The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-20
TRAVELLED WITH Ill
COMMISSIONER DREW TALKS EN-
TERTAININGLY OF HIS TRIP
ACROSS THE CONTINENT.
VISIT OF THE CELESTIALS.
1T MEANS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CHINA.
Vast Fund of Information Which
the VicerOy VIII Act Upon
Chance for Americ ans.

! Iarly interesting man, inaSmuch as he
was one Of the two foreigners, from
the Chinese standpoint, accompanying
Viceroy Ii Hung Chang on his jour
ney through this country and Canada.
Mr.. Drew has made his home in China
for the last thirty years, although he
is an American by birth. For several
years past he has been in the employ
! of the customs department of that
country as commissioner. In February,
! 1895, he secured leave of absence until
the spring of 1897, when he will again
resume his duties. While in this coun-
try he makes his home in West New
ton, Mass, where his family are at
present.
When the visit of Ii Hung Chang
to this country was contemplated, the
viceroy asked that his imperial maj
esty appoint Mr.. Drew secretary of the
embassy to act during the trip across
| the continent This was done, and i'm
mediately upon the arrival at New
/ York of the distinguished guest, Mr..
Drew joined the party and accom-
! panied it to the Pacific coast, where he
remained until the departure of the
| ambassador for China Commissioner
| Drew is a brOther-in-law of Fred G.
! Davis, of the Revere Rubber company,
of this city, and stayed over in Min
neapo1is with the intention of spend
! ing a day with Mr.. Davis. When he
arrived here, however, he found his
| relative away from the city. He was
seen last night by a reporter at the
residence of Frank H. Holmes, 1922
Hennepin avenue, where he is staying
while in the city.
Mr. Drew expressed himself as hav-
ing had very pleasant trip while with
! the viceroy, and was of the opinion
that the distinguished Chinaman had
left this country with an exalted opin-
ion of it as one of the grandest ma
tions of the earth.
What effect will the visit of Ii Hung
| Chang have in Chinese affairs?" was
asked Mr.. Drew. os-~*ss'-S@~ go a
1T will have wonderful effect in a
| great many ways" replied Mr.. Drew
More particularly will it be felt in the
matter Of railroads. 1t was our great
railway system that impressed the vice
! roy more than anything else The train
that conveyed him from Washington
| to Niagara was as fine a train as could
! be found in the world, and was a sur
prise to him. His trip through Canada
! was also filled with wonders of all
sorts, and. the magnitude Of the Cana
! dian Pacific railway opened his ewes to
| the possibilities in that line"
Here Mr.. Drew explained that upon
the return of Ii Hung Chang to China,
| and the presentation Of his report as
! special ambassador to the several for
eign nations visited by him during his
recent trip, his duties as ambassador
would cease, and he would be without
office
| ut is quite probable, however," con-
tlnued Mr.. Drew, that he will be re-
| appointed viceroy of the Northern prov
| 1nce. This step would be very wise on
the part of the Chinese government, in
! as much as extensive improvements
are contemplated In that province. A
railroad is about to be built between
Peking and Hankow, and it is quite
| likely that suggestions of Lii Hung
Chang will be gladly accepted ana
| acted upon.
| His questions in regard to the SAL
aries of railroad officials and EMPLOYEES
which produced many smiles from the
newspaper readers in this country, were
al asked in good faith and the answers
thereto have supplied him with an
abundance of information. His sole de-
sire was to ascertain just what Ameri-
can labor was worth here so that he
would be in a position to Judge of its
worth in his country.
| 1T is more than likely that in con-
| nectlon with the proposed railroad
Whlch L have mentioned, American
! skilled labor will be found a necessity
and you can see for yourself the value
OF the information cleaned by Ii Hung
Chang in regard to salaries. While vol,
laughed he slowed away valuable in
! formation and sometimes laughed with
You.
LII Hung Chang Is, and always has
| been, very fond OF humor and a great
many or the questions asked by him Of
me prominent men he met. were asked
solely to provoke laughter He never
rallied to join in the laugh himself. and
| was always good natured. T renoam-
Der one incident in Vancouver that was
particular amusing. The mayor of that
city, and the aldermen also. were doing
everything IN their power to make the
| Viceroys visit pleasant one and he
| undoubtedly appreciated their untirinn,
elIorts In his behalf. Finally he secured
| an opportunity to question the MAYOR
ana went at him hammer and tones
he asked him how he could afford to
stand the expense Of entertaining visit
tors to the city; if he thought he world
| De elected, and a great many other
| questions of a similar nature ali ne
wh1ch confused the worthy mayor very
| muched indeed, but created anv anonr+
| or merriment for the Victory ana +ho
| aldermen as well as the others present
he mas keen sense Of humor and
| makes good use of it."
what Impressions did the yicerov
carry away with him in regard to tho
condition of his countrymen in +his
country and Canada?" was asked M
Drew. MI
Well" said Mr.. Drew. $50 far a..
the condition of the Cinnamon in this
country Is concerned he said moth
| ing. He expressed himself as veTv
much pleased, however, with Whist he
saw OF their affairs in British Colu1,o
pla- VI course he came more In con-
tact with MS countrymen there than
he did at any other time during his
| journey, and was in very much her
ter position to judge. While in Var
ccuver he was waited upon by severa1
delegations of Cinnamon from the arr
rounding cities, and was always more
| than pleased to meet them. To all
such parties he made a short speech
| telling them that they were living in
a good country and should be lawful
citizens. He told them all that he was
proud of them as also was their mother
country, and they should prove by their
| actions that they were good citizens
| of the country to which they had ra-
moved.
"One thing he never failed to speak
about" said Mr.. Drew, was the onium
| habit. which he told them was their
| greatest curse and one which they
| should all endeavor to overcome T
think, although he said nothing about
| his countrymen in the United States.
that he was favorably impressed with
their condition here as well as in Can
ada"
Mr.. Drew VIII remain In MINNEAPOLIS