The "colonial managers" of the Manchurian Railway Company laid the foundation stone of the "Manchurian Railway"

In the summer of 1906, Goto Shinpei, then the civil affairs chief of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office of the Japanese colonial administration, came to Northeast China. The purpose of his trip was to be invited by his immediate boss, Taiwan Governor-General Kodama Gentaro, to Served as the first president of "Manchuria Railway".

Speaking of Goto Shinpei, he was famous in Japanese political circles at that time. He was born in Iwate Prefecture, Japan in 1857. His family was poor in his early years. He later graduated from medical school and obtained the qualification of a physician. In 1882, he served as director of Aichi Prefectural Hospital. Later, by chance, he met Gentaro Kodama, then deputy chief of staff of the Army, and he embarked on an official career. When Kodama became the Governor-General of Taiwan, Goto was quickly promoted from the Health Advisor of the Governor-General to the Chief of Civil Affairs. It was also in this position that Goto fully demonstrated his colonial skills. Because at that time, although Kodama was the governor of Taiwan, he also served as the deputy chief of staff of the army and the chief of staff of the army stationed in Manchuria, so Goto became the actual ruler of Taiwan. Due to his outstanding "political achievements", both the Japanese government and the public called him a "colonial manager".

In the later stages of the Russo-Japanese War, as Japan's power in Northeast China expanded, in order to further promote colonial rule, Goto followed Kodama to China and submitted the "Outline of Manchuria Management" that he had already prepared. To my old boss. At that time, Western powers were building railways in China in order to extract abundant economic resources. In view of the development of the situation, Goto suggested to Kodama: Japan must focus on operating railways in Manchuria, and the rest should be to develop coal mines, immigrate from the mainland, and develop agriculture and animal husbandry. Only in this way can we have the strength to fight Russia again or prepare for the full occupation of China. Kodama greatly appreciated this suggestion. It is said that the invader leader later said with emotion that he had never heard of another person in Japan who could "discuss the policy of how to manage Manchuria based on the gains and losses of victory and defeat, and he was so detailed and thorough" like Goto-kun. .

With Kodama's strong recommendation, Goto was appointed as the first president of "Mantetsu" by Emperor Meiji in November 1906. On November 26, the "Manchuria Railway" was established as Japan's national policy association, and officially began operating activities in April of the following year. Its main projects include railways, coal mine development, immigration, and animal husbandry development. In 1907, the headquarters of "Manchuria Railway" moved from Tokyo to Dalian. It is worth mentioning that the total capital of the society at that time was 200 million yen, of which the Japanese government invested 100 million yen, and the other half of the shares came mainly from the Japanese royal family, nobles and bureaucrats.

After Goto took office, he immediately implemented the development plan in an all-round way. While insisting on focusing on railways, he quickly extended his business reach to seaports, shipping, hotel services, coal mines, and municipal administration in cities along the railway lines. In terms of construction and other aspects, substantial economic benefits have been achieved in a short period of time. Along the railway line, Goto established many schools with the intention of cultivating talents for the long-term colonial rule in the future; he also opened many hospitals, striving to make each hospital function as a field hospital; he established the "Manchurian Railway" Central Laboratory , comprehensively promote and develop the scientific and technological colonization of Northeast China... According to Japanese statistics, the "Manchurian Railway" has laid 55 railways, with an average of 1 kilometer per day. With the expansion of Japan's war of aggression against China, the scale of the "Mantetsu" enterprise also continued to expand. By 1945, its total assets reached 4.2 billion yen, and its employment increased from 11,000 when it was founded to nearly 400,000. .

On July 14, 1908, Goto resigned as president of "Manchuria Railway", but until December 1913, major decisions of "Manchuria Railway" were still made by him.