Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-05-20
PORT DALhY'S VALUE.
Over Sac, 900, 900 Had Been Spent
on the Russian City.
CREATED BY ORDER OF THE GAR.

designed 90 he the Chief CONNER
cIaI Emporium of His Far East
Dominion-Its Great Harbor aud
Dock improvements Made Regard
les. Of Co.t-Five Large Pier. Built.
Dalny. the Russian town which was
DESTROYED as a result OF the fortunes
of the Russo-Japanese war. was one
of the most extraordinary towns ever
known. says the Philadelphia Press.
Ii was created 10y an edict OF the car
July 80. 1899. and by virtue OF that
edict a stately town with superb dock
ing and railroad facilities was devel-
oped where before there had been moth
ing but Chinese huts. The creation or
this town was set idea OF the car
himself, and in his edict he said OF 1t:
In our constant solicitude for this I'M
dertaking of such general usefulness we
have carefully considered what position
of Importance the starting point OF this
line Talienwan, will occupy when the
road has been constructed. AS we OBJ
served at the time of its occupation that
the port should be open TO the commercial
fleets of all nations, we have now decided
to begin the erection near to 1t OF CITY,
which we shall call ''Dalny."
In Russian Dalny means "Far away"
and this poetic suggestion played
part on the imperial imagination, for
nothing was left undone to realize his
wish that the city on the Talienwan
bay. on the east coast of the Liautong
peninsula. should be the chief COM
mercial emporium of his far eastern
dominion. The bay on which Dalny
was built is one of the finest deep
water harboIs on the Pacific. 1t is
free from ice In winter time and ships
drawing thirty feet of water can enter
at low tide without difficulty and with
out aid of pilots can sail or steam
alongside the former immense docks
and piers. where their cargoes can he
loaded into railroad cars and run di-
rect for 5000 miles into the city OF st.
Petersburg.
Five large piers had been construct
ed, each supplied with numerous rail
road tracks and immense warehouses
and elevators, gas, electric lights and
water, and large breakwater was be-
| ing constructed so that ships could lie
at the piers and load and unload re-
| CARELESS of weather. Docks for for
eisn vessels, steam and sail, extended
between the piers and along the shore
for two miles. There were two first
class dry docks, one intended for or
binary ocean steamers and the Other
designed to accommodate the largest
vessels of war or commerce.
Over $6,OO0,00O had been expended
on the harbor system alone before the
end of 1902. and it was estimated that
the cost of completing the works would
be nearly $20,000,000. but this does not
in any way represent the huge tota
cost of the erection of this great com
mercial port, which. with Port Arthur
distant about twenty miles. was leas
ed by the Chinese government to Rus
STA in 1898.
The amount expended on the docks
! the administrative town, which was
laid out on magnificent scale in the
style of a model city and was expected
to house 100000 people. AS everything
was developed from the ground VI
the administrators were able to do as
they pleased, and in consequence the
residential portion was developed in 6
way that made it one of the finest
cities in the east. The streets were
well paved, broadly laid out, and many
of them We're in the form of parkway:
or boulevards, while beautiful parl
was made part of the scheme. and one
of the most important features of the
work was the effort to make the tow
beautiful by reason of the character Of
the houses and their surroundings.
The houses themselves were bull
substantially of brick and stone, will
varied architectural effects, surround
ed by picturesque stone and iron rail
ings, and the city was up to date IL
that in its center were concentrated
all the important buildings of the towI
arranged about parklike plaza from
which radiated the streets in all di
rections like the spokes Of wheel
In all the town was to have cost, whel
finished, $25,0O0,O00 and more and {
large share of this amount had already
been expended when war broke out.
Curiously enough, although Daln,
was made free port, Russia was un
able to force commerce to come to tn,
new city, so that with all its magnifi
cence in the way Of the imperial dock
and in the lavish attention that wal
paid to the comfort of the residents
1t was commercial failure.
With half the houses empty, build
ing proceeded without interruption
and it is estimated that the Russians
have spent more than $2O,O0OOOO OF
the city from which they expected s,
much. Great docks We're added to b,
the building Of still greater ones.
Custom houses, government build
ings. hospitals, churches and barrack
We're built Oh plan attempted in few
towns even in European Russia, ant
Dalny was expected to eclipse any Eu
ropean settlement in the east, but eve,
| al