The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-01-23
The Republic of China
Extension.


In due time came the Canton-Kow-
loon line, the Shanghai Marking line.
Peking- Hankow line, G~urmany's road
in the province Of S%hantung ana the
M~anchurian system in connection with
RuSsia's great Trans Siberian rail
ways. Some of these roads are still
uncompleted. Thc usual method has
been hat of ~foreign financial backing
and foreign direction under the more
or less cursory inspection of Chinese
officials. Very strange accounts of
frenzied finance and official corrup-
ton, ignorance and unfitness are
wrapped up in the history Of some of
these lines. This came to light early
in 1911, when the government began
to take over, or try to, all privately
owned lines in order to lessen foreign
Influence, the plea being that the de-
Tense of the empire required it. Then it
was found that gross acknowledgements
and huge speculations had made some
of the railroads cost many millions
more than they should. The people
were disguised with these revelations.
as well as being opposed through mar
row provincialism to the new policy
of the government, and the railroad
riots in Szechuan province in Sep
TENDER were the precursor of the re-
bellion which broke out in earnest one
month later.
h rough outlines of Chinese rail-
roads at present are: First Chinese
Eastern railway. under Russian con-
troll. north from Kuanchengtsu to Har-
bin, thence east and west to the Rus
sian frontier, p10S0 miles. Second -
South Manchuriau railway, domined BY
EJapan, south from k~uanchengtzu to
Dalny and Port Arthur, l3) miles,
with a branch Of 1S9 miles from Muk-
den to Antung, besides an additional
100 miles of side branchlets: the afore-
mentioned Imperial railways Of North
China, from Mukden to S~hanhaikWan.
which marks The line between Man
churla and China, and whore the great
wall runs into the Gulf OF Pechihli,
and thence to Picking, 522 miles, fed
by a spur of 81 miles to Yinkao aud
a line of 1875 miles to Kalgan, on the
boundary of Mongolia. Third-Peking-
ankoW line, which was 1855 miles and
four little branches. Fourth--Shansi
i''N' L roy udllu, lDl miles.
Fffth-Germany's Shantung line, sc
miles. SlXth-Shanghai-N Marking. 1913.
SeVenth-Canton-Kowloon rail way, Ill
miles; canton to Hankow (unfinished>,
$50 miles; Yunnanful continuation of
the French lndO-China line from
Hanoi to LOaki, 800 miles. There are
several small local roads, aud the total
mileage is between 5000 and $500
miles.
The outbreak of the revolution
seriously interrupted very Important
construction work, particularly from
Picking to PukoW, and the extension
of the Peking-k algan line, and very
little was done on the Canton-Han-
kow and HankoW-Szechuan projects.
The Canton-koWloon line of II miles
being disturbed by the revolution was
finished and thrown open to the pub
lie in August, 1911. The Hukuang
railway loan of $50, 900, 900, in which
the United States participates, was
negotiated safely a few months before
the revolt famed. Some INTERRUPTION
was caused by the unsettled political
conditions in the standardizing of the
South ManuChurian road. The gauge
is being Widened from three feet six
inches to the standard four feet eight
and one-half inches, and a number Of
grades and curves are being reduced.
The Hukuang loan, when it begins to
operate, will finance the Canton-Han-
koW and SZechuan-Hankow runk line.
which, when completed, doubtless will
40 more than any other one agency to