At first sight objections might be raised that too many seaports and fishing harbors are provided for one country. But I must remind my readers that this one country, China, is as big as Europe and has a population larger than that of Europe. If we take a similar length of the coast line of western Europe we would see that there are many more ports in Europe than in China. Besides, the coast line of Europe is many times longer than that of China, and in every hundred miles of the European coast line there are more than one considerable-sized port. Take Holland, for instance. Its whole area is not larger than the hinterland of Swatow, one of our third-class seaports, yet it possesses two first-class ports, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and numerous small fishing ports. Let us also compare our country with the United States of America in regard to seaports. America has only one fourth the population of China yet the number of ports on her Atlantic coast alone is many times more than the number provided in my plan. Thus, this number of ports for China for the future is but a bare necessity. And I have considered only those that will pay from the beginning so as to adhere strictly to the principle of remuneration that was laid down at the outset of my first program. See Map XVI.
PART V
The Establishment of Shipbuilding Yards
When China is well developed according to my programs, the possession of an oversea mercantile fleet, of ships for coastal and inland water transportation, and of a large fishing fleet will be an urgent necessity. Before the outbreak of the late World War, the world's seagoing tonnage was 45,000,000 tons. If China is equally developed industrially, according to the proportion of her population, she would need at least 10,000,000 tons of oversea and coastal shipping for her transportation service. The building of this tonnage must be a part of our industrial development scheme; for cheap materials and labor can be obtained in the country, and so we could build ships for ourselves much cheaper than any foreign country could do for us. And besides the building of a seagoing fleet, we have to build our inland water crafts and fishing fleets. Foreign shipping yards could not do this service for us on account of the impracticability of transporting such numerous small crafts across the ocean. Thus, in any case, China has to put up her own yards to build her inland water crafts and fishing fleets. So the establishment of ship building yards is a necessary as well as a profitable undertaking from the beginning. The shipping yards should be established at such river and coastal ports that have the facility of supplying materials and labor. All the yards should be under one central management. Large capital should be invested in the project so as to procure a yearly output of 2,000,000 tons of various kinds of vessels.
All types of vessels should be standardized both in design and equipment. The old and wasteful types of inland water crafts and fishing boats should be replaced by modern efficient designs. The inland water crafts should be designed on the basis of certain standard draughts such as the 2-foot, 5-foot, and 10-foot classes. The fishing trawlers should be standardized into the one-day, the five-day, and the ten-day service class. The coastal transports should be standardized into the 2,000-, the 4,000-, and the 6,000-ton class, and for oversea transports we should have standardized ships of 12,000-, 24,000-, and 36,000-ton classes. Thus, the many thousands of inland water crafts and fishing junks that now ply the rivers, lakes, and coasts of China may be displaced by new and cheaper crafts of a few standard types which could perform better services at less expense.
[PROGRAM IV.]
In my first and third programs, I have described my plans for the Northwestern Railway System and the Southwestern Railway System. The former is for the purpose of relieving the congestion of population in the coast districts and the Yangtze Valley by opening up for colonization the vast unpopulated territory in Mongolia and Sinkiang, as well as of developing the Great Northern Port. The latter is for the purpose of exploiting the mineral resources of Southwestern China, as well as of developing the Great Southern Port—Canton. More railroads will be needed for the adequate development of the whole country. So in this fourth program, I shall deal entirely with railroads which will complete the 100,000 miles proposed in my introductory part of this International Development Scheme. The program will be as follows:
I. The Central Railway System.
II. The Southeastern Railway System.
III. The Northeastern Railway System.
IV. The Extension of the Northwestern Railway System.
V. The Highland Railway System.
VI. The Establishment of Locomotive and Car Factories.