Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-27
CAN -HANK0W LINE
History Of a Remarkable Con-
cession.
RESULTED IN FIASC0
COMPANIES PRESIDENT SAYS
THAT WORK WILL BE RESUMED.
The Railway System Of China--Propos-
ed Outlet Through Burma - Aims
of Different Nations.
RESULTED FIASCO
By WILLIAM e. CURTIS.

L
| Written for The Evening Star and Chicago Record
| Herald.
| AS 1 told you some weeks ago, there is
| to be enormous amount Of railway
| building In China during the next twenty
| five years, and six Of the European ma
| tions will participate-Russia. England.
| Germany, France. Belgium and Italy. The
| United States might have it's share If the
| engineers and capitalists of this country
| cared to accept concessions although the
| only American enterprise of that kind thus
| far has turned out to be disgraceful fiasco.
The Chinese government. would be justified
| in refusing to consider any proposition
| submitted by a citizen of the United States,
SO unsatisfactory.
In 1897 a syndicate of which Senator CAL
vim s. Brice was the organizer and director.
| William Barclay Parsons of New York the
| engineer, and Cary & Whitridge Of New
York, the attorneys sought and obtained
| the most favorable railway concession that
| was ever granted by the Chinese govern
| ment. The syndicate was called The Amer
| ican-China Development Company. 1t was
given the privilege of constructing line
| of road 700 niles long between the city of
Canton and the city of HankOw, with 200
miles of branches, tapping important min
| eral districts and commercial centers, and
was authorized to raise the money to pay
| the expense of construction by the issue of
| So, 100000 gold ffty-year per cent bonds,
| interest and principal being guaranteed by
| the Chinese government.
Extraordinary Treatment.
| 1t is the only syndicate that was able to
| obtain such a guarantee, and was treated
with such extraordinary favor and gener-
osity by the imperial authorities at Picking
and by the viceroys of Canton and Wu-
HAY daSfr Trad n
| appreciation of the attitude of the govern
ment of the United States during recent
| complications and to encourage American
capital and enterprise to engage in the
development of the resources Of the en-
pire. 1t was the desire and intention of
| every body, from the empress doWager down
to the local magistrates, to help the Ameri-
can syndicate as much as possible, Win
| the hope and expectation of interesting
| other Americans to undertake what Euro
pean capitalists are clamoring to do. emma
| is afraid of the European powers; she Is
| even afraid of Belgium, because or the ciose
communion between the capitalists OF that
country and France. But she is not afraid
| of the United States, and an American bid
der can OBTAIN concessions over any Euro
/ pean combination IL ne goes ABOUT IL III
| the proper way.
Although Mr. Brice had the signatures of
| forty men, representing billions of dollars,
| the wealthiest and most influential capltal-
| lists in the United States. the scheme mas
practically fallen through. No such COM
| bination was ever formed before. 1t in
Guided all the great rival banking interests
| in New York which are usually hostile TO
each other Mr.. Morgan, Mr.. Rockefeller,
| Mr.. Cassatt the Vanderbilts, Mr.. Hafrl-
| man, Mr.. Gould, Mr.. Sage Mr.. Hill, Sir
William Van Horne and other antagonists
| all signed his application for the conces-
sion. Brice used to show the document
to his friends with pride. He called 1t a
plutocrat autograph album, and asserted
that much capital was never united IN
hi finn hof
ing very little money was necessary. The
proceeds of the bonds, guaranteed by the
Chinese government, would have been sur
ficent to complete the road II they had
been economically expended, but. as l have
already said, the whole thing has turned
out to be a fiasco and nobody seems 10
know anything about 1t. Mr.. Brice Is dead
Mr.. Parsons has deserted 1t Is UNDERSTOOD
| in China that the concession haS been SOLD
| to a Belgium syndicate, although nobody
seems to know much about It.
Gen. Whittier's Assurance.
Several months ago the Marquis Sheng
director general Of railways and telegraphs.
sent one of his foreign assistants-Mr. Fur
gesson-to the United States to make an
investigation as to the ownership OF the
road and to ascertain who is responsible
for the delay in Its construction. He ascer-
tanned that General Charles A. Whittier Is
now the president OF the company, and re-
ceived assurances from him that work
would be resumed at both ends of the line
as soon as materials and tools could be
transported from the United States to chi
ma. General Whittier declared that the
franchise had not been sold by the Ameri-
can company and would not be. The stock
books show that 5000 shares are outstand-
Ing of which $500 are still owned by Amer
lean citizens, members of the original syn
dicate 1O4 by French banking house
and the balance 1.796 shares, by Belgians
Twenty-Five miles of track have been
I'd md q ra
running over it. The entire line has been
surveyed, but the conSuls and people at
Canton and Hankow say that the work was
badly done by incompetent and inexperi-
| enced men, chiefly ex-United States volun-
teers. who were discharged In Manila at
| the close of the Spanish war. and. after
wasting their substance. sought employ
ment under the Brice syndicate. People In
China say that many of them had never
been engaged In a survey before. that they
were poorly equipped with instruments.
| and, having had no experience In that sort
of work. did not even know how to take
care of themselves, so that most of them
| got sick. some Of them died, and the rest
| hurried through their jobs as rapidly as
possible. Belgian engineers who have been
| over the survey declare that 1t Is useless.
and IL Mr.. Parsons, who Is now a member
| of the Panama canal commission. places
any value upon his professional reputation
| he should make a journey to China at once
and explain or contradict the stories that
| are told about him.
I am giving the Chinese version Of the
| story. Perhaps there is another side to it.
and many Of the criticisms may be salts
| factorily answered, but. however that be,
no one can deny that the famous Amer
ican-China Development Company has
| made a wretched mess Of Its concession
and has dragged the honor and credit of
American capitalists across about seven
hundred miles Of Chinese mud and dust
Lines From Hankow.
This road from Canton, the metropolis Of
southern China. was to pass through the
most populous and wealthy portion of the
empire to the city of Hankow. the metrop-
oils of central China, and the chief port
and market Of the Yangtse, China's great
est river There 1t was to connect with two
other lines. one running northwestward to
Chentu. the capital of Sezchuen. the west
ernmost province. and the other northeast
ward to Picking and Tien-Tsin. The latter
road. 76S miles long, for which concession
was granted at the same time. Is being
| built by Belgium and rapidly approaching
completion Two large sections are al
ready in operation. One of them extends
southwark 800 miles from Picking and the
other about 2l0 miles DOrthwa I'd from Ham