Arizona republican., 1911-10-28
Many Interesting Facts Re lating to Life in Far Away China Are Told by Alfred Franklin in an In terview.
ONCE LIVED IN
 CITY OF HANKOW
And in a Most Graphic Manner He Describes His Impressions of Place That Is Now the Scene of a Revolution.

The remarkable uprising in China,
 which bids fair to give the people of
 that ancient empire a constitutional government, naturally has attracted worldwide attention. It is, in fact. one of the great historical events of this generation; but because of the vague ideas held by most Americans regarding the geography of that part or the empire which is the scene of the disturbance, and our general ig- norance of the Chinese customs and modes of thought, the interest is minimized to a large extent In con- nection with this matter, Alfred Franklin, whose father. Hon. Benia- min J. Franklin, was United States consul at Hankow during the first administration of President Cleveland. has given much interesting and valu- able information which is reproduced below. Mir. Franklin lived at Han kow with his father, and although he was quite young at the time, he has perfect recollection of his resi- dence there and of the experiences through which he passed.
 HankOw, which a week ago fell into the hands of the Chinese revo- lutionaries. is located on the Yangtse- Kiang river, TOO miles from it's mouth. It is the largest tea port in the world. It will be a matter of surprise to Americans to learn that Hankow is a city of 2,O0O,O ,OOG people. The city of Wu Chang. which is To- cated on the opposite bank of the Yangtse-kiang. contains a population of about 600.000. The river at that point is about two miles wide and is the artery for an enormous com- merce.
 It is a matter of common knowledge that China is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. having a population of approximately 4OO,OOO,OO0. In the Hankow district the population is particularly dense and if it were not for the marvellous richness of the river valley, the sup port of such a vast number of peo- pie would be an impossibility. This valley is enriched by the annual over flow of the Yangtse- Kiang, in the same manner as the valley of the Nile is enriched by that historic stream. A feature of this annual overflow is the deposit of millions of fishes, which rot on the ground and are an important factor in the en- riching of the soil by supplying the necessary phOsphates.
 HankOw is one of the termini of the Pekin railway, whose possession has been a bone of contention be- tween the revolutionaries and the government forces. The city once had a population of 5,0OO,00O and was fifty years ago the largest city in the world. At that time it was destroyed by fire and the new city was erected on the ruins of the old.
 The story of MT. Franklin regard ing life in China is of the most fasci- hating character. Asked why Ameri- cans who. for any reason, spend a period there, frequently adopt the country as their home. he said the reason is simple-that socially the place is absolutely ideal: that it is not equalled even by Paris where it is popularly supposed the last word in social life has been spoken. Added to this, it is highly cultivated. and its educational advantages are second to none. Much of Mir Franklins early education was obtained while in HankOw.
 One of the most interesting and in structive parts of the talk related to examinations for the government service-what we would call civil service examinations here. At Han kow there is an immense group of small buildings where these examina- tions are conducted. The students are taken into small rooms about six by ten feet in size. having been searched first, as though they were prisoners about to enter a peniten- tiary. This is to guard against pos sible fraud. They remain there for two weeks while the examination is in progress. Mir. Franklin said he knew of men so years of age who had been taking these examinations