Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-15
Especial Correspondence. ,

books a public school system IS
Academies. colleges and universities arc
bslnC organized. and books arc needed
for teaching the new learning When
the system is in fun sway, millions of
vorumes will be required. and at pres
ent there is practically nothing on
hand. The old text books describe the
earth as fiat, with China covering the
most OF It's surface, and the other coun-
tries sklrting the edges. The chief
studies of the past were the reading
and writing Chinese, and the commits
ting to memory the sayings of Con-
fucius and Mencius. Today the nation
wants one scheme of modern education.
The government has resolved that 1t
shall have it, and compulsory system
Of schooling Is to be generally estab-
llshed Suppose that tomorrow our
president and Congress should enact
laws wiping out our public schools, re-
placing them with others vitality diff
fcrent, with an entire new list of books
That Is the situation in China today.
BOOKS FOR FOUR HUNDRED MIL
LIONS.
China, moreover. has four times as
many people as the United States It's
children of school age are more than
one hundred millions, and in the new
scheme the grown-ups as we'll as the
babies are anxious to learn There arc
kindergarten and primary departments
for the little ones, there are night
schools for civil officials, military
schools for the army, and law schools
for would-be statesmen. All these are
under way, and there are no books to
feed them. The situation is ono of the
strangest IN history. 1t has no counter
part in the past. and will probably have
none in the future.
In the meantime books are being i'm
ported from half dozen different
countries. Tho great school book pub
fishing houses of Great Britain, the
United States and Japan are studying
the field and are shipping in transla-
tions of text books of one kind and an
other. The Macmlllans 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 send
ing them here by the ton.
Up to the present time most of the
modern text books In use have been
made by the missionaries. One of the
largest presses of the far east Is that of
the Presbyterian mission at Shanghai,
the Nethodists, and there are 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 little more than 10 years
ago. with a paid-up capital of s750,000
in silver. 1t has since grown until II
now has a plant covering acres and
llummlng with modern machinery.
1 went out to see this establishment
last week. 1t lies within two miles or
so of Shanghai proper, on the other
side of Hongkew creek, On my way to
At l drove past mile or so OF fine
foreign residences, with wide porticos
and galleries about them, by many
stores occupied by Chinese, by schools
and colleges run by the missionaries.
and on out into the country. / was ac-
companied by one Of the managers.
and. with him, went through the vari-
Gus branches of the establishment.
The Commercial Press is making
everything from kindergarten lesson
books to English Chinese dictionaries.
biographies and books of mining en-
.gincering. 1t has a large lithographinS
plant, where a dozen presses are turn
ing out school books in colors. In ono
room they were printing a calendar for
the coming year. using IL different col
ors. and In another making cards of
many colors. depicting plants and anil
mails for teaching the Chinese babies.
Much of the printing was done from
stones, but there were also large
etching and half-tonc plants with COM
,plete Photographic appliances. In one
we'll lighted department 1 found dozen
Japanese artists working away, and III
another was shown machines for reduc-
ing drawings to another scale. Some
of the engravers were cutting out cop
per plates for new national currency,
and others were etching out plates ior
school book illustrations. l spent some
time watching them printing banl-
notes The photographic stones were
placed on the presses and the various
colors applied in succession. giving SUI
f1cient time between the different i'm
Dressions for the ink to dry. Where
many colors were required the sheets
were passed on from press to press q
separate stone being used for each
color This was to avoid wasting titno
in changing ink, one set OF presses be-
ling equipped with red. another with
green. and others with blue. yellow or
fblack.
CHINA'S NEW ALPHABET.
Our alphabet has only 26 letters. and
the characters used by our printers are
comparatively few. The classic chi
nese has many thousand characters. .
and. in the simplest of the school
books. several thousand are nseo. III
| the Chinese now in use every character
expresses n word; the language Is
idiographic; that is. 1t Is written IN
words rather than letter and syllaoies'
A Chinese alphabet Is now being FORM
ed and a new system or wrltihG III
augurated IN. .
AT present all penmanship Is WIN
brush and India ink. the brush peins as
held almost perpendicular. About s,VoV
years ago the people had a pennan
shin based upon curved lines. but TINS
was difficult to produce by the brush
and 1t was practically abolished. Meta
pens and fluid Inks will now be brouSnt
in, and the old curves VIII come iltc
use This Will practically XII .n5
brush-pen and India ink business ano ~,
a great industry will go TO the %ali.
The new alphabet is to nave oo let,
ters With it different system VI
printing and writing will come int.
being and the probability is that tMnt M
Typewriter Will be SO adapted 10 tlt
new system that II will come INTO use
IN THE CASTING ROOM
At present every character empIoSeo
In the printing house has TO nave tS
own matrx and be cast separately am
the characters are so delicate that tnes
must be new in order to do goou Work
In the composing room l VISITED Si3
different sizes OF type were eIhplo! " GU
and of these more than 5000 character
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