The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-21
The Globe 5 SSs%s.:''aay
5he Storm Center Of the 0orLd.
By DR.. R. WARREN CoNANT.

numerous fotous attacks upon the resi-
cent foreigners, and it is small wonder.
| AT the same time they have learned from
| bitter experience that the only way to
! protect themselves from the white mans
| greed is to learn the white mans way
| of fighting.
Another eye opener was the great TaiD-
| ing rebellion, which began in 1850 and
lasted for fourteen years Although it
was strictly family affair it had an
important influence on Chinese military
ideas, for it was finally settled only
through the assistance of the famous
Englishman, Gen. Gordon He trained
a select body of the imperial troops ac-
cording to European methods, making
them the nucleus of his ever victorious
army That experience proved to Chi
ma and the world that Cinnamon we'll
drilled and fearlessly led make good sol
6iers
| Another crushing lesson came in 1S94-5,
I when big China was thrashed by little
Japan. whom she had affected to despise
But Japan had been quick to read the
handwriting on the Chinese wall The
upshot of all these tough experiences is
that China has at last learned her lesson
and is arming herself. For the last
three years she has been quietly building
and equipping arsenals buying foreign
arms, TOOLS and machinery, and learning
how to make all these things herself.
Money has been poured forth like
water. The unpleasant surprise which
met the allied troops at Tienstein last
August, when they found their ranks
decimated by Mauser bullets, was a fore
taste of bigger surprise which is COM
ing some day.
Thus, between the allurements of trade
on the one hand and the kicks and cuffs
of the barbarians on the other, the Chi
nese dragon is being reused from his
sleep of centuries. Progress indeed is
SO rapid to be unhealtEful: waste. and
mismanagem attend the new order of
things everywhere. Nowhere is this
feverish, abnormal activity better seen
than in a tour of the Chinese forts and
arsenals. On the coasts and rivers they
have over forty forts and batteries of
all kinds Some are Formidable others
laughable; some are mounted with the
best and biggest breech-loading KruppS,
others with obsoletes of every description
Some of the garrisons know how to ham
die the guns, others are comically igner-
ant. At one fort, mounted with muzzle-
loading cannon. the brilliant and thor
oughly Chinese idea was conceived of
saving trouble by swinging the gun
around after firing and depressing the
muzzle directly into the magazine This
ingenious device made it so easy to load.
A visitor inquired if they We're not afraid
of accidental discharge of the magazine.
Oh, yes; one did blow up, killing forty
two
AT another fort the visitor called at
tention to the kind of powder they were
Using as unsuitable and likely TO burst
the gun. Yes, it was true that they had
blown the breaches off. two Pinch
Krupps killing and Wounding thirty
men,
There are seven arsenals, located ut
Tientsn on the north coast, Shanghai
on the middle coast Foochow and Can
ton on the south coast and at Marking
Hankow and Chngtu in the interior
along the Yang-tse-Kieng. Their equip
nent and general condition. briefly
stated, was last year as follows:
Tientsin-Well supplied with the best of
tools and machinery, enough to repair
a squadron and to construct boilers and
small guns. There was Scotchman in
charge, but the Chinese management was
so wasteful and inefficient that three
times as much work could be turned
out at the same expense. There was a
powder factory with good machinery, or
ganized by German.
The naval school was in excellent or
der with sixty students. all gentlemen
sons They take a five years course and
then go on training ships. All were
Next to the naval school was school
under Russian supervision, where over
thirty Chinese were being taught to be-
come Russian interpreters.
Shanghai-In fine condition, plenty OF
best modern plant of English make.
There were two EnglsShmen as advisers,
but under Chinese ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. AT
the same time that they turn out large
quantities of the best modern arms, they
also make obsolete jingals, small can
non mounted on Il swivel. They MAKE
guns of the latest patterns UP to the
Pinch of fifty tons, and from native
ore: also MauSerS millions OF cartridges
and projeetiles of all calibers, powder OF
three kinds, smokeless, black and brown.
Foochow-Englislh and French ma
chinery for making engines. Chinese
waste and mismanagement.
Canton-Vast quantities of obsolete ma
teriaI and tools. The good tools were OF
English and German make, but were
used largely to turn out preposterouS
jfngals, ten feet long. and other opso!ete
guns also a few Mausers. Good powder
and cartridge factories, with tine Ger
man machinery; smoileless powder.
Nanking-Fine plant tools and ma
chinery of English, German and Swiss
make. but ridiculously mismanaged by
Chinese They We're very proud OF nav
ing fitted Mauser breech-loadlng
mechanism to jngal.
Hankow-Great quantities of valuable
machinery of all kinds, German make,
living about, not even put together. chi
nese control.
Chingtu-Englsh and German machln-
cry. Chinese mismanagement. Turn out
Mausers and cartridges.
In all these arsenals there was vast
waste as well as downright stealing. IT
were better if they We're all closed ex-
cept the Shanghai arsenal, which mas
a plant for equipping efficiently an
army of 100000 men.
Copyright 1901