Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-09-29

A1Htt VI Ailg lt% AtttAAOAAo AA%
rates China has not been a member
of the International Postal union, and
the rates are not uniform. They vary
TO and from different places. Packages
Of samples, catalogues, etc, are fire.
quently sent from the United States
10 China with insufficient postage at.
tached, causing great delays and an
noyances. Merchants writing or send.
ing to China should be very careful be.
forehand to learn whether they have
affixed all the necessary postage
Otherwise, they may be certain that
their mail viii be delayed ~ trans
mission
There are only two languages in gen
eral use in the Chinese trade; they are
Chinese and English The Chinese
merchants, shrewd as they are, gen
orally cannot or win not learn to use
the other European languages, but
many of them can read and write ours.
have just written ''our" language,
but the Chinese believe that Americans
speak some other language than Eng
lish, which they think belongs eX-
clusively to the English. In the ports
the Chinese with any connection at all
with trade speak the corrupted Eng
lish known as pigeon" English, which
Is n mixture OF a number Of elements,
English and Chinese predomlnating
All the foreign houses, whatever their
nationality, must use either this "pi-
geon" English or Chinese in their in
tercourse with the natives.
Chinese contempt of foreigners ox-
tends to their language The idea for
merly prevalent in China that 1t is the
center Of the universe and that all for
cign nations are tributary to 1t is not
dead yet, and foreigners generally are
regarded as inferior to the Chinese.
Natives of high rank and intelligence
have been heard to say that China
could with her enormous population,
which Is onefourth the human race,
wipe out the other peoples of the earth.
This feeling, while not held generally
by the upper classes, is prevalent
among the masses of ignorant natives.
and it Is at the bottom of the present
trouble.
The elements of the Chinese charac-
ter that have been brought into promi-
hence by the uprising are decidedly I'M
favorable for foreigners. Such a thing
as gratitude toward any one not of
native blood Is scarcely known In Chi.
ma. Persons who are thoroughly con-
versant with the Chinese character
say that no real converts to Christian
ity are ever made among them; that 1t
is common and almost without excep-
ton for the willy Chinaman to pretend
conversion in order to share in the
money so generously contributed for
his reform and betterment. However
that may be, the mass of Chinese are
certainly strongly and unchangeably
opposed to the Introduction of foreign
religions. The only kind of missionary
for whom they have even the slightest
regard is the medical person, and even
these are made to feel that they pass
their lives among a hostile population
who either do not feel or do not exhib-
it any gratitude for the labor so freely
expended in their behalf.
The trouble in San Francisco, caused
by the so called "highbinders, Is at
tributable to the fact that these men
are from southern China, which has al
ways been the most turbulent part Of
the empire. The people of northern
and middle China, by far the largest
portions of the country, are much more
law abiding and quiet. The dwellers
in Chinese cities live together in peace
though this may be because of the lack
of room to raise n disturbance, while
out of the cities, where every available
foot is cultivated, crime is rare. The Chi
nese are perhaps the most Industrious
nation on earth They have practically
no idlers. Work is with them an es-
sential of life. In the cities all men,
Of whatever rank in life, have some
occupation. In the country the entire
family-men, women and children
labor in the fields. They are most in
genlous in the use of tools, and with
the rudest apparatus and material pro-
duce results astonishing to European
or American eyes They are econom-