The National tribune., 1900-09-20
Chinese Fcor Fc:Es.
Neie York Sxs.

A rich Chinaman wears silk, poor one
cotton. Since the proportion of rich TO
poor Is about one To Il thousand. IL fol-
lows that the growth and manufacture
of cotton are of prime necessity. IL is
thought cotton culture was begun in the
18th century, the plant coming from In
dia, where it has been known for 1000
years. In spite of her unequaled agricul-
ture, China does not raise cotton for OK
pOrt-nor, in fact, enough for her own
needs. In the growth and manufacture
of it, aS'in everything else, the aim is not,
| as in the United States. to save hand la
Dor. but to use as much of it as possible
There are no power gins for taking out
the seed. Instead, the Chinese use little
hand gins very like those still to be found
in the homespun regions of the Appala-
| chan chain. The gin is nothing more than
a couple of small wooden rollers, made
| fast in uprights affixed to a bench. They
| are turned by wooden crank, revolvc
one against the other, and free the cot
| ton of seed by drawing the lint through
the narrow space between. The lint is
fed to them by hand, and it takes long
and steady days work to gan FIVE pounds
of lint-which means 20 pounds of cotton
in the seed.
The cotton is carded simultaneously
with the ginning. A second man stands
at the end of the bench beating the clear
into big, faky bats. These bats the WON
en- spin in various ways. Sometimes they
| use the old-fashioned spinning wheel
Much oftener it is something approximate
ing the ancient distaff. The spinner
twirls it steadily, walking around and
| around as she twirls. thus winding the
frightening thread into very long hanks.
IL it is spun and run into breaches or
quilts, they are often reeled with hand
| reel. Chinese industry, indeed, is as in
veterate as Chinese economy. Women
| usually work at such reeling while they
| stand mt gossip in the alieyways between
their houses. If there is no reel handy
| they will be stitching upon shoe sole.
always n salable article. Bare feet are
| unknown in China. Even a beggar wears
shoes. though he may have no other cloth
ing than the head bowl, which serves both
as :: hat and to hold out when there is
a chance of aims.
Nothing is wasted in China. Even grass
| and wheat roots are pulled up, washed,
dried and used for fuel. Scraps of paper
and cloth are pasted together TO make the
| insoles of shoes. Bits of wood are g:ued
| 70 build UP either board or a post.
Women spinners and straw-plaiters earn
cents n day. The spinning. though is
riost commonly like the weaving of the
handlooms, only part of unpaid house
hold labor. Machine-made cloth and
thread nave of late come to bear heavily
upon the cotton workers. but that fact is
in degree offset by the growing imports
Of raw cotton. Still some of The light
yellow handmade fabric, known the
world over as nankecn, from the city Of
export, Nankin, is shipped abroad. 1t is
made from peculiar yellow-staDle cotton,
hence not dyed. The same yellow staple
cotton IS grown and manufactured by
Acadians in Louisiana, but the fabric is
80 coarse that it does not compete with
the Chinese one.
Five dollars a year will clothe Chi
rese husband and wife something more
than decently. Underwear is unknown
so is fitting a garment. The only meas
Tres taken are from the hip to the ground,
md from the middle of the breast to the
finger tips. Fashions do not change. Win
TER garments and bedding are wadded
with cotton. Once a year they must be
ripped apart and washed, padding and
all.
How needful is economy may he
Judged from a few figures. Unskiied Ia
bOrers receive upon an average 1 cents a
day. Masons, carpenters and stonecut-
tiers, here as elsewhere the aristocracy of
labor. get from % to 80 cents day. Work
begins at sunrise and keeps up until dark
Strikes are virtually unknown. and the
Chinese laborer is the happiest and most
contented in all the world.