Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-18
Congress in Hamburg Crit
cises Our Spelling Of Pekin.
IMPORTANT WORK DONE
MISS SCIDMoRE REPRESENTS MA
TIoNAI. GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.
Interesting Comment on Scientific
Work Of the Congress - Many
Valuable Papers Read.

mas just concluded its thirteenth session In
Hamburg. took occasion to poke some fun
at the United States for dropping the "g"
from the official spelling Of the city Of
Pekin 1t would be just as consistent, 1t
was declared, to drop this letter from the
spelling of Reading or Lansing" This
spelling was officially adopted by the United
States before the Boxer uprising. and when
that difficulty arose and the word "Pekin"
went out without the final ''g'' on all Of the
state documents from this country it
served only to advertise what the members
of the oriental congress termed glaring
inconsistency
This incident of the session Of the con-
gress is brought back by Miss E. R. Scid-
more Of this city who went as a delegate
and as foreign secretary of the National
Geographic Society of this city. The con-
gress convened September and lasted until
| the 10th. Miss Scidmore, however. in this
| little incident does not reflect on the import
ance or interest Of the congress to the SCI
entific world. There were 500 members OF
! the congress present at it's sessions, this
membership being made up mostly of uni
versity professors and scholars who read
! Persian Hebrew Sanskrit. Chinese and
Japanese. The congress was arranged by
| the Oriental Society of Germany, assisted
| by the city of Hamburg, and Its object was
| to discuss international oriental subjects.
| magnificent reception was given the con-
! gress by the city of Hamburg at the Ratth-
| haus, which is claimed by the city to be
| the most splendid example of modern arch1-
| lecture in Europe. Other festivities were
| arranged by the city for the congress. and
| Miss Scidmore mentions as one of these the
| illumination Of the Elbe river for ten miles
up from its mouth, and also the haroor IT.
| self. In this comment she compares the
| New York harbor to q creation of the SIX
| teenth century beside the splendidly equip
ped harbor of Hamburg.
Work of Congress.
In the work of the congress the papers
read and the outline of the work Of DR..
Stein. who has been engaged in archaeo-
logical explorations in Chinese Turkeystan.
was regarded the most important. Lord
Curzons administration in India was given
vote of thanks by the congress for all
lowing DR.. Stein the latitude he has had
in this work. and a petition was signed
that he might be allowed to continue along
the same lines. Sven Hedein, the Swedish
explorer made a most interesting report on
discoveries he had made in the buried cities
of the desert of tsstern Turkeystan.
Another notable scientist in the congress
was Mr. Hughes Kraft Of Paris, who pos
sesses very rare collection of oriental art,
and who has recently taken to travelling in
the orient and Russian TurkeyStan, the re-
suit being the publication by him of d
splendid book Of modern travels In this in
teresting country. Mr. Kraft has been in
Nlteu 10 lecture III America. LIT.
Brnkermann, described by Miss Scidmore
as a splendid and most venerable looking
man, had many interesting things to say
regarding the Hamburg Museum of Art and
Industry, of which he is director. This mu-
scum was of special interest to the scien-
lists because it contains what Is reputed to
be the finest collection Of japanese metal
workings and Japanese prints in any mu-
scum in Europe.
The congress devoted considerable time to
discussion of the transliteration Of oriental
characters. paper read by Nine. Olga Lee
bedew on 1.-The legal rights of the MussaI
woman In marriage" created some diversion
in the congress, from the fact that the pre-
sentation made by Nine. Lebedew which
was based on Investigations of her own in
the Mohammedan provinces of Russia was
holly contradicted by the Mohammedan
men, who had left their wives at home.
They declared that these women were the
most happy and contented with their lot of
any women in the world The showing nv
Nine. Lebedew was that while the physical
wants of the women were supplied and
while their legal status In most respects
We're not bad. they were kept in ignorance
and not allowed the enlightenment of edu-
cation.
No Millennium in Customs Service.
On returning to this country Miss scid-
more was given a vivid Illustration of the
fact. as she states 1t. that the millennium
has not arrived in the New York customs
house."
4 did not see the statue Of Liberty En-
lightning the World" she continued; mo
American homeward bound ever does. He
Is always down in the cabin of the ship.
where despotism Is nagging the passenger.
signing the paper which the customs officers
never give him an opportunity to read. and
trying to remember how many handker-
chiefs he has bought in Europe. In this
way I spent four and one-haif hours on
board, and hour and throa-ura ~ ~,
line on the dock to get up to desk and tell
the customs man that wanted my trunks
house in Georgetown. The trunks were
four days in making this journey. and here
| was charged duty on articles which Secre-
tary Shaw In his new regulations printed
and reprinted last spring, had distinctly ex
empted from duty. The deputy Informed
me that all of the deputies in the customs
house, and even the collector himself, in
terpret the Secretary's regulations in the
same way. Each official adopted his own
Interpretation, and 1 encountered the
deputy whose Interpretation was most ex-
pensive to me- After proper appeal to the
higher authorities the unjust duties were
refunded to me, and poor Secretary Shaw
who has worked so hard and so conscten-
tiously to bring our primeval customs laws
sense. sadly says that all the men fitted to
be customs inspectors are unfortunately
busy now as bank and railroad presidents"
Miss Scidmore has been cherishing IN
most animated experience with these same
customs people for a year At that time
she had ten-pound chest of THE King of
Denmark Chop sent her. The King of
Denmark Chop means the best HankoW tea
which grows in China. This particular box
of tea had been a present to the Russian
consul In China, and was presented to Miss
Scidmore through a mutual friend of each
When the customs authorities opened the
chest and found the tea, they informed Miss
Scidmore that sample would have to be
sent to the tea experts of the service In
New York To IL il n fho
standard, as the law forbid poor and a6ul-
terated tea to be received. The report of
this board Of New York tea experts was
that the tea was under standard and in
ferior." and the report added that it should
be destroyed An appeal was Immediately
made from this decree and after some
months delay Miss Scidmore was allowed
to pay the duty on the tea and take away
ten pounds of what is known to be the very
best tea grown in China.