The morning call., 1894-05-06
Visit to the Arsenal at
Shanghai.
MANY ACRES OF FOUNDRIES.
How the Celestials Are Preparing
for War With Foreign
Powers.

rolling of steel.
Gun works turning out cannon as big as
the biggest now being made at the WASH
ington Navy-yard. Shops covering acres
devoted to the making of the latest modern
magazine rifles.
An army of 2G00 Celestials in blue gowns.
with their pigtais tightly wound about
their half-shaven heads, manipulating
with their slender yellow fingers the finest
of the modern worlds improved machinery
and doing successfully all kinds of factory
work under Chinese foremen.
These are some of the wonders | saw at
the great Government arsenal near here
to-day.
Any one who thinks that China is asleep
to what is going on in the modern world
has only to visit one of it's great Govern
ment gun factories TO be convinced OF his
mistake. | have spent some time at the
gun works of the Washington Navy-yard,
where are being built the guns for our
largest warships. We pride ourselves upon
them as a nation and consider them among
the finest gun works in the world. Away
out here in China there are similar foun-
dries doing even more wonderful work,
and that to q large extent with native
made machinery. and just now with
Chinese iron and Chinese coal. OF the 2000
men employed In the Shanghai works only
two are foreigners, and these are consult
ing engineers, one of whom, Mr.. n. L.
Cornish, is an EnglIshman from Devon
shire, who was for years connected with
the great Armstrong Gun Works In Eng
land. and the other, Mr.. Bunt, an English
man, who not only knows how to run all
kinds of machinery, but has invented sew
eral engines, and who, with Mr.. Cornish,
is making many improvements in the
m thO9p
other nations L. was through Mr. Cornish
that was able to go over the gun works.
and win him l had chats with the Chinese
managers, fOremen and wOrkmen.
Leaving the Hotel des Colonies. in the
foreign quarter of Shanghai, | rode IN
jinrikisha. pulled by two men, far out into
the country. The day was cold, raw and
rainy, but decided to risk arrest by taking
my camera with me, and, wrapped In oiled
silk, it lay between my legs as We dashed
through the muddy streets crowded with
bare-legged coolies in hats as big as UNI
brellas aud rain coats of reddis brown
jute, whO were carrying heavy loads swung
on poles from their shoulders. We passed
many women In blue gowns OF wadded
cotton. who hobbled along on their little
feet through the mud with knock-kneed
gait, and met at every turn the 'rlkishas
and sedan chairs of swell Cinnamon. whose
eyes were so shronded by their big black
specta cles that thsy looked like GaTgantuan
brow MES rather than scholarly Chinese.
Many of these swells had on their winter
bonnets of wadded silk. and their clothes
were of the brightest of reds, blues and
green's. Their bonnets covered the entire
head and were fastened under the chin in
a wadded cloth which protected the neck
| and throat. They were so made that only
the front of the face was exposed to the
weather, and they extended out behind
into a sort of cape, which fell to the
waist and concealed their Queus. The
gowns OF many of them were fur lined,
and the silk brocade of which they were
made seemed more fit for ballroom than
rainy, muddy Chinese country ride. Be-
side these rich worked the poorest of the
poor. We passed scores of sweating men
pushing freight wheelbarrows, each con-
tanning load for horse, and were jostled
by hundreds of other queer working char
acters who fill the country roa0s of China
with as many travellers as you Will find on
the roads approaching one of our little
cities on a circus day.
Just outside of the walls of the native
city passed guardhouse filled with Chi
nese soldiers. The sun came out at the
moment and | attempted to photograph
them. But when they saw The camera
they scowed and went inside of the guard
house. Not far from this l came TO "a
fortifcatton which l afierward learned
was the barracks Of the troops which the
Viceroy keeps here 10 guard the arsenal
and to protect Shanghai. A white wall,
perhaps twenty feet high. surrounded
them. and l could only see the great flags
OF black network embroidered with red
Chinese figures, twenty odd feet long,
which floated from pole above the tent of
the commander. l saw many soldiers,
however, and l photographed good
Datured one, who evidently did not under
stand what nv camera was.
gOI6laTs 0rnSann
of bright colors, and the uniforms of many
of them consisted of the brghtest Of blue
cotton SacQues, trimmed with black velvet
and ornamented with red stripes. They
wore wadded cotton pantaloons, which
they tucked into black. short-topped wad-
ded cloth boots. and their heads were coy-
cred with stiff skull caps of silk. They
look entirely different from the people
about this part of China, and are much
more muscular and are taller than the
Cinnamon we have in America. They
come from the interior. and the best fight
ers among them are from the rebellous
province of Human, where the insurrection
against the missionaries of a year or so
ago originated. There are only q few
thousand of them in these barracks, and
they are but small part of the army of
the Viceroy of Marking. who lives at his
capital In the interior.
Reaching the arsenal we stopped for q
moment under white wall, on which was
gaudy painting OF one of the heroes of
Chinese mythology, who is supposed to
give luck to the offc within, while one
of the Chinese soldiers took my card in to
Mr.. Cornish, and a moment later / was
inside of these vast works and surrounded
by the din of machinery. Practically the
only difference between these works and
those of any of the great gun factories of
Christendom lies in the gorgeous colors of
red blue and green. in which the Chinese
delight and with which they paint not only
the interior woodwork of their shops, but
some of their machines as well, and in the
fact that all of the work is done by China
men. The first room we entered was about
the size of the biggest shop in the Wash
ington Navy-yard. 1t covered, | Judge.
about an acre of space, and in IL were
being turned out some 12-inch guns for the
navv. You have seen pictures of such
gnDs in the newspapers. They are the
biggest made at our navy-yard. and
they are immense iron cannon. the
barrels of which are thirty-fye
feet long. and which fire projectiles of steel
which weigh 1000 pounds. To make one
of these guns costs in the neigh borhood of
$4,000. and the Chinese are now Just fin.
ishiDg their fourth gun of this kinu. Those
completed have been tested and shown tn