Inefficient Protection for Concessions Along the Chixese Eastern Railway Harbin, July 20.
The following information has been obtained from an authoritative source The inspection of the timber concessions has proved to all the officials who went down in the train of M. Ostroumoff, manager of the C. E. R., that the Chinese troops are absolutely powerless to maintain order and oppose the Hunghutzes. Evidence to the effect was given everywhere both by the inhabitants of the concessions and various railway agents. The inspecting party visited all the six lines leading to the timber concession (Shitehedze, Imianpo, Yablonay, Vijache, Lucheshovo and Hantaohedze) and not one single sentry was anywhere to be seen.
The small garrisons of the concessions, consisting of from 20 to 150 men, generally live in cars or barracks from which they do not move. Consequently the Hunghutaes are at liberty to continue their work without fear of interference on the part of the soldiers. Moreover the latter seem to be on excellent terms with the Hunghutzes, with whom they are continually negotiating. In order to avoid further losses the contractors are continually negotiating with the Hunghutzes and are feeding them from the concessions' stores. However the brigands are daily becoming more rapacious and are demanding exorbitant ransoms.
In these concessions the Railway has from eight to nine million gold roubles' worth of timber, and it is, therefore natural that the Railway should be interested in the maintenance of normal conditions in this area. The losses of the Railway during the past year, through damage to property and money uselessly expended on the transport of troops which have proved themselves quite inefficient, amount to gold roubles 3,500,000.
Before this inspection many of the railway high officials were inclined to believe that the reports concerning the activity of the Hunghutzes were largely exagerated, but now they have been convineed that the situation is even worse than has been described by the press.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.