The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-12-28
THE RAILWAY N CHINA
Some of the Difficulties to be
Overcome in Construction
GRAFT FLOURlSHES, TOO
syndicates Bought Up Land Along
Proposed Route and Held It
Against the Railroad Company
Trouble Over Removal of Graves
Corner on Building Material.

The final contract for the Shang-
hai-Nanking line was signed after
protracted negotiations by Sheng Ta-
ien and the concesslonaires (the
British and Chinese corporation in
July, 1903. Between that date and
the actual beginning of earthworks
further pourparlers were necessita-
Ted on points of detail, financial and
administrative. In regard to which
Sheng Ta-jen's attitude was persist
emily obstructive. Eventually, at the
Instance of the British government,
an intimation was conveyed to the
Director-General from the Wai-wu-
pu that further obstruction would
entail unpleasant results, and since
then matters have advanced more
satisfactorily.
Tue line to Nanking via the pro-
vfncfal capital (Soochow) is approx
mately 200 miles long, running
through fiat country intersected by
many creeks and covered as far as
Chinkiang with innumerable graves;
thence to Nanking on the slope of
the hills which lie parallel and close
TO the Yangtse. BY the terms of the
contract Sheng Ta-jen receives
s250,000, in return for which he is
bound to acquire all necessary land
aud to obtain the removal of graves
within the limits required by the
railway. Eighteen months after the
arrival of the engineering staff, only
thirty-eight miles of the total length
had been acquired, and this in iso-
lated sections.
The construction now proceeds as
the land is handed over; it Is there
fore evident that future progress
Will depend chiefly on Sheng's per-
formance of his duties. He promised
to give the company full possession
OF all the land as far as Soochow be-
fore April. 1905, and thence TO WI
sieh before June; but continuous
pressure has not succeeded in secur-
Ing the fulfilment of this officials
promises. In the meanwhile It is in
teresting to observe that so soon as
the survey of any section is COM
pleted and the line definitely To-
Gated, Chinese syndicate-of
which Sheng Ta-jen's son is the re-
puted head-purchases the land,
wherever possible, from the agricul-
tural owners and holds It against the
railway company, claiming n large
advance on the market value. (The
price paid for agricultural land, com
pulsorily acquired, varies between
f20 and $40 per acre. These opera
tions primarily concern the Chinese
government; but, as they delay con-
struction work and thus increase the
ultimate cost of the railway, they
concern also the Conccssionaires to
whom Sheng frequently appeals for
funds to meet "uneXpccted con-
tingencies."
Another source of difficulty lies in
The removal of graves. This is
question which presents itself every
where in China; but in the country
between Shanghai and Wusieh it is
unusually prominent, because. the
line runs through what might be de-
scribed as a continuous graveyard,
Tombs and family buryiug grounds,
frequently of great size, are scat
tered haphazard throughout the
highly cultivated fields. Many have
been removed during the past year,
but even on the land already hand
ed over an enormous number re-
main, and for these gaps have to be
left in the embankments.
For each graves removal compen-
sation has to be, paid at rates vary
ing between los. and 81 and as this
business is also transacted by
Shengs staff, it presents a continual
cause of friction and delay. So
called benevolent societies have been
formed at various centers and col
Iect subscriptions with the ostensibly
pious object OF removing the remains
of the numerous departed Chinese
who left no descendants to practice
for them the rites of filial piety.
The TAPPING rebellion left many
such cases in It's track.
These societies employ coolies to
collect the bones, which are then
reverently placed in a Devoe's
kerosene packing case or other
equally inexpensive receptacle and
thereafter deposited on the nearest
piece OF waste land, the society's
work being confined to claiming and
getting the compensation per set OF
bones collected The smallest re-
mains will suffice TO Justify claim,
and unidentified ancestors are there
fore in demand all along the line. 1t
10 reported, though difficult to prove,
that the Chinese members of the
board OF commissioners and other To-
cal mandarins have been prominent
ly connected with the benevolent"
societies.
Another interesting example OF
Chinese official methods came to
light when the construction of
bridges was begun. The corporation
soon discovered that completely
organized corner had been formed
he 10 q St,nn1u