The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-16

such lines" was the reply. The road
from Tien Tsin to Picking will be com
pleted in June, and you will then be
able to go from the seashore to the
capital by rail.
where will the Peking road end,
your excellency?"
cit will go to the very gates OF the
city. The distance is from eighty to
ninety miles, and fast trains will prob
ably take you from Tien Tsin to Picking
| in about two hours. At present the
| journey requires from one to three
days, according to the route, whether
by river or by land"
"HoW about other railroads."
1--WE have, you know, very good
| line from Tien Tsin to the Shanhaik-
wan, on the edge Of Manchuria. This
| is we'll built, and the trains run regu-
| larly."
How about the line to Han Kow?"
THAT line is also being pushed" said
Mr.. WI Ting Fang. 1t will run
through one of the most populous parts
| Of China, and will go south through
some Of the best Of our provinces,
touching large cities at every few miles.
There are now great car works at Han
Yang, a little bit above Han Kow, and
all sorts of railroad machinery are be-
| ing made there"
How about factories? Are many new ones
| being built?"
Yes; but these are constructed by the
Chinese merchants and business men, and
| not by the government There Is large
cotton mill at Han Kow, hundreds of miles
| in the interior. There are other mills at
Shanghai including silk mills"
How about the JAPANESE? At the close
of the war they expected to do great deal
of manufacturing in China, did they not?"
''Yes, 1 know they did," replied his excel,
ency, WI Ting Fang. They investigated
the situation and made many plans, but SO
far they have not carried them out: l 40
not know what they will do in the future"
But, your excellency, do you think the
Japanese could do much in China? have
| always thought the Chinese superior to the
| Japanese in business ability
"There is little doubt Of that replied the
| Chinese minister 1.-The Japanese are very
| quick to grasp at new things. The Chinese
are careful about going into anything tney
mined and sure. They are reliable and safe,
! and such progress as they make will be per-
manent.''
MISSIONARIES AND CHINESE.
what are our missionaries doing in
China?'
II think that the medical missionaries are
doing great good, - replied the minister.
.'They are earnest able men and women.
They heal the sick, and they introduc-
Ing modern medical ideas among the peo-
ple.'' y
"How about the other missionaries?''
"Oh," replied his excellency, they are like
all other kinds of men. Some are good and
some are bad. There are black sheep In
every flock, and the missionaries are no excep-
ton. Still they do some good. They teach
the practice of morality and virtue, and peo-
pie who teach such things will always make
some converts
will they ever convert the whole Chinese
nation?
NO." replied his excellency, with laugh.
do you realize how many people we are,
and how long our religion has lasted? Such a
conversion will be impossible
MAY AGAIN BECOME INVENTORS.
1T have often wondered, your excellency,"
said I, whether this great Chinese brain
which invented gunpowder, printing, the mar
| iner's compass and other things may not
| turn back to invention again. The bringing
| in of our ideas and civilization may stimulate
| it, and 1t may produce many new things"
THAT may be so,'' was the reply. Some
| of your scientific men who have lived in
| China say that our people are great imi-
tators, that we can copy anything, but that
we cannot invent or originate. Now that
may be so. but doubt it. The trouble with
us today is that we have no incentive to in
ventions as you have in America. We have
no copyright laws and patent laws. II a
man writes a book he does not want to publish
It,, for any printer near by can get outsa an
edition and compete with him. If a man has
an idea for a labor saving device he keeps