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Show SEVERAL APPROACHES While the normal approach to most of this wealth is via the Yangtze River, there are other ways from the south. Since the war the Chinese have been developing new outlets to more friendly lands and seas. South through Yunnan you come to a railroad which reaches the ocean through French Indo- China. This is the best and nearest route over which traffic now moves. Surveys here are proceeding for a railway. Another daring highway southwestward reached British-owned Burma this Summer; another stretches 3000 miles across Asia to Soviet Turkestan. The Chinese are not waiting for foreign capital. Many gangs of 50,000 laborers each are working day and nigjit building highways and surveying or laying railroads. Chinese capital is pouring into this land Plans for exploitation include coal reserves of more than five billion metric tons, an iron reserve of 60 million metric tons, copper of two ! million tons. A survey party, charting the railroad route south to French Indo China, reports that it will open an untapped region of iron, coal, copper, nickel, lead, silver and gold. Hundreds of individual '' prospectors are ^already panning gold along these rivers. Hydraulic engineers formerly working on the Yellow, Yangtze and Hwai Rivers are now exploring the water power possibilities. VAST SUPPLY OF TIN Every province, unlike our early America, has a local population with some capital. Yunnan, most easily accessible from the southern seas, offers not only one of the world's chief tin supplies, and rich deposits of other minerals, but can easily become a tourist paradise rivaling Switzerland and the ale of Kashmir., Kwangsi has minerals and rice fields; Hunan is rich in coal, antimony and tungsten; Szechwan has timber of many rare kinds, as well as all varieties of farm products. Four new districts have recently been opened to settlers there. ,Even far west Sikong, with its almost undeveloped deserts, sent a delega- Mt ton "To" the Centr'aFGovernment reporting on gold, silver and iron deposits, timber, leather and wool. Iron in varying amounts is found in several provinces. Chinese capital alone could eventually develop this inland empire; but it would take decades. And swift industrialization would be China's salvation. To assist that industrialization might be our salvation too. Not only because it would reactivize our industrial economy. It would build up a powerful friendly nation on the other side of the Pacific. |