Apr, Ro one will be surprised if in connection with other Chines questions people at should point out that the Bure of Railway Statistics of Nanking Ministry of Railways: hae only just recently succeeded im issuing its. statistical report: for the year ending December 3%, 1927, There should, "however, be full recognition that in the [past China has not been a statistical country, and that any efforts to make it, so call for' encouragement rather than. any other kind of criticism. One of the first efforts in. the direction of statistics was the publication
mistry of Finance of whale-the Burenu of Markets of the sale index prices in Shanghai thortly after the termination of the war, and this effort, it may. be noted, was warmly received by journals devoted to economies at Home. It ha tended in recent through government and private enterprise, but still leaves much room for' important advances. For instance it is left more or} Jess to private firms in Shanghai and elsewhere to estimate what' the Chinese cotton. crop is to be, while it is rather inferred that those who deal in. sesamum seed sans—important articles of port—remain more or less in the dark until these commodities come on the market. Silk and tea are in the same uncertain atmosphere. To expect, however, any approximate reports on such products, when rail ways, which are so much easier of statistical treatment than the other matters referred to, are not brought beyond the end of 192%, is out of the question, and' there is the need for the system to be revised and speeded up.
"The reason for the delay in the publication of statistics is, of course, very easy to find. With respect to the year 1927 the disturbances in the Yangtze Valley and Central China were Buch as to affect seriously the revenues of railways there, and sud Hines as the Lunghai and Kaifeng-Honan, finding themselves under independent: administrations, were not able to submit their 1927 accounts even at the time the present report] was drawn up. Then the] Peking-Hankow Railway has not even submitted a report for 1928, and naturally one can Visualize the despair of any! department of statisticians try-' ing to draw up a statement of affairs. In spite of all this, there is the encouragement in [mowing that, while civil war was raging, passenger receipts on the railways which were able to report their earnings were $39,041,832 as against $36,499,~ 703 in the previous year, although this was lower by over four per cent. compared with the 1925 figure. The fact that no fewer than eight lines reported increase during the year reviewed by the Ministry of Railway's statistics indicates to what an extent are the potentilities of Chinese railways for revenue earning. These figures are passenger traffic alone, but the same tale is told with reference to the carriage of goods, which in the year under review showed an increase of about three million dollars. It may be taken as gospel that the decreases in all traffic receipts! coincided with the areas where there was most military use the railway and accordingly' fewer facilities for civilian Passenger and goods traffic. For instance the Shanghai-Nanking Railway showed a decrease! in 1927 of over a million dollars in goods traffic compared with 1926, but that really indicates no smaller earning capacity, for in that year it played its part in the civil wars of the country as a strategic railway of the first importance.
With reference to the foregoing remark about the earning, capacity of Chinese railways, the following paragraph from the report provides striking The increase in maintenance expenses were almost entirely due to the Peking-Mukden Railway. This railway had a record year in 1927. Its operating Fevenues reached the highest levi aloe the cemntrusion of te amounting to almost $25,- 000,000, and showing an increase aver the previous year of $11,200- however, increased by" only Ite operating expenses,
$2,342,000. The record of this Tine in 1927 is an outstanding example of what Chinese _railways are capable of earning if completely free from outside interference. The managing-director of the line in 1927 was the direct appointee of the late Marshal Chang Tso-lin and had full control over the revenues and operation of the line, In this paragraph the director of the Bureau of Railway Statistics, Mr. K. F, Mow, has touched 4 note which can never be too often emphasized, Like their Anglo-Saxon friends, the! Chinese merchants have a. genius for managing their own business concerns without the interference of official sanction whether in the way of legislative assistance, regulations, or: whatever this participation may be, Certain promising enter: prises in China have come to an untimely end through the idea of officials deciding that they had to take a hand in the general business, and in the: [report just quoted can be seen an. instance where the particular, railway left under independent management has been able to show the best results for the year under review. If it nothing else than point to 4 special achievement the report of the Bureau would have an outstanding value. The verdicts which can be formed in the subsequent years of working, which, it may be hoped, will not be so' much delayed, will gain importance by such frank criticism as this contained in an official report,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.