The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-28
SIBERIA MAKING PROGRESS.
EFFECT or THE BTILDING or 4
RAILROAD ACROSS tSIi.
The Country BEING Transformed 90 AEri.
culture DE, eioped aud Towns Thriving
Mining Great, Helped some Old
Industries InJured-Nc,icw " Results.

Gent distance across the Wild and isolated
plains Of Siberia to affect tho economic
aspects of that country. Most of the results
have from time to time been indicated III
these columns. II will be interesting now to
summarize some Of the conclusions deduc"d
from an able analysis Of the effects thus far
Of the railroad upon the development of
Siberia Til, analysis has just appeared
in la Reruo Econ omiquc RusSc whose facil-
tiles for studying IN" whole question give
more than ordinary valu" the broad gem
cralization- based upon the data collected.
In IN" iir>' place, IN" development of the
past five years would have reached still
greater proportions if the times had been
normal; but Sibcrl'- trade, prosperity and
growth have been uniavorablv affected 10
some extent by tho unsettled political con-
iii, ion- in China and ManChuria and by the
two bad crop years of 1900 and 1901.
Still. a-.very one knows. the immigration
has been enormous, and the effects of this
importing upon agriculture and the towns
have not hitherto been very clearly shown.
A large number of the Russian farmers. who
removed 10 siberia. having some knowleds"
Of modern agricultural methods. introduced
systems Of farming that are less rudi-
mentarv than hose practiced by Ito = bcr
ians besides bringing in new methods they
are giving much more attention than the
Siberian farmers have ever done 10 the
raising of cereals for export.
On the the other hand. a larg" part Of the
immigrants have settled in the towns. The
growth of tho urhan population and partcu-
larly of he towns on the railroad line wher"
i, crosses the rivers las been one of Nh"
most marked results of the building Of the
road
The road has ruined most Of the fairs
formerly held for the exchange of COM
modities and has correspondnglv in
creased the importance of the towns as
perinaient business centres. Omsk, for
example. was dead and seemingly beyond
hope Of resurrection; hut now its popula-
,ion has doubled and il has becom. a very
active business centre.
The SUN has already told the enormous
expansion Of butter production and ex-
port in thepast five years; but cattle raising
in Siberia viii not begin to reach the limit
Of its possibilities till many millions Of
dollars worth of beef cattle are sent every
year to the markets Of Europe.
The railroad "A, yet shows little indca-
,ions of an increase in this trade II has
wonderfully stimulated butter making and
exports but from ls's TO 1900 only 5000
cattle and 5000 horses were sent over the
road into European Russia.
The railroad has exercised an extremely
favorable influence upon the development
of he mining industries. II was impossible,
until the road was built, to transport the
perfected mining machinery of to-day 70
the gold mines of the Altai and Baikal
to the mining district tributary to Irkutsk
or TO the auriferous regions Of the Amur
All these districts are now supplied with
considerable quantities of the best modern
machinery
The railroad has actually created tho
coal industry. The mining of coal is in
dispensable to the future development Of
manufacturing
The search for resources Of this fuel
began with the first studies for the building
OF the railroad and the day OF considerable
production conceded with that Of the OPEN
ing Of most Of southern Siberia by the
completion of the road Several great
coal fields Of the country are to-day in
process Of development.
One OF them lies along the upper Irtysh;
another Is in the Province of Tomsk, near
the village of Sudienka; another in the
province of Irkutsk. near the village of
Chiremkhovo.
The furnaces Of the locomotives are fed
to-day with Siberian coal. The develop
ment of coal mining il cont inually increas-
Ing, and it will be produced in export guam
titles before long,
Thus the railroad is completely trans
forming the mining business For long
time two-thirds Of the contribution Of
Russia TO the gold output has come from
Siberia, though nearly all the mining was
confined to washing placer gravels: now
the extensive quartz veins are beginning
to be worked, and the mining of gold is
expected to develop in a proportion more
nearly commensurate with the resources
in this metal
Some of the old industrie- on the other
hand, have been very unfavorably affected
by the grand new facility for transporta-
ton. The rudimentary workshops of the
old era are closing because they are UNI
able 10 compete with the European manu-
features that are now so easily brought
into the country. The iron industry is an
example
A Governor General Of Siberia said,
twenty years ago, that gold mining. the
mining of iron ore, and the manufacture Of
iron we're the only industries of Siberia.
i is easy to see the reason why all the rude
and primitive establishments for iron
smelling have been ruined by the railroad;
they have simply been brought into compe-
,ition with similar establishments in the
Trails and have been unable to stand it
All the blast furnaces and iron shops
along the Angara River have been closed
OF course. after the Introduction of i'm
proved processes and appliances, the iron
industry Of the country may be expected
10 revive.
We NAV look upon the Trans-Siberian
Railroad a. great modern instrument Of
progress suddenly thrown into "A very prim-
tive country. The inevitable eject is TO
destroy the old things 10 the profit Of the
modern systems of industries whiCh tie
railroad represents.
We have often heard Of the steamboats, OIL
Siberian rivers. Their owners are now find
ing it necessary to tie up the old boats and
put new ones in their place.; 10 cut their
freight rates and mako other changes in
order TO hold their trade II il the same
with many Of the other old industries.
IN spite of the large frciSha <" that pass
over he line the expenses OF tn" railroad
in 1870 exceeded the receipts 10y about