The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-26

sung river. a distance of some eighteen
miles, This railway was of immense i'm
portance to the trading community. for
many ships anchored at Wusung and
hghtered there, and it was of obvious ne
ceSslty TO have rapid and frequent COM
munication between the anchorage and tha
'o"h- onder variety of pretexts. how
ever this railway was suppressed. bought
up ny the government
rms was done ostensibly to aIlav public
clanor-to propitiate the dead who eould
not rest while the surface of the earth
was profaned by the machinery of foreign
devils
out the Chlnaman is not half SO careful
OF his gods and names as some wnuId
nave US think, for in the next wear 1877
LII Hung Chang found no difficulty ~ Civ
hs TO Chinese company a concession
Tor railway which opened up some mines
In which he was Interested This railway
was subsequently expanded into the pres
ent system connecting Pekin with the sea
we may reasonably conclude that the Chi
nese objected to the railway at Shanghai
not SO much because it disturbed the re-
pose of Chinese spirits. as that this re-
pose was being disturbed under European
auspices. The religious element found no
IauIt with railway when controlled bv
Chlnamen-and since that railway has
proved of commercial value and was not
Followed by a calamity we may reasona-
bly, look to the day when we shall buy =
ticket direct from Canton to Pelzin. ana
thence across the great wall to Euruug.
The railway that was destroyed ana
shipped to Formosa in 1876 was reopened
for traffic in 1S9S-and this time no ona
heard anything about offended spirits.
The little Bismarck lady was right
she wanted railways. but she wanted tbs
public mind prepared for them, that there
might not be riots connected with their
construction.
Tsu Hsi 67 Years Old
The little lady IS now 81 years old and
naturally disposed to repose. She may
have many more years to live for. meas
ured by the standard or Queen Victoria
and Bismarck and old Emperor William.
she is but at the beginning of her career.
AT the age of is, in the year 1851 she
became the concubine of an Emperor. and
as such an influence in the ruling Of his
empire. Since that day has happened al
most every great event that has pro-
foundIy modified the position Of China
to see ports like Hong Kong and Shanghai
develop from insignificant trading sta
tions to commercial centres rivaling Lon
don and New York. Shanghai, which
even in 1876 was a purely trading COM
munity is to-day a city OF factory Chin
neys conspicuous from afar.
MediaevaIism to ModernIty
In Hong Kong to-day there are ship
yards where iron steamers are being con-
tinuafly launched. The little Imperial
Lady has seen her countrypeople not only
learn manufacturing trades from Euro
peans in China. but she has seen them
erect factories Of their own and run them
In competition with Europeans.
This transformation could not have been
made had she opposed it with the vig0r
Of which we know her capable. To bs
sure the portion OF China affected by
modern ways Is not very great, but stiu
the modern ways are there. We have sent
them a sample, and they seem pleased
with it. Much of this transformation has
occurred between the occasion of my two
visits, and if we limit ourselves to merely
that which has happened between 1878
and 1898 we have a change almost an
extraordinary as that which came over
Europe through the use OF steam for
TRANSFORMATION at the beginning Of tho
nineteenth century
China advances slowly. 1T has been ad-
vancing for some ten thousand years.
and it has yet far to go. China has much
to learn from Western nations, but
Western nations have also much to learn
from an empire that has seen the birth
bloom and burial Of many q white maRia
nation