If the Shantung Railway Agreement is loyally carried out, this
reform--as to whose importance I quite agree with Putnam Weale--will
have been practically completed five years hence. But we must expect
Japan to adopt every possible means of avoiding the carrying out of her
promises, from instigating Chinese civil war to the murdering of
Japanese employees by Japanese secret agents masquerading as Chinese.
Therefore, until the Chinese actually have complete control of the
Shantung Railway, we cannot feel confident that they will ever get it.
It must not be supposed that the Chinese run railways badly. The Kalgan
Railway, which they built, is just as well built as those constructed by
foreigners; and the lines under Chinese administration are admirably
managed. I quote from Mr. Tyau[101] the following statistics, which
refer to the year 1919: Government railways, in operation, 6027
kilometres; under construction, 383 kilometres; private and provincial
railways, 773 kilometres; concessioned railways, 3,780 kilometres.
Total, 10,963 kilometres, or 6,852 miles. (The concessioned railways are
mainly those in Manchuria and Shantung, of which the first must be
regarded as definitely lost to China, while the second is probably
recovered. The problem of concessioned railways has therefore no longer
the importance that it had, though, by detaching Manchuria, the foreign
railway has shown its power for evil).
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