Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-09
RAILWAYS IN CHINA
Five Thousand Miles of Road
Built in Last Five Years.
JEALOUSY OF FOREIGNERS
Natives Opposed to the Granting Of
Concessions
MORE LINES CONTEMPLATED
Cars Built After the English Pat
tern, But the Locomotives I'M
ported From America.
BY WILLIAM f. CTRTIS.

/ BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
During the last five years at least 300
miles of railroad have been built in
China, and during the next five years so
| good judge Mr.. Williams of the
bureau Of far eastern affairs Of the De-
| partment Of State expects to see the
| construction of 1000 additional miles,
| while there are other large plans fer the
| future. The roads now under construc-
| ton and those which are arranged for
| extend from the seacoast and from the
| great centers Of population in the inte-
! rfor toward the French territory en- the
south and British territoy on the west.
Already a read $50 miles long has been
| completed from Yunan to the border OF
Tonquin, and there connects with the
| French railway system of that colony and
| the China sea. Arrangements have been
made to extend this line northward 900
miles to Sui-fu, on the Yangtse river.
which will give the commerce of central
| China and the Yangtse valley an outlet
| southwark direct to the ocean and save
| freight and passengers at least 1.5JO
miles of transportation along the coast
| Another important road has been COM
| menced from Ichang, the head of navi-
gaticn on the Yangtse river. westward to
| the West river and the Shan states, and
ultimately is intended to reach the
| boundaries of Burma and connect with
! the British railway system in that col
ony.
| Motor Boat Traffic.
| Consul General Anderson at Hong
| kong in recent roport IN tho DeDart
ment of State gives some interesting in
| formation about the establishment Of
motor boat traffic upon the rivers
reached by these railroads, which, he
| says, lis of Importance in international
| trade lines because of the facility it af
| fords for introducing foreign merchan-
| disc. which otherwise would be shut out
| because of excessive cost of freight.
American -four, for example. has been
| given Il much wider market in that por-
| ton of China by reason of such service
| than it otherwise would have had. Per-
haps the most important thing it has
! accomplished however, has been to give
practical expression to the desire of the
business men in that portion of China
| to secure improved means of transporta-
| ton
| Mr.. Anderson SAYS that the boats now
| in service were built in Hongkong by
| Il Chinese firm with plans drawn by
| English marine architects. They are
| Seyenty-five feet long. fourteen feet deep,
have draft of eighteen inches. are fit
ted with seNanty-five horsepower en-
! gineS, using kerosene for fuel. and carry
fifteen tons Of freight and 80 passengers.
Consul General Anderson also reports
| that 1.-The growth of sentiment favora BILE
| to railways and improved transportation
| in southern China cannot he emphasized
too strongly. 1t is the dominant fea-
ture of the business outlook and un-
doubt eddy will have tangible and inn
| 1t.fa re Rai1 ~
| considerable magnitude under the best
/ Chinese auspices are being multiplied.
and he tells of several companies that
| have been organized to construct lines
| in different directions from the cities OF
| the coast. He says the promoters are
| men of capital and large proportion of
! the funds has already been subscribed.
| New towns founded to meet the demands
| of railway and transfer service are
| springing up in a manner like the early
days of the western United States"
Foreign Concessions Opposed.
! The policy of the Chinese imperial gov
ernment is TO borrow the capital in for
eign countries and have the roads built
| by local engineers, but the recently Or
ganized legislatures in the different prov
inces are strongly in favor of using local
capital. China for the Chinese" is now
the universal demand, and every conces-
sion granted to foreigner eXcites opposi-
| ton and resentment. That the Chinese
are able to build their own roads has been
demonstrated in several instances The
| first line built by native engineers without
foreign assistance or advice. and with
exclusively native capital, runs from Pek-
| ing, 49,: miles northward beyond the great
| wall. to the city Of Kalgan. 1t was fin
ished in the autumn of 1909. and has been
in operation ever since under Chinese
management. Foreigners have nothing
whatever to do with it, and it is entirely
| a native production except for the rails,
which were brought from England and
| Belgium, and the locomotives. which were
brought from the United States. The
cars, both freight and passenger, were
built in Chinese shops by Chinese work
men in imitation of rolling stock imported
! from England many years ago. The
| Chinese generally have adopted the Eng
! lish pattern or railway cars, because the
| first cars brought into the empire came
l from England: and for the same reason
| they continue to buy their locomotives in
| the United States. The road is being now
| extended from Kalgan northward toward
| the Russian boundary. with local capital,
under the. direction of the same engineers.
Several short railways are under con-
struction by native engineers with native
| capital. One of them runs from Swallow
to ChaO-Chou-Fu. Thirty-fiye miles has
| recently been finished and is now being
extended farther into the interior.
/
| road from Canton to Hankcw. which was
begun by an American syndicate. is being
slowly extended by local capital. and in
| a recent consular report it was stated
that the management had made con-
| tract for % 003 ties to be delivered within
six months and 10000 more to be deliver
\ ed within eight months.
| December >. 1910. the first section of
| the read between Canton and Hongkong,
| thirty-nine miles. was opened to traffic
| and the remainder of the line will be
| completed by the LIST of next July.
| Chinese company has been organized
| to build line between Canton and Ma
Gao, the Portuguese colony, and the con-
| struction will be commenced very socn.
The Most Important Enterprise.
The most important of all enterprises
| now in progress is the Szecheun- Hupeh
| railway. which Is being rapidly built
from Ichans. the head of navigation of
| the Yangtse river, via Kuichow and Wan
| shein westward toward Chung King,
| LOCO miles. 1t will take another Thousand
| miles to reach the boundaries OF Tibet.
| but il is a shorter distance to the Bur
| mese border This road. which involves
the most difficult and expensive engineer
| Ing and construction ever attempted in
,vntr 1n(D ,I~~A IL