The San Francisco call., 1908-05-17

and the man navO not y0Z En0 Wo4N0
equipment which Is characteristics q
many Of the regiments Of sh0 NEST peo-
EreSsive' Proyfnees Tr11y c~aseA
HAnkow. Shanghai TSeneslR R DeP-
haps even PSking.
The Execution Ground
One OF ne most tnssrogsRag gv0ew "a
Canton II the old sxsoHki0n gF0unA In
the heart Of the atty, q spoe little VsD-
tied By the casual run % e0urts4A
Kipling mentions Il IN -rhs 4ghA
that Failed" but Kiriing gave some
thing OF q word picture. for Il 10 Q oom-
monpiace plat OF but an hal4-a~N A
extent. surrounded By native Bt1k kAo-
tories. Little shacks they are where
each native works his own loom. and
pottery establishment IL On the op-
posite side. When the grounds are
not used for executions the valuable
space Is taken up IN the drying OF
clays- In several spots could be seen
the recently dried. dark red blood OF
the unfortunates and some Of their
clothes partially blood stained aqd
matted lay IN a pile OF refuse. IN the
old days. not 50 long ago either, six or
eight years ago, the guide said, when it
was usual to execute criminals OF
many varieties. some OF them for petty
crin-ess and when barbarous methods,
like disemboweling. the slow death"
which means Sitting up the victim
gradually, and other refined tortures
were practtced, II was often the Gus
tom to hack or the leg or arm OF q vic
tim. and like as not the member would
be left there to attract the dogs OF the
netghborhood, who would gnaw on the
bones for a considerable period. Nova
days they hack Off the head with a
good old AKA method away ahead OF
hQnRinR-an6 -
or bodies, for sometimes a round dozen
are decapitated at once, are hustled or
to the potter's field. The event rarely
draws large crowd among the ma
tives. although photographs Of the sx-
ecutiOns sell IN large Quantities IN
Hongkong to tourists.
The labyrinths of an American
Chinatown" are nothing In eompar1-
son with the almost interminRbls suo-
cession Of alleys IN old Canton. Many
murders take place IN these dark and
nOisome passages. A few OF them now
are lighted by electric lights, but
mostly the old Chinese paper lanterns
are used. and in some OF these dark
and evil smelling factory dsns the
coolies work night and day IN relays
for but few pence. Even the skilled
workmen are poorly paid. A silver
artihcer. who produces exquisits wares
hammered and forged by hand. deli
cately tnlatd and marvelously de-
signed. told me through an fnterprstar
that he paid his best workman but IL
cents gold a day. A few years back
he would have paid such a man svan
less In Hongkong such mechanic
would command S20 a month. but In
ancient Canton, where the tight for life
is keen and harsh. the old standarda
have not raised much as yet And AZ
VIII take years before the priCea rniaa
geneTaiIy to great extent. for the
supply or mechanical labor OF all kinds
seems apparently inexhaustible.
Wonderful ingenuity do the cyhfn~..
display IN their manufacture OF sflvsrn
and rare cabinets. With the ala ~ a
microscope silversmlth Will Inlav a
orooch with portions of a kingnsher's
wing 50 delicate and minute are his
operations that each fnlav nav -
smaller than the head OF naadIs 80
yet gradually and by a secret process
50 cunning as to seem almost nazic
the orilliant tridescent feather huea sva
transferred to the silver metal ana ir-
eorporafed with II 30 that thev VIII
never wear on unless the metal itsaIf
De worn away. In the making OF their
lacquers and silks the ChineSa dts,f.,,
the same amazing ingenuity. Their
trade secrets have come down 70 49,,
rom perhaps thousand years OF
craftsmen, and in curious ola Canton
you VIII find Chinese rkrnanahfr ~
It's pest Tor It Is the greatest ranufac-
turing city In the world whose prod
ucts are thesresult Of piecemaal bs,.,i
craIt- Each day In Canton brought
some new surprise at the marvellous
mecnanical ingenuity of the Chinese
craftsmen
Yet, after all. Canton is not China
ne EVIL tnat swarms there is the evil
OF the city. In the interior ~ Cv,Sr,s
Tar from the swarming mobs. Won viii
nnd the peaceful. patient Chinese ma
i've the humble, devout peasant. the
frugal. industrious tiller OF the sofi- nm
developed as yet. but a fruitful field OF
possibilities. and it is upon this worthy
toHlns peasant that the future of the
great Chinese empire rests.