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the native loan which is already being raised to redeem the Anglo-German loan in ten years' time, that they need not fear the loss of their shares (by State purchase) as the line will for ever remain under joint official and commercial management. It will be interesting to see the result of this appeal, which shows the lengths the Central Government has to go in order to attract the confidence of investors.
I have, &c.
(No. 65.) Sir,
(Signed)
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Ker to Sir J. Jordan.
J. N. JORDAN,
Tien-tsin, December 16, 1908. I HAVE the honour to forward herewith translation of an article in a German local newspaper, the "Tageblatt für Nord-China " of the 27th November last, describing the progress of work on the north section of the Tien-tsin-Pukow Railway.
The article is, I understand, inspired by the German Engineer-in-chief, and is intended as a reply to certain criticisms passed on the management by a Shanghae newspaper.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
W. P. KER,
Extract from the "Tageblatt für Nord-China," Tien-tsin, of November 27, 1908.
(Translation.)
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WORK ON THE TIENTSIN-PUKOW RAILWAY.
IN view of false reports which have been spread in the local press, we offer our readers some information from a valued and authoritative source which throws light on the present position of the operations in the northern section of the Tien-tsio-Pukow Railway.
Fifty German engineers are employed on the line and in the Construction Office at Tien-tsin and Tsinan-fu; 250 kilom. (156 miles) of earthwork on the line are nearly completed, and a further stretch of 180 kilom. (125 miles) is under survey and will soon be finished. The decision on the tenders for the whole of the necessary superstructure will be given in the course of the next few days, as also the award in the case of the whole of the bridge work. The prices produced are the lowest imaginable. The Administration has purposely made haste to fix now, when iron is cheap, the price of iron for the entire period of four years, and thus to secure itself. The rails for the northern section cost per ton f.o.b. in Europe barely 95 marks (4. 15s.), while in Europe [sic] the price is sometimes 107 to 112 marks (57. 78. to 51. 12s.), and the year before last 117 to 122 marks (51. 17s, to 61. 2s.) was paid. As prices of iron are again on the rise, a later purchase would have involved a very considerable increase of cost in a matter of 9,000,000 marks, for the prices of iron in the present tenders are lower than they have been for decades.
No less favourable results have been given in the case of the cables for tenders for bridge building, and here also the extraordinarily favourable situation of shipping has been taken advantage of by the northern section. The German, French, English, Russian, and Swedish Steam-ship Lines to East Asia are at the disposal of the Railway Administration for their transport from Europe and America, owing to an agreement that has been concluded between these Companies. The low exchange for the dollar, moreover, came very opportunely in settling prices for acquisition of land and building of earthworks.
The foundation works on the Houng Ho bridge have been already given out. With regard to the iron superstructure, negotiations are still taking place with the Chinese authorities; but these negotiations will shortly be concluded, so that the operations can be begun this winter. All along the line, from Tien-tsin to Tetschau (Te-chou), a series of kilns are being built where several million stones will be placed ready during the winter, so that the building of the small bridges can also begin in the spring. Large quantities of lime and cement for this section are being transported by the canal, and
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the material is already stored in the proper spots, Large consignments of sand were also intended to be forwarded by canal for use in the beginning of the year, when about a fortnight ago the directorate was surprised by the pleasing news that the engineers had found sand in various places. This will save the railway about 180,000 dollars for transport of sand. This is all the more welcome because for years during the preliminary operations, in spite of the offer of rewards to engineers and populace, the search for sand remained unsuccessful.
Contrary to reports that have been spread from certain quarters, the purchase of land in Chih-li has presented no difficulties of any kind, and has been carried on smoothly. The prices paid have throughout been reasonable. Difficulties have only been met with in the suburbs of Tien-tsin, on account of the railway station question, which is not yet settled. The Administration has therefore decided to construct a landing station of its own on the Peiho, and to extend its connecting lines from there as soon as naviga- tion, &c., opens next spring. By this means the railway material can be pushed forward without the construction being delayed for the solution of the difficult station question.
Great difficulties are offered, on the other hand, by the ballasting between Tien-tsin and Tsinan-fu. To obviate these, kilns are being erected along the whole line at distances of some 15 to 20 kilom. for storing hard clinkers; it has been reckoned that by this means the ballast becomes extraordinarily cheap. The experiments made by Germans in railway building in Siam with this method prove very useful to the Tien-tsin-Pukow Railway. Of course this ballast is not calculated to last long; it will perhaps have to be replaced in three years by hard ballast, but as it is well known that the first ballasting often gets lost in the still spongy embankments, brick ballast is quite good enough for this, and more economical than the expensive small stone ballast. The proper ballasting will be procured later from Tsinan-fu and Tongshan. In Tsinan-fu large quarries are projected, and the building of lines to connect these quarries with the Houng Ho is already in hand. The ballast will be carried across the Houng Ho by It will then be carried an overhead cable in order to be independent of ice and floods.
to the line in construction trains. The ballasting from Tongshan will begin as soon as the bridges over the Peiho and the Imperial Canal, the situation of which is of course complicated by the railway station question, are ready. Work has naturally begun already on the brick ballast.
A cessation of the works is hardly more to be feared, since the contracts for supply and transport are settled for four years; the delivery of the materials of itself hastens on the progress of the line. The personnel, which, as already noted, consists of some fifty engineers who have three years' contracts, are on the best of terms with the Chinese authorities and population. With regard to funds, the Administration at Tien-tsin has already received instructions from the Director-General, Lu Hai Huan, to inform him what funds will be necessary beyond those already provided by the loan. As these funds, in accordance with the Loan Agreement, are to be raised by Chinese subscriptions, and, where such are insufficient, by the German Banking Syndicate for the German section, no interruption is to be feared even as a result of lack of funds. The opening of the first section from Tien-tsin to Tatschou (Te-chou) is to be expected therefore at the beginning of the year 1910.
As the Houng Ho bridge, in consequence of the negotiations that must take place in Peking and Tsinan-fu over the site of the bridge and the requisite width of the spans, cannot be ready before the end of 1911, it will not be amiss to make use for the time being of a cable ferry across the Houng Ho. South of Tsinan-fu the engineers have On account of the numerous already begun marking out the line as far as Tai-an-fu. bridges progress here cannot be so rapid as north of Tsinan-fu, especially as the great advantage of a waterway like the Imperial Canal is not available here; on the other hand, this portion has the advantage that the construction materials, such as stones and lime, can be broken on the spot.
In regard to the administration of the line, it must be acknowledged that the high Chinese officials at the bead of the undertaking, his Excellency Lu Hai Huan and the Director, Li Te Shun, have done everything to further the progress of the constuction. It appears that the co-operation between the Chinese and European staff on the northern section promises well, and is for the benefit of the railway. We hope in future to be able to publish further good news of the building of the line.
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