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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 10, 1904)
Railroad Development vv UV1NO THE RAILS ON TUB HANKOW in 14. - (Copyright, 1904, by Frank O. Carpenter.) k ABHINQTON, July 7. (Special w Correapondenca of The Bee.) I give you today an Interview which IjJ I have juat had with Mr. John "J C. Fera-uaon, the chief aecretary f the Chines Imperial railway adminis tration. Thla la practically the ministry of railway of the Chinese government, with which all the home and foreign ayn 6ieaU have to deal. Tha ministry hat the same place aa on of our great gov ernment departments and Its head, who ranks about as a cabinet officer, la Sheng Kung Pao, one of tha ablest, wealthiest . nd most progreaslv of Chinese states, men. Bheng is, In fact, the successor of U Hung Chang as far as International standing Is concerned. Born wealthy, ha bas always been largely Interested In th leading commercial enterprises of tha empire. Ha was one of the original stock holders of the Chines Telegraph company, was for many year the director general of the Chines Merchant Steam Naviga tion company, and was up until the time ot bis father's death, when he retired to g Into mourning, minister of commerce, hav ing been mad such on the death of LI Hung Chang. Bheng Kung Pao owns th largest cotton mill In Shanghai and he is also director general of th Han Tans; Iron and steel works, with which are con nected large mining Interests In coal and Iron. . ...... , ,, Mr. Ferguson la a Massachusetts tnanj who went to China shortly after his gradu- . atlon at th Boston university to be preslJ dent of th Nanking University. H acted' '.' . as such for ten years and then took thai presidency of th .Nan Tang college at' : Shanghai, which was founded by Bheng! Kung Pso. Whll there he so aided-thaj Chines In Important negotiations with th (orelgo powers that they persuaded him toi gW up his educational work and enter th service of th government For th past two year he has been connected with th commission for th revision of treaties between China and foreign countries and he Is now a part of the Imperial railway administration. He has come to this coun try on behalf of that administration, and has, I am told, been very successful In his mission. He know all about tha modern movements In China, and perhaps - mor than any other American about th new projects for railways there and th proa pectlve railway development of the empire. In response to my question Mr. Ferguson aid: "Th Chines government has for some tlm realised its need of railroads, but It has not been able to raise sufficient capital to construct them from among Its own peo ple. It has had to borrow, and In order to do so has been obliged to Issue government bonds and to mortgag the railways pro jected to the syndicate constructing them. This has required time, and th country Is far ' behind In Its railway development. Bom small lines have been constructed and such lines are profitably managed. On line runs from Shanghai to Wusung. and other connect coal mines with ths water ways. These have been built with Chine capital, but th great trunk lines are yot to be made, and they will be constructed on oorrowed capital raised by Issuing govern ment bonds." f "But ther are already a number of " ln northern China, Mr. Ferguson, tntfl t. n. Te. ther la a line running from ti. Tain to the Kalplng coal mines and to Shanhalkwan. at th end of th great wall, and also on from Tien Tain to ' Peking. The first road to b opened was to th Kalplng mines, connecting those mines with Tien Tsln and th mouth of th Pelho Hvr. That line has been In operation for wly ten years, and it has now been pushed on northward so that It connects with the Chinese-Eastern railroad, which eotne down through Manchuria from th Transstberlan road to. Port Artf iur. Thla am road goes via Tien Tsln to inking, so that on oan travel directly hom St Petersburg to Peking by ralL It gives Peking railroad oonneotloo with miry part f Europ. CAW TON ROAD. Photograph Taken , 6HFNO KUNO PAO, DERJECTOR GENERAL OF IMPEEIAL CHINESE RAILWAYS. "Another Important railroad In north China," Mr. Ferguson continued, "Is th line from Peking to Hanlspw. This great trunk line Is being built by a Belgian syn dicate. It was extended from Peking to Pao Ting Fu before th Boxer outbreak, and It has since been built as far south as the Tellow river. The Belgians have been also working on th construction from Hankow northward. Mor than half of that part of the line Is completed, and It Is ex pected that it will reach th Tellow river by th end of th present year. Then there will be u direct line from Hankow to Pe king, broken only by th Tellow river. This will have to be bridged, and plana for the bridge have been prepared, although the actual work of bridge construction has not yet been commenced. The Tellow river has often been called "China's Sorrow.' It is noted for Its shifting sands and Its changing course, and It will bo difficult to properly bridge It. It will b done, how ever, and we can then send cars from Han kow to any part of Europe. "I have understood that another Un la being built from north to south, nearer th Tou refer, I suppose," was the reply. T ?