The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-02-06


part of Chinese Eastern railway sys-
tenn.
Certain facts must be kept in mind
in considering the role which rail-
ways, such as the Chinese Eastern,
play in undeveloped countries like
China. Domination of railroads in
these lands carries with it control Of
the economic development of the
country traversed. This includes the
exploitation of mineral wealth, the
erection and maintenance Of facto-
ries, and the extension of commerce.
1t necessarily establishes a semi
political regime over the inhabitants
by the concessionaires, thus setting
up a state within state" 1t was
this kind of penetration" which
marked in particular the relationships
of the foreign powers to China during
the first decade of this century. A ma
tural consequence then of the transfer
to Japan in 1905 OF Russias conces-
sions in Manchuria, including the
control of the railway (South Man
churian), has been to make the Japa-
nese the real masters of that province.
Japan has the right of policing the
railway. 1t has been easy for the i'm
perialist government of that country
to use this privilege as a cloak for
the permanent stationing of thou
sands Of regular soldiers at the
strategic points along the line. This
constitutes formidable army of oc-
cupation, tho the sovereignty of China
is still nominally recognized.
Manchuria has thus come to be vir-
tually province of Japan. In fact,
the Japanese have gone so far as to
incorporate the South Manchurian
railway into the Korean railway sys-
tenn, putting the line under direct
Japanese government control, for
Korea is now an integral part Of the
Japanese empire. Chang Tso Lin, the
Chinese military governor, is, as we
have stated before, a tool Of Japan,
and for that reason and because of
his extreme cruelty to the workers
and the nationalist adherentss is bit
terly hated by the masses Of the
Chinese.
1t thus happens that a number of
the imperialist powers have claims"
effecting the Chinese Eastern railway
or have concessions in that part of
China adjacent to the country it
traverses. For these reasons the
treaty between China and Soviet
Russia negotiated by Karakhan in
1924, which specifically excluded all
other nations from any voice in the
administration of the railway, met
with the bitter opposition of the
European powers, Japan, and the
United States.
France objected on the ground that
because her financiers owned a ma
GRITTY Of the shares of the Russo
Asiatic Bank, the successor of the
Russo-Chinese Bank, which had orr
ginally secured the concession, they
should dictate the policy of the rail-
way. The shares on which the French
WOO DeoCU AdU UccU SlOl6U,
however, by the former chief of a
department of the Russian State Bank
and handed over by the latter to the
administration of the Russo-Asiatic
Bank in Paris. During the period
when Soviet Russia was carrying on
the struggle against foreign interven-
ton, this bank as the owner Of the
railroad concluded in 1920 an agree
ment with China by the terms of
which it appointed five members of
the administrative staff and the bank
jointly with the Chinese government
managed the line.
M. Mikhaylov, writing in the Inter-
national Press Correspondence (Oct.
16, 1924 thus characterizes the period
from 1920 to 1924 when the railroad
was under this French control:
"The whole activity Of the Russo
Asiatic Bank with regard to the
railway was carried on in opposi-