The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-03-12

! WASHINGTON, February 27.-Much
has been said concerning the capacity
:! of the Trans-Siberian road to move
large army to that distant field. and
also its capacity TO keep it supplied
when the army should have reached
its field of operations.
The country traversed by that road is
nothing like as difficult as that trav-
ersed by the Northern Pacific. the
! Great Northern or the Canadian Pa
cific. These lines pass over much
higher mountains with more short
| curves. and they are INSTRUCTED by
much heavier SHOWS in winter During
the melting and when the frost is go
ing out of the ground in the spring
they are more liable TO damage by
washouts, landslides, destruction of
bridges, etc. Besides the intense cold
is much more severe on these lines than
on the line of the Siberian road.
Passing over that line year ago last
January, the coolest that the thermom-
eter on the outside of the car register
ed was 20 degrees +. below zero; Their
mometers in the New England States
and Northern New York have register
ed much lower than that during the
present winter, and on the lines of the
Northern Pacific and Great Northern
they have registered So and even Sc de-
grees below zero.
The highest elevation of the Trans
Siberian line is approximately four
thousand feet, as against nearly eight
thousand feet on some of our trans
continental lines. 1t is said that the
capacity of a road depends upon the
length of its sidings
COULD MOVE 5000 MEN DAILY.
This is not entirely correct. because
it is possible for two trains, each longer
than the siding, to pass each other, but
of course this requires longer time, and
thereby necessitates delay. Sidings are
easily constructed, and, if they are
within reasonable distance, it would
certainly be practicable to move, at a
very conservative estimate, twelve
trains of twenty-five cars each over the
Siberian road per day. This, max
ing a very liberal allowance for the
transportation and field equipment of
the troops, would move at least 5000
men a day, or in a hundred, 100000
men.
A most liberal allowance for field
transportation would be twenty-seven
wagons lOT regiment u cavalry vi
one thousand horses, and four for a
battery of light artillery. Estimating
the strength of a military division as
composed of 10000 infantry. 1000 cav
airy, ten batteries and four guns each,
400 technical troops and camp follow
ers, they would average 4106 horses and
mules. Assuming an army of 100000
men organized in divisions composed as
above we should have 1916 divisions
with a total of 147,237 animals. Allow
ing each man three pounds of food per
day, the total weight in daily supplies
will be 4,425,7S pounds.
WOULD NEED IT'S CARS A DAY.
Allowing but $4,000 pounds as the av-
erage weight carried per car would re-
quire 17S cars daily. Assuming that
300 cars can be moved from the base of
supplies to the field, they would be en-
abled to supply the daily food for half
million men and have 120 cars available
for the transportation of additional
troops or whatever additional NUM-
tions of war might be required.
There are various methods of COM
putting the capacity of the road, or the !
means of reinforcing and supplying an
army, but the above estimate is a reas-
enable one for the capacity of the road
and a very liberal allowance for the
amount of field transportation that an
army would require.
The most difficult point of that whole !
line is the crossing of Lake Baikal.
When the lake is open they have suf- !
fcient steamers and boats to transport !
5000 men with supplies per day. When !
it is frozen that number can easily |
march across. But it is not an I'M |
common thing to see cars moving over !
the tracks laid on the solid ice, espe- |
cialIy near st. Petersburg.
Within the past few days we have |
seen it stated that a track had been
laid for railroad on the frozen surface |
of Lake Baikal. The papers have alsos
stated that Prince Khilkoff had report |
ed that 10000 men could be moved |
daily. We also see it stated in other ,
journalistic communications that the ;
road is congested; that it is impossible
to move a large force or get supplies /
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