The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-14
.ALLDEPENDS
ON RAILWAY |. !. !; Y
Russians Will be Able to Trans
port Troops II Track 5s
rs Good.
W HAT 8Is THOUGHT.
President Stevens Says He Gould
Not Express Opinion Unless ,
He Knew Character Of Roads.

Il lie Knew Character OF kOadS.
Conpetet authorities here do not be-
lievc that Russia will experience any IN
slrmountnbl bio obstacles III ira Importing
troops and munitions Of war over
single track OF railroad
1t Is absolutely essential to success
ful conduct or the war iii tho East that
tic European power should be able TO
land It's forces with facility and dispatch
In the seat Of the trouble, far removed
from the homo territory TO do this it
will have to use It's Siberian Railroad to
Fort Arthur, over 5000 miles in length.
Any other route would be impossible, bo-
cause Ineffective. The grent railroad IS
si,,gle-tra cked and a light ballast. GEN
eral Joseph Wheeler believes that 1t VIII
be utterly unavailng to transport troops
and supplies over II. ia
DEFENDS ON RAILROAD.
Everything, 1t seems. depends upon the
character of the railroad itself. If 1t Is
OF Eight rails and light ballast, as General
Wheeler says. the difficulty may be
considerably increased, but IL the oppo-b
site Is the case, and the road Is well md
d,lrably constructed. there Is no reason
why the transportation may not be sue
cessfully made
1T would be folly for me to express
an opinion said President George ".
stevens, OF the Chesapeake and Ohio,
Yesterday, ''lnless knew the character
OF the Siberian Railroad, and this I do
not. There is, Of course, moro or less
difficulty in transporting troops but It.
can be done 4 all right over n single
tracked railroad. I suppose this road
Will now be givensup entirely to tho p'lr-
pose. During the Spanish war we moved
a lot Of soldiers and handled our regu-
lar business as we'll. Our road Is single
tracked nearly all the way"
A search through the records OF the
Chesapeake and Ohio showed that. with
out considering several smaller bodies OF
men from time to time, the road moved
Brooke's Division Of nearly COCO soldiers
from Lexington to Newport News. dis
lance OF GEO miles. 1t took thirty-six
trains to do It, About sixty per cent. of
each train was given over to baggage.
Thirty-three soldiers rode In car. Inc
movement was thoroughly organized, ana
it worked like a clock. There was not
a hitch at any point
In the case of Russia there are many
more than 5000 to be transported and
many more than GOO miles to be ira
versed There are, in fact, over 6.00o
miles, and tho way Is through Siberian
wastes, where there are no cities and
towns whore food might be secured. The
weather Is fierce, and progress Is SLOW.
Still, If the railroad Is good one It IS
believed that it can be done all rlght.
1t is commonly believed, and not WITH
out reason, that the great Siberian Rail-
road, with Its eastern terminus, Port
Arthur, Is the vital spot in the war SIT
uation. Russia, from the distance mas
to send her troops and provisions over
this route, and IL Japan. from her van
tage ground in the East. captures Fort
Arthur or destroys the railroad or even
a section of It. it will be almost death
blow to the slav. The dispatches from
the East indicate strongly that the little
fellows are strenuously endeaVorlng TO
accomplish this very end.
But little is know here concerning the
character of the railroad on which go
much depends. 1t is a matter OF en-
cyclopedic record, however, that the
route of the road was fixed by the gov
eminent IN 1891. and that the work was
completed in December. 1901. The line
connects at Samara with the line passing
through Moscow from st. Petersburg,
crosses the Ural Mountains between ufa
and Zeatooust. passes through Onuk,
'romsk, Irkutsk to Kottowangoo on the
Ural, thence southeast to khalaroskn on
tho Ural and then nearly southwest to
Vladivostok, on the the Sea Of Japan;
branch connects with tho commercial
terminus, Dalny, near Port Arthur. The.
cost was S172 ,525 .O00 the tota DISTANCE
from st. Petersburg to Vladivostock ~
6,666 miles.
A translation from the -Annules DIES
Scineces Poltlques, published BY the
United States Department of Commerce
and La bor In Il recent bulletin says IN
part concerning the railway: 81
In 1887 an American named Collins first
proposed railway from the An,ur TO the VII
isal that tho Railway was de.
nssx a oer on May i e.
was laid, The line covers coy 5G2 miles IN ltus-
tory. In ten ten and one-hnf Years blsG miles OF
rails were laid. In the Canadian Pacific, con-
d under smnr ~ ra. 70 t ren
that In order to construct the Trans siberian
with such, rnpdity it was nscessary g en-
ployed on Russian railways. Lighter rails were
used less ballast was PIT under the ties; the
IS feet mt'S vide, We're iinitei to 10 feet; and
the grades and curves, wcrn actentuhted, the
bu, il was quickly perceived that this would
the s;xsenes Of The Eas INC
To- replace the light rails 10 lsngthen tho ties
and to perfect the roadbed. This, OF course.
| meant double work and corresponding In
Freight trains cover the distance from Mos
! COW 10 Vladiyostock n hfty T. slst :, days.
| travelling AT the ratio OF about eight miles an
thirteen and ono-halt miles an hour, II is
| the freight trains viii make thirteen and one
half miles an hour and possenser trans TWEEN
coed 1891. 400, 600 There are yet two lines TO be
compcted-one around Lake Balkal ana the
by means OF tho Trans-sberan Railroad,
| regular communication has been estnhlishni