The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-24
JAPANESE RAILROAD
SUPERINT EVIDENT
IN ST.: PAUL
Is on Tour of the World Pur-
suing Investigation Into
Operating and Traffic
Methods and Will Adopt
Them on the Railroad
With Which He Is Con-
nected.

A unique personality is that of
Tal1uichi Ohmra, superintendent Of
roadway of the Hokka1do Tanko Tet-
sudo Kaisha, the Hokkaido Colliery &
hallway company. He is at present
in st. Paul, passing through on tour
of the world pursuing an investigation
OF the operation of railroad systems
and traffic methods. He arrived in the
city yesterday morning from Seattle,
and Will remain two days more. He
will then go to Detroit, Sault Ste
Marie, Chicago, New York, England,
Germany, Russia, Siberia and across
the sea to his island home in Sapporo,
on the island of Hokkaido, which is
part of the Japanese empire. He visit
ed several of the local offices and rail-
road yards yesterday.
The island of Hokkaido constitutes
about one-fifth of the area of Japan,
lying just north of the main island,
known as Nippon. ION the island of
Hokkaido," says Mr.. Ohmra there are
three railway establishments, the Hok-
ka1do Tanko TetsudO Kaisha, the I'M
per1al Government Railway depart
ment and the Hokkaido Tetsudo.
Much to Learn.
We have much to learn from YOU"
said he, though we have done well as
lar as We have gotten. I have been
O1i Ills -lIIp 70 see the railroads
or this and other countries and we
viii, as soon as 1 get home, begin to
make improvements. Our railroad is a
little over 500 miles in length, and we
nave 1900 freight cars, ITO passenger
cars ana seventy engines. our engines
are all American made, though they
are not by any means as large as the
monsters you have in this country.
Our tracks are narrow gauge, but it
VIII not be long before we improve
them.
We not only are engaged in the
railroad business, but in the coal min
ing business as well, having five mines
Mmch are constantly being worked.
we dig the coal and ship it and sell if
The company was organized in 1889.
ana soon purchased from the govern
ment the Poronai railway, which runs
from Otaru to the Poronai mine. pass
ing IWam1zawa. The Ikushimbetsu
coal mine was soon after bought, and
mines were opened at Sorachi and
Yubari. A railway was afterwa Il1e
built from Mororan, one of the main
ports and running to Sorachibuto, with
branches to the Sorachi and Thar
mines.
While we have a great variety of
products on our island, including an
unlimited supply of timber, and ex-
tenSlVe mineral deposits. coal is now
our principal export Our mines Weld
yearly about 600,000,O00 tons. and most
or this IS shipped away. We are wav
pehlnd the times in our method If
load1ng coal l saw in your country
the machines used for lifting coal from
me COCKS TO the steamers, and / think
that 1t would be we'll for us to have
some of them. We now load the coal
IN small boats and then tow it ont TO
the steamers, and it is then loaded on
board We will get some of those ma
Our railroad system is, I believe.
qIiIols the most important of those in
Jdpan, and we are trying in every yyav
to improve our road. There was IN
Japan at the end of the last fiscal wear
March 81, 1902, 1854 miles of RAILROAD
constructed, and 4,026 miles in actI1o1
operatlon. The railroads have in all
d,o2V locomotives, 1929 passenger. cars
and 1926 frei@ht cars.
Travel Increasing in Japan.
Ihe people are coming to apnre-
t ti the Importance of railroads.
tnoush there is not a great deA of
19at travel. People there have
not yet got to travel as much as thev
90 IN this country. Travel has in.
creased IN the last year greatly and
Areight business has picked up. also
1here are good times in this conn
Try ana so are there in Japan. The
great resources of our islands are inst
belng developed, at least it is co ~
Hokkaido. Our plains are fertile and
are capable of producing a great va
rely Our principal products are now
pedhs' potatoes, hemp, millet rice and
" neat. Apples, pears, cherries and
otn tllr fruits also grow in Hokkaido.
mere is large pasturage and MANY
5 me horses are raised on our island.
Ihere are large forests of various
KINDS of trees. Last year we exnorted
large quantity of lumber, and II
came only from near the railway lines
Large quantities of fish are caught on
ehe coasts, the principal varieties be-
ing herring, salmon, trout, cod. seals
@iiu sea- otters. There are large guam
uueS OF minerals known to exist
though they have not yet been fnilv
mined Two years ago gold was dis
covered at ESashi, and large numbers
OF people have been attracted to thn
region, and many of them have heen
Iichly rewarded. AS far as we know
1Lg5e Is on the island coal, petroleum,
sold' silver, magnetic irons and suI-
phur. iN SUI
Will Be Plenty of Business.
so, you See, when our country is
developed there will be plenty of bnsi0
ness for our railroad. That is why T
am taking this trip--so I can helm
needed. "-h NC
The population of Hol1kaido is in
creasing rapidly. In 1869 there were
58,466 people, and in 1899 there were
922,50S. The population nearly
trebled from 1889 to 1899. The Aimu
population is gradually Diminishing
They are our Indians-that is. thev
We're on the island when we came
there, centuries ago.
Many OF your people are coming IN
our country, so many in fact that We
are teaching our children the English
language. This is the first time 7
nave been in this country, but I learn
ed English many years ago. We have
Japanese and English newspa ners
half being printed in each langua 90
We intend to borrow some American
ideas on railroading, as well as other
things o'-iol
Takuichi Ohmra is thirty-two Years
of age and is a civil engineer. havine
been connected with the railroad he
represents for many years. He is in
tellgent and expresses himself in
English fairly WELL
LITTLE SPEAKS FOR HILL.