Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-17
HARDIN, THE PARIS OF ASIA"
IS A HOT-BED OF INTRIGUES
White and Red Russians Fight Battles on
Paper-Traveler Feels Strange
Forces at Play.

each, In the construction of these lines
and the terminal and port facilities.
That was an exclusively Russian ex-
penditure, and the property was an ex-
clusively Russian enterprise. It was
distinctly regarded as strategic"
railway, In that 1t linked ST. Petersburg
UP with the Pacific Coast and tappeo
the Gulf of Pechili and the Yellow Sea.
1t gave Russia, though at great dis
lance. that "unfroZen port" that 1t had
been seeking ever since Peter the Great
is supposed to have set that as goal
for the Russian government.
War Upset Plans.
Then came the war with Japan,
which Russia lost. and with IT all the
territory 1t had acquired In China and
Manchuria. and the railroad in part.
Eventually. in consequence OF changes In
the Far East, notably in China, Russia
was enabled to negotiate new deal re-
garding the railroad. In 1922 negotia-
lions were instituted between China and
the Soviet government that resulted IN
a reorganization of the Chinese Eastern
Railway, with division Of the directors
between the two countries and also a
division OF Offices and powers. Now,
as I have indicated IN an earlier letter
China is diSpleased with the situation.
Supposedly the authority and the rights
are divided fifty-fifty. Actually, as
one of the Chinese officials of the line
said few minutes ago to me, the divi-
sion is about twenty -five-seventy- Ave, In
favor of Russia.
There are both Chinese and Russian
railway guards. mostly the former. how
ever. These armed men travel on the
trains as well as guard the stations and
the lines. A few stations back when we
got off the train for walk during tbs
stop we saw the guards marching, two
hy-two. up and down on the side Of the
track with fixed bayonets, four on each
side OF the line. in addition to other
guards scattered about. There were at
least 50 men In sight, all Chinese. The
day we came up to Hardin at one of the
started TO step down from the train he
was accoSted by Russian guard, who
drew his pistol and flourished It and
said something in Russian, which Of
course could not be understood, A Chi
nese official came along and said some
thing that sent the guard back to the
platform and our member alighted.
mvStified and rather annoyed. The cpl
Sode was never explained.
Well. at Hardin there is intrigue over
this question Of railroad management
and control The first evening of our
stay there. night before last. was marked
bv very elaborate entertainment at
the Railwav Club. an institution found
ed by the Chinese Eastern. II was dis
tinctly a Chinese banquet. with a de-
lightful musical and dancing program
accompanying a-mark afact-distinctly
Russian menu. The dancers and the
musicians were all Russians, the leader
Of the orchestra a former court violiniSt
at st. Petersburg. a notable artist.
Purpose in Display.
The significance of this affair was
evident. China wished to impress us
with the fact that her interests in the
Chinese Eastern Railway are dominant
even though the general manager is
Russian and. by virtue of the detection
Of the Russian five directors, who will
not attend meetings. the general man.
ager holds sway between meetings.
Hardin. have mentioned was only a
small fishing village when the Russian
concession for railroad through Man
ci1uria was secured. Immediately 1t
became an important center. In 30
wears It has come into being as A me.
tropolis It's progress has been espe-
This morning an Englishman who edits
one of the two newspapers printed in
English, told me that three years ago
the sidewalks on the Kitaiskawa the
main business street, consisted merely
of three planks laid lengthwise. while
the street was paved with huge square
stones. Today there are broad, smooth
sidewalks of cement and the street Is
asphalted. Good sized buildings line
the street. A metropolitan air pervades
the place. Everything is brisk. The
days are active and the nights. 1t is
said. are hectic. Hence the nickname
Paris of Asia
But ii is not through night life. caba-
rets and late hours that Hardin is to
become important. is indeed already i'm
portant. It is because of the meeting
Of the currents Of race and politics
flowing through the town. Yesterday
afternoon attended. with the others of