El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-06

~ EKIN, CHINA, Dec. 6.-'Memb ers
of the Christian community are
\ now free as never before to enter
into all forms of activities and to make
their influence felt in social life IN
Pekin," says J. $. Burgess, one Of the
young Princeton men who are conduct
ing one Y N. c. A for Chinese and an
other for the soldiers of the various
legation guards in this capital
Mr. Burgess has been devOung him
self especially to social work among
the Chinese. He has, as result ac-
Quired much knowledge OF unusual
conditions in the prisons, insane
asylums and poor houses in Pek1n. At
the same time ne has great hopes OF
the Chinese becoming more ana more
active in lettering conditions among
their own people.
Keep Families on 10 Cents.
As a result of his Investigations, Mr.
Burgess says there are $4,000 rickshaw
coolies in Pekin. and that many OF
them not only provide for themselves,
but also for families of two or three
persons on an income of from 10 10
Is cOppers, worth less than half the
value of the same number Of American
cents per day a brief study Of 20
of these men," SAYS Mr.. Burgess in
lzpOrt just compiled, revealed the
fact that they are not so grossly 1g-
nOrant and hopeless as might be sup
posed A good proportion Of them can
read, and thus are open to the lnflu-
Many Are Virtual Slaves
There are thousands of apprentices
and employees in the large stores who
are virtually slaves, working from IA
to IS hours a day with no wholesome
recreation and no chance for educa-
ton. These men are not allowed to
leave the store. Modern industry has
as vet scarcely shown its head in Pc
kin. but now is the time to create
public opinion which will result IN
the enactment of laws making impOs-
Sible those conditions already exist
ing in the factories of OSka and
Shanghai. In Oska thousands of wO-
men, lured in from the country on
false promises, are forced to work in
credible hours on starvation pay,
sleeping in crowded and unSanltary
buildings under blankets that are
never for an hour without a. user.
Long training to consider bodily
exercise as ignOble, and many wise
precepts about the student who burns
the midnight oil have brought about
a class of students for the most part
physically weak, among whom tuber-
culosis and eye trouble are common
Eat for Diversion.
THE westerner is struck with the
emptiness of the lives of the poor and
OF the rich alike, and the apparent
lack Of Development of the play in
stinct The coolies ideal of a good
time is to so home and do nothing
When a student Of the college Of
Languages was asked what he did
MnEH ne wanted TO ENJOY uAInSelL ne
replied, 7 eat. This is my fifth meal
today
The lack of wholesome amusements
naturally results in participation in
unwholesome amusements. Five years
ago there was not a pool room in Pc
kin There are now q dozen Of them
Gambling and drinking are common in
such places
Republic Causes Innovations.
''The sudden change of this nation
into a republic has brought in a host
of new and totally misunderstood
western ideas about the supposedly
modern relations Of men and women
This has been noted even in the mis-
sion schools. Of a pleasant summer
evening numbers OF unchaperoned
young men and women could be seen
strOlling about the groves of the tenn
pie of Heaven arm in arm. Fol-. China
such a thing was utterly unheard of a
few months ago"
Mr. Burgess declares also that the /
prisons range from heaven to hell"
There is a model prison" in Pekin 1
that compares favOrably with the pris- |
OnS of Europe and America, and might /
be an inducement for many of the !
homeless. who lose their limbs and /
sometimes their lives by freezing in |
the streets of this city in winter, to /
commit crimes in order to be sent /
there But as a policeman explained |
70 him, the prisoner cannot tell which |
jail he viii be condemned to occupy.