Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-09-25

shock to- my preconceiyed notions Of
Chinese life came when I went to
what is considered the most famous
tea house in Shanghai. l remembered
the clean tea houses Of Japan, with
all their beautiful surroundings, at.
tentive girl walters and extreme sim
plicity ! naturally thought should
find in the Chinese tea houses some
attractive features which would, in a
measure, offset the vileness through
which had passed all morning.
The tea house was a twostory build
ing typically Chinese in its archi-
lecture, Its quaint appearance re-
minding one Of the pictures on the
old blue and white china-ware. The
building rose from the center of a
pond, and was reached by curious
old bridge, so zigzag in its construc-
ton that one was compelled to won
der what drunken man would do II
he had to go across for a drink.
House, bridge and pond were all un.
speakably dirty. The pond was COW
cred with green slime, and from it
orse such terrible odors that | was
forcibly reminded of the Chicago riv-
er in the old days before that city
built its great sanitation canal. The
bridge was grimed with the dire of
centuries. and as l entered the build
ing, it struck me as being cold and
damp, and emitted an odor like a
charnel house.
In the second story there we're ia.
bles, and taking a seat we ordered
tea which was brought by a man,
about as dirty as the people whom
we had avoided in. the streets. The
tea was brought in large porcelain
cups, and accompanying them were
a lot of cakes, the appearance of
which precluded the possibility of
eating them. The tea was good, but
l could not go the cakes, so l dis
sected one Of them and it looked as
If 1t were composed of chopped veg
etables and fruits, and the taste that
/ took that l fel as If had eaten a
bit Of mouldy salve.
No effort was made on part of pro.
prietor or attendants to serve us, and
after the tea and cakes had been
put down on the table the waiter
went about his business, unmindful
OF our desire to get something more.
tried to attract attention but it was
no use, and finally we had to content
ourselves with the tea and cakes and
go away without having an opportun-
ity of learning what else they had
to serve.
Back to the streets again we went,
wondering if We could stand to con.
tinue our investigations until even
ing. Wherever we went the same col
dition met us. Filth beyond descrip-
ton, people squalid, filthy to a de-
gree inconceivable to one who had
never seen it, odors that seemed to
have been defiling the air since the
beginning Of time, and above all the
horrible din kept up by the thousands
of hurrying people. When a palaquin
carrying some parsonage Of import
ance, would pass along the street the
bearers would crowd the people to
the wall knocking down those who did
not hurry, and pass on as Utterly un-
mindful Of the rights of others as
If they were the only ones on the
narrow alleyway. 81,
Human life is the cheapest thing
there Is In all China, and as Smell
ed the smells, and saw the terribly
unsanitary condition of the city, |
wondered how many generations 1t
had taken to make these immune
to disease. Had white people lived
In such unsanitary state they would
have been swept from the face OF the
earth by pestilence, but these peo-
pie seem to 90 along in full health
as If dirt and filth were their nat
ural condition. Sometimes a pesti.
fence OF cholera or smallpox comes
along and kills off a few hundred
thousands, but they do not mind it.
In fact saw three men with pus-
tules Of smallpox on their faces
passing along the street in the crowd
unnoticed by those around them.
Late in the afternoon we passed
through the gate and it seemed as
II we had reached another condition
In life. Fresh air and pure condi-
tons made it seem as If we had pass.
ed from some post hole into a puri.
fled region. l fully realized now the
density Of the Chinese population. I
no longer wondered at the fact that
there Is four hundred million people
In this land, except to wonder how
n hannanad thof fhav rraro - III