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

portant of those clashes in imperialist
policy which led to the world war. Is
the struggle for control of the Chinese
Eastern railway to play correspond
ing role-not as between two i'm
perialist systems, this time, but as
between Imperialism on one hand and
the anti-imperialist Soviet Union-as
suggested by the drama of events
which in the Far East are so rapidly
leading to a new world conflict? The
arbitrary arrest of Ivanov, the Russian
general manager of that road, by
Chang Tso Lin, the Chinese military
dictator of Manchuria, in utter viola
ton of treaties signed by Chang him
self, the despatch of an ultimatum
of this subject by the Soviet govern
ment, and the subsequent release of
Ivanov, reveal the existence of such
a struggle, and its close connection
with the effort of the great imperialist
powers to obtain an advantageous
POSITION in China from which to launch
another attack upon the workers re-
public. 1t is well known that the
Japanese government owns Chang
'rso Lin, and that in recent months he
has received financial assistance from
he British also. The former bandit
hief would hardly have dared defy
the Soviet government unless assured
the backing of outside powers. His
hasty release of Ivanov does not at
all contradict this inference. It mere
iy indicates that the situation from an
imperialist standpoint, did not mo-
mentarily present favorable condi-
lions for a war against the Soviet
Union. The crisis, therefore, is only
temporarily overcome.
The Importance of the Chinese
Eastern railway in the struggle over
China is evident from a reference
to the map. This line was originally
Tanned as a division Of the Trans
Siberian system. In 1896 a conces-
sion for it's construction was secured
from the Chinese government by the
Russo-C Chinese bank, which then re-
presented the interests of Russian
and French finance capital in the
orient. The first plans for the Trans
Siberian railway provided that it
should pass thru Russian territory
only. A section of nearly 500 miles
had been constructed from Vladivo-
stok to Khabarovsk thru the valley
of the Ussuri river, which is the east
ern boundary of Manchuria. 1t was
discovered then that the completion
of the line to Chita, the terminus of
the Trans-Siberian road at that time,
would entail enormous expense and
most difficult engineering because of
the wild mountainous character of
part of the route and the stretches
of marsh land in other portions. This
section of Siberia, moreover, was
sparsely populated, with little prospec
of its ever being thickly settled. So
having secured the concession for a
line direct to Vladivostok thru the
'hinese province of Nav churia, work
was rushed on this p@,ect instead.
1t was completed in 1902 as the
Chinese eastern railway. 1t runs for
222 miles thru Siberian territory and
Ior lUoO miles, thru CnlneSe.
Between the years 1908 and 1916
the Ussuri railway from Vladivostok
to Khabarovsk was extended, roughly
paralleling the Amur and Shilka riv-
ers, and joining the Trans-Siberian
line at Chita. A glance at the map
will show the superiority of the Chi
nese Eastern railway for all traffic
bound for Vladivostok, the great Rus
sian seaport on the Pacific. Less than
one-half as long as its rival to the
north, it affords an immense saving
both in time and expense. 1t traverses,
besides, country of infinitely greater
natural resources with fast-growing
population.
If the reader will again look at the
map he will see that railroad runs
from Hardin, a junction point on the
main line of the Chinese Eastern.