Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 February 1917 — WORK CALLS FOR MILLIONS [ARTICLE]

WORK CALLS FOR MILLIONS

Vast Sum Needed for the Improvement of the Railroad Lines Throughout Japan. Probably the largest domestic question awaiting settlement in Japan, says the London Times, is that concerning the alteration of the from the present narrow/JS feet 6 inch) to standard gauge (4 feet 8% inch) the advocates of which have been active for years past. As the result of a resolution of the upper house a commission was appointed tn April last to go into the matter thoroughly and render a final report and recommendations. According to the vice president of the comtnission, Dr. Juichi Soyeda, who is president of the Imperial railroads, the estimates of the expendlture required have been very carefully considered, and it is now calculated that the outside cost of converting the whole of the railroads of the main island of Japan from Shimonoseki to Aomori to the standard gauge would be £89.000,000, and that of converting the trunk lirfe from Tokyo to Shimonoseki (which in any case would be done first) would be £29,000,000.