- A concession given to th Anglo-Ger-indicate. That Una has been X but construction haa not yet be- gun. It will run from Tien Tain down through th western part of th Shan Tung province, along one of th old freight routes, until it strikes th Grand canal, and will then go along th banks of that canal to Chlnklang on th Tangti river. That project Is a very Important ono, for th road will form one of the great trunk line connecting the northern trade of the empire with that of the Tangtse, and Its tram a will be equaled only by that from Han Kow to Peking. ' "That road," continued Mr. Ferguson, 'w(tl connect with th line which passes through Chlnan Fu, the capital of Shan Tung, the province on th seaboard of which the German colony of Klao Chow 1 situated. It wUl be connected with th of the Future in Ghina -1. A STATION ON TUB NEW CHIN EST? B INDICATE. Photograph Taken in roads that th Germans are now building; from Klao Chow, bay into the interior, and it will aid In opening up the large coal fields of that region. Th Germans have already built a , line from Klao Chow to Chlnan Fu. Th first through train passed over It about two months ago, making th run from Klao Chow to Chlnan Fu In twelve hours. The tlm required by th old methods of travel was from twelve to fifteen days. It used to mean a journey of about on month for the officials of Chlnan Fu to go to Shanghai or Tien Tsln. They went to the port of Che Foo and then north or south by sea. They can now make the same Journey in three or four days. The German line, already con structed, passes through the coal fields of Welhsien, giving their deposits an outlet to the sea. It also goes by Talshan, th most -noted of Chlna'a sacred mountains, and pasnes near the old home of Confu cius. Ther Is no people fonder of mak ing pilgrimages to religious shrine than the Chinese, and this road will have a big traffic through the native tourists and pilgrims. It will attract thousands to thee claeslo regions, especially when th Anglo German Un is completed. Heretofore this country has been practically shut out from the rest of the world because of travel difficulties." "How about the railroads of southern China. Mr. Ferguson V I asked. "The region south of th Tangtse Klang Is the most fertile and. I might say, th most thickly populated of any part of China.' In many of Its sections th farmers are able to gather three crops every year from th same soli. Ths country is cut up by a series ot canals, which carry th waters of th Tangtse far down into th heart of the provinces, forming an immense system of Irrigation. Th land 'la so flat that th Tangtse waters can be thus trans ported many miles, and th canals serva not only tha purpose of Irrigation, but also as trad routes and farm roads. Ther ar tens of thousands of ' small boats upon them. Th farmers carry tbelr produce to market In boats, and th merchant thur i RAILROAD BUILT BT AN AMERICAN W01 . ' sends his goods to all parts of the country. These canals will be feeders to the trunk lines, and they will be aa valuable as branch lines are to our railroads. The far mers will take their produce to the railway stations In boats, just as our farmers tak theirs upon wagons. 'The lines planned to open up this rich country," Mr. Ferguson continued, "ar naturally laid out so as to connect with the trunk lines, on the north of the Tangtse. One of the chief ones indeed, I say th most Important of all is the concession of the American-China Development company to build a trunk line from Hankow to Cun ton, thereby connecting the chief industrial and some of the most fertile parts of south China with the trunk line from Hankow to Peking, of which . I have already spoken. This road will start from Wuchang, th capital of the province of Hlpeh. Wuchang Is situated directly, opposite ..Hankow and for that reason th line is called the Canton-Hankow line,, or in Chinese the Tuehan line. This road runs through three prov inces, connecting three great capital cities, all centers of official and commercial life. Canton, for Instance, has a population of 1.600,000, and it Is the busiest city In China, It Is close to Hong. Kong, the chief British seaport of that part of th world, and it Is so connected by waterways that It can send goods to all parts of the province of Canton and by th . West river . and Its canals Into Kwangsi. . In addition to th manufacturing and agricultural possibili ties, of this country, are th large mineral . deposits which ar found along th line of the Canton-Hankow road. The land is rich In coal. Iron, copper and antimony. Indeed, th greater part of the antimony of th world now comes from that locality." "When will this American road be com pleted?" I asked. "I think the work will be steadily pushed," said Mr. Ferguson. "About forty miles of track have already been built northward from Canton. " Further construc tion work la now being done, and If this is carried on with vigor th line should b finished within four or flv years. It ought to be very profitable. "But there are important lines further east ar ther not?" "Tea," said Mr. Ferguson, "There are a number of railroads either building, sur veying or In prospect One trunk line will go southward from the Tangtse, connect ing with th Anglo-German syndicate line. It will be constructed from Nanking to Shanghai. It la to be built by a British corporation and that soon. Indeed the lin Is now being surveyed preparatory to be ginning Its construction. The road will pass through some of th most populous parts of China. It will connect Shanghai , and Nangklng with Suchow, and It will probably be extended southward to Hang chow, another great city, on of the oen ' ters of the silk trad. It will be an espe cially interesting line to foreigners, as it starts from Shanghai, th city at which all tourists call. Th road from Shanghai to Wusung, which th Chinese have al rady constructed, will form a part of If "But. Mr. Ferguson, have not th French som Chinese railway conoesslonsT" "Tea, they have extended their lines from Tonklng, their great province south of Chins, across th borders o( Tunnan and Kuelchow. These two Chines provinces ar noted for their mineral deposits. Ther ar rich In coal and Iron, and they bav treat copper mines, out of whloh for thou sands of years th copper cash, used all ver China, hav com. Th country la ery rough and mountainous; but Ita min eral resource ar such that th French lin will pay. "But how about western China, Mr. Fer gusonI mean th country beyond th gorge of th Tangtse-KlangT" "That Is a very Important region, and U comparatively unknown to th rest of tha world. It has a isch soli and vast mineral wealth. Ther are a great number of sy (Continued a Pag Thirteen)