White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-08-16
HARDIN, THE CITY
RAILROADS BUILT
Thriving Town Put on Map
by Russians.

Washington.-Harbin, China, which
has figured prominently in the record
breaking travels Of world girdlers, re-
Gently sprang into the international
spotlight when group Of Chinese
raided the Soviet consulate.
"Harbin is almost as Russian as 1t
Is Chinese" says a bulletin from the
Washington headquarters Of the Ma
tional Geographical society,"" although
the city lies in central Manchuria
about 200 miles from the nearest bor-'
der line of Siberia.
Elm fact, the Russians really put
Hardin on the map. Up to the latter
part Of the 'nineties,' the site of Hardin
was wild desolate region with few
fishermen's huts marking the only hui
man habitation. Then in 1896 the
Russion builders Of the Trans-S Siberian
railroad, bent upon reaching Vladivos.
tok, sought to cross Manchuria rath-
err than to build a much longer line
entirely in Russian territory. A
treaty between China and Russia
made the short line through Hardin
possible.
Chinese See Possibilities.
"Harbin was really born when Chi
nese railroad interests saw the feas-
Utility Of line running southwark
from the Russian railroad. The site
Of Hardin was chosen as the junction
point. Passengers from Europe now
may travel by rail to Hardin; thence
to Mukden. the great Manchurian
market place; and from there over
any of three routes to important cities
of the Orient One line leads to
Tientsin and Peiping formerly Pek-
tng), another to Dairen and Port Ar
thur, where passenger boats sail for
southern China ports; another line
bisects the Korean peninsula with one
of its termini at Fusan, where boat
ride across Chosen Strait will put the
traveller into Japan proper.
"Born of the railroads, Hardin has
also been reared by the railroads Be
fore the World war railroad-em
ployed telephone operator handled all
telephone calls; the railroads built and
maintained hospitals and schools, and
even built the city's churches In re-
cent years, however, a portion Of the
municipal administration has been
placed in the hands of the populace.
"After but three decades Hardin
boasts population of more than
| 100 mn off ct, ote ;,, ho- oI1
portion of the city in. many respects
resemble those of an American boom
town with it's bordering one-story
shops. The gay-colored signs in Chi
nese and Russian attract the travel
er's eye; but carts, droskies and load
ed donkeys, mired in the hubdeep
mud, occupy the attention of pedes-
TRANS and shopkeepers most of the
time.
'"The railroad divides the so-called
New Town from the Wharf district,
On the New Town side, the traveller
alights from train at station that
many cities of America with more
than Harbin's population would be
proud to possess. There are some fine
streets In the New Town district; on
them are large, modern government
buildings as we'll as structures that
appear to have been erected when
Harbin was much younger.
Automobiles Gaining.
"The drosky with its horses framed
in bell-hung arches is still popular in
Hardin, but the taNicab and private
automobile are available at the rail-
road station and at the hotels.
"When a passenger alights from the
train in this Chinese town, he is like.
ly to hear more Russian than Chinese.
Most of the Hardin hotels whose rep.
resentatives besiege the traveller at the
station are Russian or Japanese
owned. Unless the English,speaking
traveller can speak Russian, Chinese,
Japanese, or little French or Ger
man, he has difficulty in making his
wishes known.
''The Wharf district across the rail.
road from the New Town and border.
Ing the Sungari river is Harbin's bust.
ness section. Here the traveller gets
a glimpse of the bustIing commercial
life of the city; for IIarhin has be-
come great market through which
commercial traffic between Siberia
and China flows increasingly.
"The river front. when yellow soy
beans are being shipped, is mass of
small sailing vessels, filled to the gun
wales with huge sacks. Beans from
these boats are destined to local and
foreign consumers. Most interesting
of the agricultural products seen in
Hardin by the foreign traveller. how.
ever, are the Chinese cabhages which
resemble huge stalks of celery"