The San Francisco call., 1904-04-04

Of the Yellow Sea. is at last beginning
to move across the frosty Manchurian
plains. and bit by bit comes the news
which enables us 10 guess something OK
the strategy OF the coming grand en-
counter The railways Of Manchuria
are like a great capital T on the map Of
the country. The fat top part crosses
the province from the Siberian Railway
on the left to Vladivostok on the right,
and from the middle drops the upright
stalk, 500 miles long. which leads to
Port Arthur. At the middle point, in
the very center Of Manchura, stands
Harbin. where General Alexieff viii go
on concentrating his great army till the
time comes 10 make a move in the
spring From Harbin to the sea are
two lines of railway. both Of them
practically level ali the way. The 600
miles Of line TO Port Arthur has no
gradient of more than 1 in 1l9, and the
$50 miles 10 NladiVostok have no point
sleeper than ] in IS. Up both these
railways. il is clear, Japan is prepar-
ing to push toward the Russian center.
She is attacking NladivOstOk and also
islolating ii by aiming at the railway
inland from Possiet Bay. From Taku-
shan in the Korean Bay, she is seek
ing 10 isolate Port Arthur by cutting
the other line at LiaOyang, 200 miles
north. and also cutting the line Of COM
rnunication OF the Russian troops on
the Yalu, which leaves the railway at
Liaoyang. 1t is clear that the Russian
general instead OF advancing gayly
into Korea, viii have 70 concentrate
his whole forces at Harbin and await
the onslaught Of the foe. The siege Of
Port Arthur win be but an incident.
What is this city where Russia will
resist 10 the death the effort 10 drive
her out Of the Far East? We have all
heard Of the wonderful way in which
Russia has conjured up the cities Of
Port Arthur, Dalny and NladivOstok,
for these places are on the sea, where
any traveller may note their progress.
Less has been told of HaTbin, the cen-
tgal point where Russia has with Won
derful foresight been creating the cap
ital that she intends shall fRn one OF
the greatest markets Of all the fertile
East Half a dozen years ago, when
great army Of Russian and native
workers were unrolling the Manchurian
Railway over the plain so fast that the
CONSTRUCTION lLdln LdA01e NdltiE " a
standstin, when each day found the
railroad three or four miles nearer the
Pacific, there was no Harbin. Not even
native village marked the place. 1t
was merely a point on the banks Of the
Sungari River running northward to-
ward its junction with the mighty
Amur. But when Russia threw across
The stream a many -piered bridge Of
stone and steel and the railway began
10 move forward in two directions,
scuthward as well as to the east, the
junction soon became a place Of note.
II was a site for great city which
even Ebenezer Howard would have en-
wed. For hundreds Of miles round
about the great plain teemed with
wealth of many kinds-wheat and oats
and barley, beans and millet and hemp.
tobacco and timber, vegetables and
fruit There was abundant grazing
land. and coal and minerals were
within easy reach. And all this
wealth naturally found its entrepot
and common market just at this point.
The three railways, one TO Russia, one
to the Pacific and one TO the Yellow
Sea, made the whole province natural
~ feed the trade of Harbin. Besides
this there was the Sungari, its winding
course through the plain navigable for
200 miles above Cor south of Hardin,
and during seven months Of the year
giving access TO the Amur, Asia's great
watery highway TO the east.
Russia promptly set TO work to see
that Harbin should be built on sensible
lines from the outset-should be
planned before it was built. She deter
mined that the town should be purely
Russian-and already it is being called
the Moscow Of the East" For miles
around the land has been secured, and
only Russians or Chinese may own
land. make buildings or carry on any
permanent business in or near it, In
1901 the Russian population was 1000;
in Nav, 1903. 1900, and last October
$4,000. without counting soldiers Jap
anese. Austrians, Greeks. Turks and
all other races only numbered ZOO The
Chinese population totaled 40, 600, in a
separate settlement.
And the flow Of Russian population
10 Harbin is no mere transient thing.
Nearly a third Of the $4,000 Russian
civilians were women. fine church
has been built, a number of hotels. an
imposing railway station. Government
buildings, hospitals, a magnificent
bank, fine business streets. and even
such adjuncts of higher civilization as
a school Of commerce and a women's
cOllegei More than $4,000 900 has been
spent on the public buildings alone
and an electric tramway. an automo-
bfe line and electric lighting have been
provided Like the London County
Council, the Russian Government re-
tsins the land in it's own hands. and
lets il to builders on a lease Of a little
more than eighty years One of the
features OF the town is the Russo-Chi-
nese Bank. an institution energeticalIy
worked in the interest Of Russian
trade. Liberal loans are granted to
Russians doing a genuine and prudent
business. on the security not Of land or
buildings. but Of the enterprises them
selves. A system of letters of credit TO
Chinese merchants Cor the purchase OF