The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-30

| YOKOHAMA, Dec. ION. de VOL
liant confirms the report from st. Pc
tersburg that Russia has practically
completed her trans-Siberian railroad.
NJ. de Wollant said that his latest in
formation indicated that the time for
the LAYING of the last rail of the Mos
ccw-Vladivostock line had about ar
rived. The total cost of the Siberian
railway. constructed by Russians ld
with Russian money-with all its
branches and auxiliary undertakings
amounts to sS9O.OOOOOO, of which $780,
600 600 was expended by 1900.
The construction of the railway be-
gan in the reign of Emperor Alexande~
/ III. and the first stone of this great
undertaking was laid at Vladivostock
on May 10, 1891, by Emperor Nicholas
then the heir apparent. In the interests
of transport and with the object of rem
dering this stupendous undertaking as
inexpensive as possible, the shortest
and most direct route was selected, trav-
ersing the most fruitful and compare
lively populous belt of country, the
granary of Siberia. The Siberian rail-
way was begun at both ends, its west
ern terminus being Tcheliabnsk. the
last station of the Samara-Zlatoust
railway and a district town in the prov
ince of Orenburg.
By 1900 1878 miles of line were laid
down. making 375 miles a year. Such
results must be considered as very ia
vorabIe especially taking into account
first the difficulty of laying the perma-
/ nent way in a country so intersected
by rivers as the provinces of Tomsk
| and Yenesei, and so liable to inundation
as the Trans aikal region. and sec
ondly the great number of large rivers
to be crossed by the Siberian railway,
more than thirty miles of bridges be-
! ing required for this purpose. The long
est of these bridges is that over the
River Yenesei, it being 294O feet long
with spans measuring 400 feet In ra-
pidity of construction the Siberian rail-
way is unequaIled, and excels the Ca
madam railway (292O miles), which has
| so much in common with it, and which
| took ten years TO build.
| Direct steam communication is now
possible between the European railway
net and VIadivostock. The total length
of the great Siberian railway, with the
Manchurian and other branches which
are being pushed to completion, will be
| 5542 miles. From the very first the inn
mediate results of working the Siberian
railway. as shown by the extent of
| cd
all previous expectations. For three
months of 1895 and the years 1896, 1897,
| 1898 and 1899 there were carried on the
southern and central Siberian sections
S.352.000 passengers and 2,041,000 tons of
freight.
BY the viii of it's imperial originator
the construction of the Siberian railway
was placed in close connection with the
auxiliary undertakings of that railway,
the promotion of the colonization. and
! industrial development of Siberia The
Siberian railway opened a door into ST.
IBERIA. through which a broad stream
of emigration poured The work of en-
iSration has been placed on a proper
footing and has become strictly regu-
lated, in accordance with the great i'm
portance of this phenomenon in nation
al life, which in Russia forms the last
stage of the natural historic process OF
distributing the population over the
country. on eXhausting the suitable
land in the immediate vicinity Of the
railway. colonization was extended, on
the one hand, to the northern tforesD
regions of Siberia. and. on the other
hand 10 the southern steppe regions. /
comparatively remote from the railway. !
While the material wants of the emf /
grants 10 Siberia have been provided !
for, their spiritual requirements have /,
not been forgotten. on the initiative /
OF Emperor Nicholas Il, a special fund. I
formed by private donations and sub |
sidized by the Siberian railway commit |
tee. was established for the erection OF /
churches and schools in the Siberian |
settlements. With the money collected !
one hundred churches and seventy !
three schools have already been built.
and siXty-five churches and thirty two
schools are in the course of construc-
ton Owing to the construction of the
siberian railway the number of emf
grants has increased considera bly,. and
fas reached formerly unheard Of high
HSure. Since the institution of the rail
way committee 100000 persons have
emigrated TO Siberia which makes ar
average of about one hundred and for
ty-two thousand a year.
In order TO regulate the trade with
the countries OF the Far EaSt-China
and Japan-the railway committee has
constructed a commercial port at Vlad-
voStock; there is a strong ice breaking
steamer for use in winter. and the port
IS calculated for an annual turnover of
10000 tons of goods. The Russo Chi
lese bank has likewise been establish
20. To facilitate the transport Of buIId
ng materials for the Eastern Chinese (
'aiiWay, as well as To extend Russian Z