Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-11-04
SLIDES At PANAMA
CANAL BLOCKING
RUSSIAN SUPPLIES.
American Locomotives ant
Freight Cars Expected at
VladivOstOk Fail to Ar
rive When Needed.

Vladvostok, Nov. with its wharves
piled high with all sorts of war supplies
and its railway facilities wholly made
quate to meet the insistent demands of the
Russian army Nladvostok is looking anx-
I iously toward the Panama canal and hop
Ing FOR report that the slides have been
mastered and will permit the passage OF
ships carrying the rails, locomotives and
cars so necessary to speed I'D transporta-
ton along the 5000 miles of railway
which separates the Russian battle lines
from Russa's greatest gateway for sup
plies.
So far, not a single ship from New
| York has arrived bearing locomotives or
railway cars. Four hundred and fifty
American locomotives and 5000 Amerl-
can freight cars have been purchased and
| many of them have been shipped Several
ships bearing railway supplies passed
slide of September IS. Because of the
block in the Panama route supply ships
from New York have been ordered to
vladivostok by the suez route which
takes several weeks long under present
| conditions.
Two fundamental errors have entered
|
Vladivostok's possibilities as supply
gateway. The first is the somewhat gem
orally accepted statement that Vladi-
vostok Is icebound part OF the winter
This is not true. The other erroneous
statement Is that the trans-S Siberian rail-
way is entirely double tracked from
Vladivostok to European Russia This is
equally untrue. Neither is there suffi-
n CT Lot L.
double track along the entire route.
The Associated Press correspondent
saw many familiar trade marks in
his walk along the congested water
front. Automobiles from Detroit, steel
rails from an Illinois company, army
wagons from several American manu-
facturers. American timed milk and
meat and many other products of the
United States lie waiting for car
space. American cotton may be seen
In many Of the warehouses.
Trains departing for Russia carry
a strange assortment of freight. Gun
carriages. rails. structural steel for
bridges. lumber, piling and coal may
be seen on the open cars. These cars
are about thirty feet long. Conse-
quently steel rails of the American
btdnudTu leNStn require TWO nat cars,
and only about twenty-five rails are
carried on each pair of cars. The new
steel cars which are coming from
America are to be of the size used by
railways in the United States.
The New York steamship line which
has the contract for delivering the new
American rolling stock to Nladvostok
will probably require about sixty ships
: for locomotives and cars. 1t was planned
that all this freight would come by way
OF Panama.
Japan is supplying Russia with great
quantities Of lead and copper which are
, delivered at Vladivostok Shells, rifles
and big guns some as large as twelve
. inches, are crowded with Representatives
OF Japanese and American concerns in
terested in the contracts for war ma,
e terials to he shipped through the Nladi.
vostok gateway, and steamer: operating
: between Japanese cast coast ports and
Vladivostok are carrying heavy loads OF
war supplies from Japan.