Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-04-10
HE'S NO "JOsHER"
Chicago Man Who Took a Long
Foreign Trip Has Arrived
at Home.
WON A BET OF TWENTY DOLLARS
At the Expense of Something More
Rather Than Stand His
Friends Jokes.

Chicago, April 10.-Joseph Downey,
school trustee and former city build
ing commissioner, with fine coat of
tan and looking the picture of health,
has returned to Chicago after four
months tour of the Orient. BY reach
ing home in time Downey won
wager of $50 from his friend, Charles
w. Gindele, Who bet that the genial
contractor could not make the trip,
taking his wife with him, and return
in four months. Mr.. and Mrs. Downey
left Chicago on Dec. 10, so that Gin
dele lost his bet by the narrow mar
gin of one day
He Wouldn't Take q JOSH"
1T was the bet that made me take
the trip" said Downey. Not the
amount of course, but 1 had nearly
backed out of going for business rea-
sons when Gindele and the boys be-
gan joshing me. So just to make good
L started off and L have had a most
delightful trip. We went from here to
San Francisco. where we sailed fo-
Japan. From there we went to China,
thence to Manila and back home again
by the same route. We were on the
ocean siXty-twO days and never for a
moment was the weather bad.
Everybody Behind the Times.
1.-The most noticeable thing to me
was the backwardness of the cOun-
tries we visited. Everywhere they are
behind the times. Everything is done
by hand. There is no machinery to
speak of. 1t was a noval sight to see
those chaps putting up Il siX-story
building. 1t would take twenty or thir-
ty of them to carry the timbers. and
they carried up mortar and other ma
terial in baskets and buckets. using in
clines from floor to floor. In Yokohama
and in Manila, however, 1 noticed one
or two modern steel construction build
ings going up. They were being built
by Englishmen. Americans for some
reason do not seem to grasp the OPP
portunities offered. AS far as l could
see Englishmen controlled all the banks
in China and over in Manila, where
one or two American banks have been
started, Engiishmen have been en-
gagged to run them.
Natives Are Polite and Clean.
zone of the remarkable traits in
those eastern people is their uniform
pOliteneSS, and all the time we were
gone l never saw a Chinaman or Jap
under the influence of liquor. The Japs
are very clean, too. They have no
sidewalks, ard every morning the
housewives sweep the street in front
of their homes. 1t would be a good
thing if some of our city authorities
would take trip around and see how
they do things in those countries.
No Grudge Against Us.
"There doesn't seem TO be the slight
est hostility to America on account of
the recent war. In fact, the Chinese
people think Americans are the best
people on earth. / came over with the
new Chinese minister. He is an un-
usually intelligent gentleman, and in
my opinion eminently well suited for
the office he is to fill. His coming
should prove of benefit to both coun-
tries He brought twenty-five young
boys with him, and is going to put
them in college here. They all had
their queues shaved on while on ship |
board
Philippines Need q Developer.
''At Manila things seems to be all at |
sea. Americans there don't seem to be |
satisfied They think the Filipinos are
favored too much and business seems |
to be at a standstill as far as l could |
see. l don't believe there will be much |
Improvement until they let some one |
go in and develop the country"