Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-14
OCCIDENTAL PUPIL
TELLS OF CHINESE
FORMER LOS ANGELES STU
DENT is PROFESSOR
Finds Everything In China $50 Diff
ferent"-But Few Americans
Engaged In Business
There

Prof George Nye Steiger, who was
formerly a popular student Of Occi-
dental college, graduating from that in
stitution last year, and who is now oc-
cupying the chair of history at St
Johns college, Shanghai, China, writes
Interestingly of his first impressions of
the Flowery Kingdom. Prof. Steiger
went to China as a missionary of the
Episcopal church and has become very
much interested in the future of that
country and the work of education be-
ing carried on.
The impressions of China from the
standpoint of a Los Angeles young
man are best given in his own Ian
guage:
First impressions are often very con-
fused and hazy when written, and it
is only after having given them several
months to clarity, as 1t were, that
venture to write few of them.
$50 Different"
"Were it my object to put into one
terse phrase the impressions of new
conner I might go far to find a better
epitome than so different
"Coming here from Southern Califor-
mia. with it's mountain scenery rivaling
the Alps in grandeur, stopping in the
rugged. picturesque beauty of Hawaii
for three weeks and passing along the
coast of Japan, with its green noun
tains and thousands of rough thickly
wooded isles, the coast of China is at
first sight one Of the most desolate and
discouraging things l have even seen;
indeed my first and almost only touch
of inconsistencies was during the run
up the Yangtse river to Woosung,
where we landed to continue by train to
Shanghai, twelve miles away.
A11 int a
was somewhat improved, stretching
away to the horizon in endless fields of
VARYING green, broken only by scattered
clunnps of bamboos and small trees,
not a hill in sight as far as the eye
could reach; my interest was aroused,
however, on being told that in every
one of those small clumps there was
village. consisting of an almost solid
mass of small one-storied houses and
giving shelter to an almost incredible
number of people. When I finally ar
rived at the college I was taken up to
the top of the clock tower and shown,
far off in the distance three tiny points,
breaking the line of the horizon like
so many small saw-teeth, and was in
formed that until found time to travel
inland a hundred miles or more those
were the only hills I should ever see.
SUMS Rays Dangerous
"TIardly less striking, in coming from
Southern California, was the difference
in climate. Although a short stay in
Hawaii to some extent prepared me
for what found, it seemed strange to
one coming from a climate where 1T is
possible to go bareheaded in the sun
with the thermometer at 105 degrees,
to be told that he must wear a ptth
helmet whenever he ventured out-and
that with the mercury at about 50 or
80 degrees.
"They say that no one realizes the
danger Of the SUMS rays out in this
climate until he has had at least one
touch
"And then the people. The third great
difference to which every new arrival
in China must learn to accustom him
| self. The first thing did on arriving
was to make some purchase and order
them sent out to the college-they came
eight days later after I had sent two
notes to the store and had finally
stopped in myself and tried to impress
| them with the fact that really wanted
the things-that was a Chinese store.
81 have been told that there are
three things out here that make for
eigners break down in health, the
monotony of the country, the humidity
of the atmosphere, and last, but by fan
the greatest, the immobility of the peo-
plea man who tries TO hustle the
Chinese is lost.
Few Americans in Business
This last may account for the fact
that there are so few Americans in
business out here i'm Shanghai; before
coming l naturally believed that there
as in all other places, 1t was the Amer
leans who were doing things as a
matter of fact the American 'hongs' OF
firms can be counted on your ten fin,
gers, while in some Of those almost al
the foreigners employed are English 4
may be that the Americans canno
stand the paee-it is too slow the Eng
lish, however, are not afflicted in tina
] way. l bought hat in an Englisl