El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-01-15
Copyright, 1910, by Frank G. Carpenter)

q HANGHAI, China, Jan. 5.-One of
- the problems which China is facing
is the making of text books. A
public school system is being established
all over the empire. Academies, colleges
and universities are being organized, and
books are needed for teaching the new
learning. When the system is in full
sway, millions of volumes Will be re-
quired, and at present there is prac-
tically nothing on hand. The old text
books describe the earth as flat, with
China covering the most OF its surface,
and the other countries sklrtlng the
edges. The chief studies of the past
We're the reading and writing Chinese,
and the committing to memory the say
ings of Confucius and Mencius. Today
the nation wants one scheme OF modern
education. The Government has resolved
that it shall have it, and compulsory
system of schooling is to be generally
established. Suppose that tomorrow our
president and congress should enact laws
wiping out our public schools, replacing
them with others vitality different, with
an entire new list of books. That IS
the situation in China To-Day.
Books for 400, 100000.
China, moreover, has four times as
many people as the United States. It's
children of school age are more than
100, 100000 and in the new scheme the
grownups as well as the babies are anX
ious to learn. There are kindergarten
and primary departments for the little
ones, there are night schools for civil Of
ficials, military schools for the army.
and law schools for wouldbe statesmen.
All these are under wa and there are
no books to feed them. The situation
is one of the strangest in history. 1t
has no counterpart in the Dast, and will
probably have none In the future.
In the meantime books are being i'm
ported from a half a dozen different
countries. The great school book pub
fishing houses of Great Britain, the
United States and Japan are studying
the field and are shipping in TRANSACTIONS
of text books of one kind and another.
The Macmillans of London and New
York have published some, the American
Book company and CHM of the United
States Others; and as for the Japanese,
they are pirating the school books of
other nations and sending them here by
the ton.
China's Biggest Publishing House.
Up to the nresent time most of the
modern text books in use have been
made by the missionaries. One of the
largest presses OF Inc cStSG Is ll<-J u
the PRESBYTERIAN mission at Shanghai,
another of considerable size belongs to
the Methodists, and there are a few of
other denominations.
The only large secular publishing
house which has yet been organized to
take advantage of new conditions IS the
Commercial Press Of this city. 1t was
established a little more than 10 years
ago. with paidup capital of threequar-
tiers OF a million dollars in SILVER. 1t
has since grown until it now has plant
covering acres and humming with mod
ern machinery.
I went out to see this establishment
last week. It lies within two miles or
so of Shanghai proper, on the other side
of Hongkew creek. On my way OF it l
drove past a mile or so of the fine for
eign residences. with wide porticOs and
galleries about them by, many stores oc-
cupied by Chinese, by schools and col
leges run by the missionaries, and on
out into the country. L was accom-
panied by one of the managers, and, with
him. went through the various branches
of the establishment.
The Commercial Press is making
everything. from kindergarten lesson
books to English Chinese dictionaries,
biographies and books of mining engi-
neering. 1t has large lithographing
plant, where a dozen presses are turning
out school books in colors. In one room
they were printing a calendar for the