that in graphite (8,250 tons), for the year 1915 amounted to only about 4,200 tons.

EARNINGS, EXPENSES, AND PROFITS.

The performance table on page 180 shows that the operating ratio has been reduced from 102.2 per cent in 1906 to 80.1 per cent in 1915, which latter year showed a profit of 1.28 per cent on the capital invested. The change has resulted from a steady growth of traffic, with close attention to operating efficiency, including improvements for increasing the trainload. With the increase of coal mining, the traffic that will result from the iron furnaces, and the general development of the other resources of Korea, there is little doubt that these lines will become increasingly profitable.

EMPLOYEES AND WAGES.

The following table shows the number, nationality, and average compensation of the employees of the Korean railways as of March 31,

From the above table it will be seen that the average monthly wage for all employees is $12.93 gold, which is $3.18 gold higher than the average wage for all employees of the Imperial Government Railways of Japan for the same year. The Ryuzan workshops and the Taiden construction office are given as typical situations. The summary includes the other construction organizations and the other workshops-one of the latter at Soryo (near Fusan) and one at Heijyo (Pingyang), having 377 and 177 employees, respectively. Since the date of the above figures there has been some increase in the percentage of both the Koreans and the Chinese employed.

ROADWAY AND TRACK.

The Kei-Gi line from Ryuzan, near Seoul, to Shingishu was hurriedly constructed for military uses during the Russo-Japanese War, but the line has since been substantially reconstructed, with maximum grades of 1 per cent and maximum curves of 4° 30′ and with all structures permanent. While the Kei-Fu line was originally better located and constructed, it has been very considerably reconstructed in accordance with the standards just indicated, and most of this work is now completed. One feature of this reconstruction work has been the raising of the grade at a large number of points where flood water during the rainy season damaged the roadway. In the past that condition caused a great deal of damage, besides delaying the traffic.

The other lines have been built largely on the final location, but it is the general practice to put in temporary structures and after the line is in service to put in the permanent structures and to lift the grades sufficiently to overcome the washing-out tendency just mentioned.

The location of all lines is through fairly rough country for railway construction, and this fact, with the standard of construction followed, has made the lines moderately expensive. A very considerable amount of tunneling has been required, particularly on the main lines, to get the 1 per cent grade; some parts of the Kei-Gi line. required a great deal of tunneling and heavy rock work.

About 235 miles of track is laid with 65-pound rail, and all the remainder is laid with 75-pound rail. The general details of track work conform very closely to the practice of the Imperial Government Railways of Japan. Parts of the line are ballasted with broken stone, and the remaining parts with good gravel, some of which has been screened. The ties are an assortment of Japanese hardwoods, Japanese oaks, and timbers from northwestern Chosen.

LOCOMOTIVES.

Of the 165 locomotives constituting the equipment March 31, 1916, 94 were of the tank and 71 of the tender type; of the latter 9 were superheaters. A very large percentage of these locomotives are of American manufacture, although a number of the latest and largest were built at the Shakako works of the South Manchuria Railway at Dairen. These locomotives are of the 4-6-0 type, and weigh complete with tender, in working condition, about 240,000 pounds, with 120,000-pound drivers. The cylinders are 21 by 26 inches, the diameter of the driving wheels is 54 inches, the boiler pressure is 180 pounds, and all the engines are of superheater type. The South Manchuria Railway now has an order in America for 24 locomotives, a number of which are probably for the use of the Korean Railways.

PASSENGER CARS.

The carriage equipment consists of first, second, and third class day coaches, as well as sleeping, dining, mail, and baggage cars, for the handling of both the through and the local business. The largest item of the equipment consists of 134 third-class cars, with fourwheel trucks, which seat 100 passengers per car. The next largest

items are 47 second and third class cars, each seating 86 passengers, and 47 baggage and brake composite cars. A very large percentage of this equipment is also of American manufacture, but the tendency in recent years has been to manufacture this class of equipment in the Ryuzan shops or to obtain it from the Shakako works at Dairen.

FREIGHT CARS.

The freight equipment is divided between open and covered cars, of which 557 are of the covered or box car type; 378 of these are of typical American construction with air brakes, 46 are goods vans with air brakes, and 24 are cattle cars with air brakes. Of the remainder of the freight equipment only about 10 per cent is equipped with hand brakes.

With the exception of four water-tank cars the remainder of the freight equipment consists of open cars, of which 78 are coal cars, 608 miscellaneous gondolas, and 342 small four-wheel wagons, which have been mostly used for construction work.

There is very little special work equipment. In the past work equipment has been little used, hand labor being depended upon, but with the growth of business it would appear that special work equipment, particularly wrecking cranes, will become more necessary in the future.

From the above it will be noticed that there were 0.194 locomotives and 0.336 passenger cars of all classes and only 1.60 freight cars, including work equipment, per mile of line on the Korean Railways March 31, 1916. Therefore the statement seems warranted that the growth of business to be expected in the next few years will inevitably require additional rolling stock. It is not probable that the existing condition will be in any measure relieved by the consolidation of the management with that of the South Manchuria Railway, which has no surplus equipment to take care of its steadily growing business.

WORKSHOPS.

and

The main shops of the Korean Railways are located at Ryuzan, in close proximity to the general administration buildings, less than 5 miles from Seoul. There are also division workshops at Soryo, about 5 miles from Fusan, employing ordinarily from 375 to 400 men, at Heijyo (Pingyang), employing from 175 to 200 men. The requirements at Antung are taken care of in the South Manchuria district shops at that point.

The Ryuzan works are well arranged and fairly well equipped with modern shop machinery, a large amount of which is from American sources. The number of men employed varies from 1,000 to 1,200, the usual number being about 1,100. In recent years an increasing number of Koreans have been employed as artisans and laborers. When the writer visited the works in July, 1917, slightly more than 70 per cent of the 1,100 employees were Koreans or Chinese-a considerable increase, it will be noted, over the number shown by the table on page 183 for March 31, 1916.

These shops are arranged to take care of all classes of repairs on the rolling stock of the Korean Railways, besides handling a very considerable amount of manufacturing of railway requirements for all departments. In addition, at the Ryuzan works a small number

of passenger and freight cars are being constructed, the necessary parts being purchased where they can be obtained to the best advan- . tage.

OFFICIALS-PURCHASES.

The directory of the principal officials will be included under the Korean section of the South Manchuria Railway Co. (see p. 272). In the early days of the construction of the Korean Railways a large part of all the requirements was supplied from American sources, and a substantial part is still being so purchased when the articles are thus obtainable; but the operation of the Korean Railways has been very similar to that of the Imperial Government Railways of Japan and, so far as is practicable, equipment and supplies are obtained from Japanese sources, the amount increasing from year to year. Moreover, there is a great tendency to secure supplies from America through large Japanese commercial and engineering concerns, such as the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Takata & Co., Okura & Co., and similar concerns, all of which have well-staffed branch offices in Seoul. The policy, it is said, is to allow the Stores Branch in Seoul to purchase directly such materials as can be obtained through the local representatives, but large general purchases will ordinarily be handled through the general purchasing office of the South Manchuria Railway at Dairen.