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

tons. your excellency? Are they fair,
or is there not a great deal of fraud
connected with them?"
81 suppose there is fraud in all
things" replied the minister, but L
think that our examinations for office
| are just about as fair as such examlna-
tons anywhere all over the world. 1t
is almost impossible for a student to
cheat his way through. You see a man
has to go through number Of different
! tests before he can become a high
official. First there are examinations
in the district city near the home of
the student. Here the boys from all
parts of the district meet. They ans
Wer questions, write poems and essays.
The test is so rigid that out of perhaps
1000 students not more than twenty
will pass. This examination is not for
office. Those who pass 1t, however,
have the right to enter the examina-
tons for the second degree These are
held at the capital ofsthe province or
state in WHICH the student lives. They
are held once every three years, and
there are thousands who compete in
them. The examiners are noted scholars
and those who pass have the right to
go into the great examinations at Pc
king. If they pass there they have a
good chance of receiving an official
appointments 1t is a great honor to
pass all the examinations as very few
of the thousands who enter are able to
| do So.''
WILL CHINA LAST?
| AS the minister. thus referred to this
| educational system. Of China, which
has been in use for hundreds of years.
thought of the enormous number of
| people which he represented, compris-
ing about one-fourth of all in the
world. I thought of the age Of the
Chinese and of their civilization, and
said: Il have often wondered, your
excellency, what one of you educated
Chinese think Of us and our prospects.
Your nation is gray-haired beside
those of the West. You were a people
| in the days when Egypt was the CEN
ter of Western learning Your nation
was in its prime when the. Greeks were
the great people Of the Mediterranean
You have existed while Rome rose and
fell, and even today the Chinese are
Intellectually and physically strong.
What is to be the future? Will our
civilization pass away and that of the
| Chinese still live?' ..e5..z5
The bright light went out of the
| Chinese minister's eyes, his face be-
came sober and, after a moments
thought, he replied: tssos'ry@'.
Who can tell? The Chinese may
last. They are people of wonderful
race strength, and it remains to be
| oOS1A WuClISI luSy VIII UG swallowed
up or changed by the new civilizat ton.
AS for me. I look for great changes.
We have preserved our institutions
and customs throughout the past be-
cause we have been walled in, as it
were, from the rest of the world At
the west we had the high plateau of
Asia to keep out invaders, and on the
East there was the sea. We had little
communication. with the outside world,
and their customs and ideas did not
affect US. Now the doors are thrown
open. and the new elements which are
coming in may make great changes.
We may lose something of. our indi-
viduality, but we shall probably hold
our own"
NEW MOVEMENT IN CHINA.
'But, your excellency, is China now
really open to the world?'
Yes" was the reply.
4 Can you notice any material changes
| going on?"
81 think so'' replied his excellency,
"but you must remember that our
country Is very large. We have an
| enormous number Of people, and 1t
! takes time to move such great masses
An attempt to change matters quickly
would be very likely to create a revolu-
ton. You will understand the danger
| when I tell you that there are tens OF
millions of Chinese who have never
seen foreigner, and who know prac-
tically nothing about foreign matters
The only way to make changes in China
Is by education. It is by this means
| that. China may be led to adopt modern
methods. Such education is not mat
ter of days, but Of years. believe the
| time will come when our people will
select from your civilization the best
| things in 1t, and will add them to those
| which we now have. The bad elements
| of our civilization will be eliminated
and 1t may be that the new civilization
the Chinese civilization of the. future
will be better than anything which
exists today"
THE RAILROAD MOVEMENT.
"How about the building of railroads
i In China, your excellency ?Y
I'VE are pushing right ahead along