The age-herald., 1901-05-19
HABITS OF PEOPLE IN PEkINo.
How the chinamen Work and the
 Little Pay They Get.

From the Utica Press.
 The subjoined extracts from a privaSe letter from George L. De Forest of this city. who is a member of Company B, in the Ninth Regiment. will be read with in terest:
 50 you would like to peek into this sa- cred city and see what my surroundings are? I think In one of my former letters I gave a short description of the city of Pekin, and perhaps little gossip in re- gard to the people who inhabit 1t may be acceptable In the first place, the rich .Chinks' wear costly silks, while the poor ones are glad to wear cotton. Numerically in this city the proportion of rich to poor is about one in a thousand. so you can see that cotton Is king so far as the poor are concerned, and I am told that al- though the soil Is very productive there is hardly enough cotton raised to supply the demand. This is due in great measure to the lack of tools in cultivating 1t and proper machinery for curing when har- vested. as everything here Is done by hand
 ..In the first place the Chinese have no power gins to take out the seeds with ana instead use what they call hand gins; ana funny looking things these gins are. im- agine a couple of small modern rollers fastened in uprights attached to pench These are turned by a crank and revoive one against the other freeing the cotton seed by drawing the lint through ene small space between. The machine IS era by hand and a man must put in a long steady days work to gin nVe pounds or lint which means twenty pounds or cot ton in the seed. The cotton Is carded at the same time that it is ginned. man stands at the end of the bench and beats the clean cotton with what Is called a tee-kung or earth bow, into big faly bats. and the women spin these bats m all sorts of ways, the favorite one being by the use of the old-fashioned spinning wheel.
 And right here want to say that the Chinese are the most industrious people I ever saw, especially the women These latter are never idle They are great gos- sips. but do not neglect their work on that account and 1t Is a common thing to see them chatting in the narrow alleyways between their houses, but always at work, either turning their reels or stitch ing shoe soles which find ready sale, for a Chinaman who went barefoot would be utterly disgraced. Why even the beggars here wear shoes, although the rest or their apparel may be ever so scanty.
 Another thing worthy of mention Is the fact that nothing Is wasted In tnis land of the 'Chinks.' Grass and all kinds of roots are pulled up, washed. ana dried and used for fuel Scraps Of paper and cloth are pasted together to make the insoles of shoes and bits of wood are glued to build up either post or a board. The women spinners and straw platers earn 2 cents a day This may seem small nav. but not so when tell you that am informed that s year will clothe Cbinaman and his wife. Such thing as underwear is not known by them. neith- or is A garment ever fitted, and a Utica dressmaker would starve to death here. The only measures that are taken are from the hip to the ground. Fashions never change. Take two or three yards of material. sew 1t together, run a tape through the top and haul 1t together and you have the dress made.
 The 'Chinks' are very economical. and I guess you will think that they have need to be when I tell you that the un- skilled laborers are only paid upon an average of cents a day. Masons, car penters, and stonemasons are the king pins here in labor circles, receiving the munihcent sum of 25 to 30 cents a day. The work day here begins at hunrise and lasts until dark. but notwithstanding all this the laborers seem contented and happy.
 "So much in regard to the people, and now perhaps a few words in regard to the officials of the city, particularly the po- hcemen, may interest you. In the first place a Chinese policeman is a wonderful creation. a cross between circus clown and a football player. Ills brooches are