Omaha daily bee., 1906-12-30

AAAAiiNN NNAiAfAC NeAAhADNN n - kAeAA NNfNAi-'N
town.
From this clean hive Of activity one has
20 walk only 1--WE minutes to find himself IN
the heart OF the noisome, medieval Corean
city, smelling to heaven with its decay OF
centuries. Even the japanese leaven on
Nam-san hill fails TO work any ferment for
betterment upon the sodden lump OF Corean
conservatism.
This prosperous community at Seoul, as
we'll as the like settlements at Fusan, Che
mulpo and ChinnampO, marks the second
line of the japanese industrial advance
After the first hasty pioneers, the small
traders, thinkers and artisans, have marked
the trail Of progress through the country
comes the power OF capital to cement the
first casual grip on the country had by the
early corners.
That japanese capital is pouring into
every branch of industrial endeavor In
Corea save agriculture, which is hopeless
is evidenced both by the Toxic stock mar
ket and the tangible manifestations Of the
money power growing constantly more ap-
parent throughout the peninsula. The To-
kio government is bending every EFFORT to-
ward the diversion OF capital into Corean
channels.
Government II Interested.
BY its recent action the ship subsidy
heretofore allowed the Nippon Yusen
Kaisha Japan Mail company for its Bonn
bay line was withdrawn and an offer of 1t
was made to encourage new merchant
services to Corean ports. Upon the advice
of the government emigrant companies
! throughout Japan are offering special in
ducements to capitalists desiring to con-
tract for labor in Corean enterprises
Chief of all great financial enterprises in
| Corea, the Japanese owned railroad draw
a heavy subsidy from the government. Up
to date the Keifu railroad and Seoul
Chemulpo road have not been financially
successful.
whether through stress of war and the
consequent requisitloning Of their services
by the japanese military arm, or whether
because of the excessive cost of main
| tenance, the roads have had to draw upon
their reserve funds, provided by the Japa-
nese government, to declare their stipu-
lated dividends. It is no doubt fact that
until the development of the interior is
accomplished by the Japanese the through
peninsula road, which now carries freight
only from one terminus to another, cannot
be made to pay its stockholders save by the
policy Of drawing on the government sub
sidy.
roads to pay for themselves, additional
lines are being projected and money to
build them is freely subscribed. Surveys
| have already been made for a line from
Seoul through the peninsula to Gensan, on
the northeastern coast, and line from
Fusan. on the south, through to Moqou,
the west coast port, is said to be thing
of the near future.
| Influence of Railway.
The railroad right recently secured to
| Japan by treaty with China, comprising
a line from wiju on the Yalu through
| southern Manchuria to connect with the
North China road at LAaoyang, has tire
mendous value to the industrial future OF
Corea. When it is borne in mind that this
projected railroad from Win to Liaoyang
is the connecting link uniting all Corea
and through Corea Japan, with the main
trunk system of the Transsiberian road
II becomes at once evident that what will
make Corean railroads valuable and Corear
enterprises in general of doubled worth
will be this very extension of the through
peninsula railroad to the great main ar
terry of all North Asia's trade.
A through line from Moscow to Toxic
with only the 120-mile water jump acros
the straits of the Sea of Japan, is goini
60 be the dominating factors In far eastern
commerce before another quarter centur,
is passed. The latest span of this grea
system to be opened for use is the Seoul
With railroad laid first as an emergenc
military road by japanese engineers durin
the war and later put into permanen
shape and opened for traffic in the mont
of November, 1905.
This line, like the Keifu system, is O
standard gauge, solidly built and ade
quately suited to heavy business. On thi
and the other lines Baldwin locomotive
and American built cars on America
trucks are used exclusively. Japanese OF
eratives only are employed.
What the railroads are doing for the In
terror Japanese steamship lines work 70
the ports. In the great interior city G
Seoul, as at the coast towns CONSTANT
growing, capital from Japan IS applyin
itself in new works of industry.
From these arteries of the new activit
energy is carried. by the pioneer trader
, and small adventures through all the sluE
gish avenues of the decrepit empires ir
dustrial network of nerves until the mos
} remote members OF the decayed state fet
the unwonted impact of force long sine
dead. The Japanese have seized Corea b
the topknot and kicked 1t into life.
But theirs are not the kicks OF pillar
/ thropy, theirs not dislnterested efforts fc
Corea's good and the wellbeing of tn
Coreans. Dali Nippon is manhandling tn
ancient beggar for the coin that may ia
out of his pockets In the process; II tn
battered one manages to save anythin
from the ruin, that will be his good fol
tune.