Omaha daily bee., 1896-09-01
nuNc CHANG GOES TO WEST ro,Sr
Rain Was Falling whcn lie Arrived
mml lie slnAEI ON Mn HINT

aud He stayed on the Boat.
WEST POINT, ". Y, Aug. St.-Li Hung.
Chang arrived here this afternoon on the.
dispatch boat Dolphin to inspect the MILL.
tary academy. During the trip up the river
Colonel Fred Grant pointed out many places
Of interest TO the ambassador, who asked
many questions. Near by were Vice Presi-
dent Thompson, Colonel McCuok, Mir. seward
Webb and nearly an the other prominent
visitors. Ii Hung Chang began, through
the Interpreter, to speak Of railroads and
their paying 3 per cent. The Dolphin was
then passing the Williamsburg sugar rcfu-
CRY and Colonel Grant said: There is u
place which pays II per cent on an invested
capital Of 10000 900"
The ambassador became Interested when
he heard this and asked very minutely as
to what process the sugar went through
there, and he seemed satisfied with the re-
plies which were given to his questions.
When the vessel was abreast OF the navy
yard the Chinese nag was run up on the
mainmdst Of the old wooden ship Vermont.
simultaneously the saluting battery on the
cob deck fired a salute Of nineteen guns. As
the boat ncared the Brooklyn bridge all the
Chinese became very much Interested, as
well as Iii Hung Chang. Colonel Grant ex-
planned in detail the workings of a big
structure, how long it took to build. cost,
source OF revenue, being owned by the two
cities. height and length. as well as the
AAlAO - " NV ct NlAA nv NV
promenade for pedestrians. The ambassador
asked If the bridge was built by a COM
pany, AS to the cost, S25. 100000, he wanted
to know II it has paid for itself in the thir-
teen years which have elapsed since its COM
pletiOn, He said IL was n wonderful struc-
ture and showed very plainly how far adj
vanccd the American engineers were and
that their ingenuity was seemingly mex
hauStiblc.
BY . o'clock the Dolphin had passed the
1n. . ay,- Arl a. H1,V ,,,,,1A nrl ttItN.Nl I'm
the North river the steam craft OF all kinds
saluted with shrill whistles. Lii Hung Chang
did not seem to hear these salutes and kept
right on talking to those near him. After
General Kruger had shown the viceroy his
place on Governors island General Porter
and Colonel Grant directed the ambassadors
attention to the tall buildings, or Sky
scrapers'' as they called them in the lower
part of the city. Ii Hung Chang asked the
cost Of them, by whom they were occu-
pied. how much income they produced and
if they paid well. In reply to a question at
to what he thought of them he replied:
They are indeed wonderful; so many OF
them and so high. | am not surprised at that
height, for / had heard of them In my W
Vice President Thompson of the Pennsyl-
vania road then pointed out the companys
depot on the Jersey shore and explained
how the passengers and freight were trans
ferred from New York and Brooklyn by
Terry DOatS, Inc ambassador SttUltu W Dc
particularly interested in railroads and en-
tered into a talk with Mr.. Thompson, asking
him his age, how he became vice president OF
the company and inquiring as to accidents,
etc, on the Pennsylvania road. Mr.. Thomp-
son assured him on this point. Ii asked IL I
MIR. homps would accompany him to Buff
falo, but the latter said he could only go as
far as Washington.
Passing Grants tomb the ensign was
dipped and all aboard stood bareheaded until
the flag was raised again. Ii Hung Chang,
with his attendants, also stood up, but they
did not uncover. After this ceremony the
ambassador turned to Colonel Grant, who
still by his side. and said: 81 have seen
the tomb of Peter the Great, William | and
but | have not seen anything so
grand as this grand reminder Of so great q
1t eClipses anything i have as yet
Il
The weather up to this time was cloudy |
and threatening. but rain began to fall as I
the vessel passed Spuyten Duyvil. The rain !
during the luncheon hour, and
there was a heavy fall when the Dolphin
West Point. There were about 1,5O0
people on the docks, and they were all dis
appointed. At the advice of his physician. !
the ambassador said it was too wet to go
ashore, and decided to remain on the Dol
with Colonel Fred Grant and Mayor
Strong. The others of the party braved the T.
rain and drove through the grounds rapidly, !
Under military escort.
The trip back to New York was without |
special interest. Ii Hung Chang, on his re-
urn to his hotel, expressed himself as be- /
ng very much ~gratihed at what he called !
IN unexpected and generous reception by the |
of New York.
Lii Hung Chang notified Colonel Grant to-
lay that when the Grant tomb Is dedicated
next year, the Chinese minister will plant
1 tree for him as a token of his regard for
he great general. A