The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-03-24
CANTON IS PULSE
AND BRAIN OF CHINA
mot Of Supcrstitious Land. but OF
Progressive, Liberal
Nation.
CAUSE OF RECENT PANIC
Many OF New Officials Are
4
CAUSE OF RECENT PANIC
Many OF New Officials Are
Christians, and Others Are
Friendly to Doctrine.
lspec!al cable % rhe rlmes. plspa tchl

Especial Gable To The Times Dlspa tch.l
Canton. China. Marcn e@.--it has been
snid that Canton IS the pulse Of China,
but It is still! tr,cr 70 sag that Can
ION is the brain or China, not of the
old hide bound, sUpGrStitlous. unpro-
ErcsSive land but of modern, progr.S-
nive, liberal China. Only TO mention
the names Of the great leaders Uf the
times proves the statement via TING
Fang. Tang Shao vi. sun Vat sen ana
Others.
1t has been IN Canton where the
revolution has been nourished and fos
tered for many years, The actual oNSF-
turning OF the cts. however. like the
Precipitation OF The revolution. was
unexpected and in some ways unprcr
pared for. From. what seems 10 b}
the most trustworthy account of all
the many theories. the false report o.
the tall OF Picking. coucocted by III
Tcvolutlonists in Hons Kong and the
thrcats OF these same men TO hiov up
the city, completed the panic III oiiic!al
CirClcs. which the pcaccable transf y
OF the important districts OF Wa;chow
and Stunning to the rcvolution!sts hdd
started. The viccToy after some hest
tation accepted The offer OF the Hriteh
consul to give him an escort 10 Hong
kong and quietly disappeh.e! from
view The other officials either made
their escape o. welcomed the new gov
eminent.
Two hundred man came UP from
Hongkong on November S. and on the
ninth took charge OF the different gov
eminent Offices from which the officials
lad He'd. Since that date there have
been several presidents or co-pres!-
dents. the most successful OF whom
has been WI Hon Man, who is reputed
10 be Christian. He was taken 70
Shanghai, with Dr. Sun to act aa hiss
private secretary. The present In
cl;nbent ia Chan kwinS Ming. who
seems 10 Nc able TO work his own VIII
In ,Ae councils OF the province.
the government is Dictatorship, as
revolutionary governments generally
nrc until u settled government IS estah-
lishcd. and the army IS unruiy. Most
81 the generals are robber chioftans
who were invited To come 10 he city
hy the revolut!0nary party FOR fear the
New Army" and the provincial troops
would not be able TO overawc the Man
chu garrison and tho Bannerrncn or
pld-style troops. This incursion OF rob
Oer-soidiers has greatly complicated
,hc problem OF government. The sew
rral chiefs arc working indcp evidently
and are not submissive 10 the com
uland OF the governor general
The Provincial Assembly. since the
fre which destroyed their beautiful
hall. has been meeting in the now
thcntrc near the east end OF the rivet
front. The work OF the assembly IS to
great extent advisory. as power has
not yet been vouchsafcd them. II is
composed OF representative revolution
ists from the different districts. AS a
5ign OF the progressive character Of
the people here, ten women have been
seated IS rcpres entarives.
The army ~ present in Canton has
been variously estimated At from co.
600 10 10000 The lower figure is
probably the more accurate. Yet tho
temples and government compounds are
ull full of soldiers The barracks out
side the east gate are crowded. One
can seldom walk far through the
streets without m setting company Of
soldiers or band of the "Dare-to Die"
brigade. decked out in light blue UNI
derweur and carrying bombs III little
straw baskets parading along the mar
row ,horoughfares. The soldiers Of tn
New Army" are mixed with the new
recruits 10 act as Instructors. Thou
sands more men are hastily being
brought into some sort of discipline in
prder to join the republican army.
Tho great need of the new govern
mcnt has been money. Immediately
after the city turned revolutionary.
taxes of every description We're abol-
1shed. No money was in the treasury,
md many thousands of men to be sup
ported The officials gave their ser
vices two months free of charge. y
great wave of enthusiasm spread over
Cantonese everywhere in the world, ana
millions of dollars Mexican have been
paid in as rcc-will offerings to de-
fray the expenses OF the new govern
ment Merchants landlords. students,
1icksha coolies, servants even, gave
literally of ;hr funds to help the COM
mon veal The need is continuous,
however. and enthusiasm quickly dies
down. The students OF the Canton
Christian College. in campaign for
contributions. collected over $4,000.
Tha government schools have all
closed and will not open this year un-
less conditions change remarkably.
Many private schools arc also similar
ly affected. AS soon as some settled
form of government is established.
taxes may be again adjusted.
The whole province is in a state of
anarchy. Robberies arc occurring con-
tinuously in all sections of the coun-
try, and food is becoming dcarcr as
transportation of supplies mas been
rendered SO unsafe.
The long train of abuses. oppressioy
and injustice has been until now heard
of but little. The people have, how.
ever, risen, and DR. Sun Vat Sens De
claration Of Independence" viii be
placed by Chinus sons alongside a
similar statement so rcvercd by the
American citizen.
The newspaper, which originated in
China, has only during the last few
years begun to play it's part In edu-
eating tha man on the street. No
greater example of ,hc influence of
the daily press can be cited than has
been shown in the prcsent-day jour
nalism of China. Hongkong newspa-
pcrs have not been censored. and their
terrific philippines against the Manchu
government have borne abundant fruit
Canton newspapers, subject to n strict
censorship. still arc welding Immense
Influence among the reading public.
The students and teachers have been
leaders from the beginning. AS soon