The San Francisco call., 1905-01-27
WILL PURCHASE
MATERIAL HERE
w. NJ. Pinkston Says Canton
Hankow Railway Will Be
Finished i'm Three Years

William M. Pinkston, one of the off,
cials of the Canton Hankow Railway
Company of China, is a guest at the
Grand. He arrived here, with his son,
on the last steamer from the Orient,
and Is on his way East to purchase
material for the construction of the
projected line between the two cities
named, of which twenty miles have al
ready been finished. About $50 miles
of road between Canton and Hankow
are to be built. The work will begin
in June and is expected to be completed
in three years. A great deal of the
material, including the ties, Pinkston
expects to purchase on this coast.
It was recently reported from Brus-
sells that ]. Pierpont Morgan had pur-
chased the King of Belgium's interest
in the Canton-Hankow road and that
it was contemplated to combine the
French, Belgian and American inter-
ests so rs eventually to cover the
Franco-Belgian concessions for a line
from Hankow to Peking, thereby max
ing a trunk line of about $500 miles
from Peking to Canton. The dispatch
added that much opposition was shown
by the Chinese Government to foreign
enterprises. Concerning these recent
reports Pinkston said last night:
There is probably truth in the BRUSSELS re-
ports The Canton Hankow Railroad is to be
built under concession granted to the China
American Company, of which j. Pierpont Nor
gan Is the fnancier When the bonds for the
road were issued Morgan placed block OF
them abroad and the report reached China
that the Belgians, who do all their foreign
investing through the Government, had pur-
chased the securities. The Chinese. especially
the more intelligent classes strongly OPP
posed to any foreigners other than Americana
getting control of big interests in their en-
pire. They have great faith in American en-
terprise and keeny appreciate the course OF
this country after the Boxer war in preventing
the other foreign governments from taking
more Of the Oriental territory.
When II was reported that Belgian capital
had been invested in the bonds of the Canton
their displeasure and notified the China Amer
lean Company. that China would prefer to take
the bonds itself. As result of this dip
lomaticaily put protest the vice president OF
our company and ]. Pierpont Morgan went to
Europe to recover the bonds placed on that
continent. The recently reported purchase of
of Belgium was probably the result of nego-
tiations that had been pending for some time.
While grateful to the Americans and admirng
their commercial pluc] and enterprise the
Chinese frequently fear that the former may
play some Yankee trcs on them and conse-
quently their suspicious often interfere with
+, The Canton -Hankow aaiiroad is prom
Using undertaking. When completed II will
be the best line of road in all China The
construction Of the first twenty miles Of the
road along the banks of the Canton or Pear
River. as 1t is often called. met with con-
siderable opposition, owing to the fact that
pcrtation of freight by water. This opposi
ton, together with small riots that resulted
from troubles among the MongoIian laborers
We. employed. are now things OF the pas
and We expect to have no further trouble In
completing the road and making final con-
nections with the line 10 Peking,