For
example, in the budget of the Empire for
/ 1897 the State railway estimates We're:
| Rubles.
Revenue ........................... 253 g9S. .9a
Expenditures Observation-Disclosures. l57 ,9i2, III
| Thus the net revenue from State rail-
ways was estimated at sc. .356, ,221 rubles.
! In the fulfiIlment of the budget the fol-
! lowing results were had:
Revenue q. So 800
Expenditures -.....-...............,. i6' 30b,bs3
50 the net revenue from State railroads
was 110, 0,539 2S2 rubles. or H.1S3, 055 rubles
in excess of the estimates.
During the last fourteen years Russia
has been a heavy borrower abroad, and
there has resulted a false impression that
she is constantly facing deficit. AS a
matter of fact so much of these new
| loans as were not used to refund old loans
| at lower rates of interest went into rail-
road construction, and thus became pro-
ductive. So far from having a deficit on
her hands, Russia has undertaken to COM
pIete the great Trans Siberian Railroad
! out of the annual surplus.
NJ de Routkowsky, the financial agent
of Russia in the United States, in a re-
cent pamphlet, "A Statement of Russian
| Finances said
The financial resources of the coun-
try are not only amply sufficient TO meet
the annually increasing ordinary ex-
| penses of the Government, but give large
| and yearly increasing surpIuses, which
allow the Government to make profitable
investments in building railroads, harbors,
| and other public works, especially the
great Trans-Siberian Railroad, which un-
til now has been constructed. and will be
completed exclusively from the surpluses
of the ordinary revenues of the country.
The shares of joint stock railroad COM
panies in Russia, from a fiscal point Of
view. are in the same category as bonds.
since most of them also are guaranteed
by the Government The nominal share
capitalization of these joint stock COM
panies is EIf3S0 900, which includes 91,-
100 900 of the Ivangorod- shares
The comical perplexity of the general
manager of the first Russian railroad
over the problem Of how best to style
himself. so that he should not be mis-
taken for an ordinary factOtum, has
passed to the dignity of a classic State
Joke In 1898 the modest foundation OF
| Russia $ present great railway system
was about to be opened for select inSpec-
tiOn. The road was a trife more than
sixteen miles long. running from st
Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo invitations
to a number of important persOnageS
Were prepared. but on the eve of theii
| despatch the general manager was seized
with a fear that he had not made sJIft
| Ciently clear a delicate point to when he
attached considerable Importance.
From the manner in which he had sub
scribed himself IL was possible to regard
him as the station manager at either
terminus of the line, and his concern wa:
to emphasize the fact that he was man
ager of the whole thing. Finally h'
added to the official form of Invitation
this. Count -, Chief Director of the
St Petersburg and Tsarskoe Seio Rail
way. there and back
From this small start in 1893 railway
construction in Russia has progressed
through siXty-two years at an average
J rate of considerably more than 800 mile!
a year. At the end Of the last fiscal YEA
the official returns showed a total of 81.
305 miles of railroad in full operation, o
! which q 37 miles Were owned and oper
| ated by the State. and 9.938 by joint stool
: companies To this may be added 1,59
! miles opened for traffic, but not then II
full operation. Of which 1.0l4 miles be
| | longed to the State and 5S5 miles to join
stock companies. This brings the gran,
J. | total up 10 % ,414 miles. Of which >. II
| miles were owned and operated by tn
a state and 0,T03 by joint stock companies
: The State had at that time lilo mile
; more under construction and 46S mile
! authorized to be built. The joint stoc
> companies had 3.344 under construction
Z / and 1857 authorized 10 be built.