The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-01

for military officers and civilian Off
Gals within the space of two or three
months. Still, there was not enough
accommodation for the swan OF
| them, and a hotel with 400 rooms
| was rapidly run up Streets and
boulevards were laid out, theaters, res
! taurants, government buildings and
churches erected-brief, a fully equip
| ped modern city was created as if bv
the waving of a magician's wand
1t was up-to-date civilization-but
| ciViliZa ton with a difference. Forty
two withered heads of Chunchuses
were hung up along one of the pala-
| tial boulevardS of Old Hardin for
six months in 1902, pour encourager
| les autres."
The Building of IKirin.
Russians took hold of Kirin, built
| river docks and shipbuildng yards
there, and made the place an impor-
tant town within a few months Rus
| sian bazaars replaced the Chinese
markets in other towns, or grew up
| beside them. Russian tax collectors
| took their posts along the frontier;
Russian syndicates were formed to
I exploit the vast mineral wealth of the
| country; Russian steamers and barges
| ran the old junk traffic off the Man
| churian rivers; and in every direction
the outstanding of Manchuria went
L
Enormous numbers of immigrants
increasing month by month and year
by year, were brought from Russia
along the Trans Siberian Railroad and
| down the Amur river to be settled on
| large farms-very much larger than
| they could cultivate-in the vast re-
| gions newly opened to colonization by
| the prowess of Russian arms. The
land was given to the colonists for
| nothing-it II cheap to give away
| other peoples land-but the Russian
| government also gave them agricu-
| tural implements, cattle and advances
of money, the latter nominally repay
able within a term of years, but in re-
atty never expected to be repaid.
| Are Poor Farmers.
Great efforts were made by the au-
thorities to establish these settlers on
a self-supporting basis, but those very
efforts have tended to pauperize them
and they seem to be hopelessly unable
to compete with the Chinese and Ko-
| rean farmers, who have Swarmed in
and occupied land alongside them.
| The authorities talk much of their
educational and civiliDing mission, but
the Russian settlers are the most
backward people in the land.
The villages are at a considerable
distance from each other" said a Eu-
ropean traveller who went through the
country two years ago. Frequently
| there is no school within reach, for
these are only found in the larger and
older settlements, and the people. thus
| left without education or ennobkng in
| fiuences of any kind, relapse into
state of semi barbarisn. Many of the
| farms are inland, but the majority of
the settlers live in the little log viii
| lagos clustered along the banks of the
rivers, of which one passes twenty or
thirty a day. On Russian maps these
villages make an imposing show, but
in reality, compared to the vast area
available for colonization, they are but
! drops in the ocean,"
Like Americas wild West.
1t will be observed that the condi-
lions, in some respects, are much like
those which Americans faced in the
| winning of the West. The lack of
education and ''ennobnng influences
is inevitable in such lonely surround
ings, and may be regarded as being
merely a temporary condition. This
failure to attain. at the outset a
measure of impossible success, is not
to be set down to the discredit of the
| Russian authorities. Taking account
of the brief time they have been work
ing to develop the country. they have
! accomplished wonders. They would
! pIODdUly nave SpGGOilS IGInCulSd Ild4lS
| of the shortcomings noted by travel
ers if the war with Japan had not up
set all their plans.
After the building and guarding of
the railways, the chief energies of the
authorities we're applied to the FORTH
cation of Port Arthur and the build
ing of the brand new city of Dalny,
| or Talienwan. Millions Of dollars
were spent on the forts and docks as
| ~ T11illiOnG were
being spent when the war broke out.
DaIny's Rise.
The building of Dalny as a terminus
for the Siberian Railway astounded
the world, so colossal was the scheme
and 80 rapid it's execution. In 1901
| Dalny was simply a small collection
of godowns, huts, and rough work
shops. In 1902 over $5,000,000 had been
spent upon the work, on which 10000
coolies were then engaged. and twice
as much money lay ready to be ex-
pended for the completion of the
scheme. Five piers, two docks, thea
| tiers, churches, boulevardS, marble PAL
aces for the high officials. thousands
of houses and innumerable huts for
the natives were being built-all des-
tined for the population which was to
be imported later on. which. indeed
had already begun to settle in
the place when war broke out.
Nothing seemed to be left undone,
nothing unthought of by the Russian
officials in the development of the
country, which lay within their power.
The genius of the Russian character
is deeply religious. AS soon as Man
churia became, to all intents and pur-
poses, a Russian province, It had to
have it's bishop of the Orthodox
Church; and Innocent, the Archiman-
drite of Pekin, was promptly appoint
ed to the dignity. He established an
elaborate ecclesiastical organization,
covering the whole of the country.
Every lonely village of raw settlers,
every Cossack post, even each isolated
farmer was in touch with a church
and priest before the war with ia
pan.
Outstanding of Manchuria.
1t is a wonderful work, this light
ning-hke Outstanding of Manchuria.
In all the history of colonization the
world has never seen it's like, and the
world has not yet realized its immense
scope. The average newspaper reader