The Washington herald., 1913-11-23
DIR. VII TALKS
ON new CHINA
Says Education Of Masses Is
Greatest Need Of the
Country.
SEEN AT HIS PALACE
Thinks Big American Manufacturers
Would Do Well If They Established
Plants in the Orient.
SEEN AT HIS PALACE

Shanghai. China. Nov. 22.-"Let us
once get our masses educated as AmeFi-
cans are educated and China, now that
she has dropped the fetters Of royalty.
will become the greatest Of all the ma
tions OF the earth-yes. even greater than
the United States
This is the answer OF famous DR.. WI.
the first citizen Of China newspaper
man had called on him in his palace on
the hills of Shanghai-called to ask him
what he thought of the destiny of New
China" NAt first Or. WI refused as a
private citizen" to comment on the do
ings of the officials Of the first Rrea.
Oriental republic and their works, bur
at last consented because. as he said.
he liked TO talk to his best friends, the
Americans
Education-general education is our
first need and our greatest need. II ia
the imperative need of any country wbera
the people rule. To rule well presupposes
trained minds. Chinese minds must he
trained. Think what republic Of sOO0eA-
900 educated people will make.
Not Given the Chance.
I'VE have sent our young men to the
universities OF America and Hurope- and
il is not an uncommon thing for them
to take honors in open competition. ~
know the Chinese people can learn. but
they have not been given the chance
But We must remember that il is in
the masses of the people that We have
our strength The scholars saws that
they viii do this and they VIII do that.
but the scholars in Chine nave always
been famous as fine takers and some
times they have not been numbered
among the doers. Dealing with primary
and middle schools is by far the more
important"
DO your think that the returned
scholars, those who have been to Japan
and America, are doing as much as they
might toward the educating OF the PED
ple?' asked. There are not many OF
them who devote their lives TO teaching
are there?"
We'll. not great number. These men
are ambitious and desire to get on for
themselves You do not find many men
in your own country who are prepared,
merely for the love of the thing, to 60
In for teaching. They go out into the
world and make money and are SUCCESS
iul in all directions of trade. The same
with our returned students They are
men of exceptional attainments. but fh-
country is needing them TO help guide
this old ship Alright
Western System Favored.
Education has always been carried on
by private enterprise in China NoG4
that time has changed. and the govern
ment is anxious to adopt Western educa-
tion in its entirety. The new minister Of
education is concentrating upon this, and
will have elementary education intro
duced throughout the whole country"
Compulsory education-can that bs
brought aboutg'
''Ah." smiled Dr. WI, eff il can &
brought about it will be a capital thing
for China, but Ii will take time Ths
Chinese masses cannot understand at
once that compulsory education Is neces-
sary. and il is difficult for them to grasp
it owing to the fact that for centuries
education has been conducted along to-
tally different lines
Dr. WI was very kind in his remarks
regarding missionary work of every de-
scription and declared that the mission
aries have always been the pioneers Of
education and medicine in China.
1T is idle for the Western countries
to expect any competition with China
commercially, for many, many years to
come" he said. Before she becomes
commercial competitor. China must be
an enormous buyer. But the time is
coming when China will hold her own
with the rest of the world.
Even this early, in our new stage Of
progress. the demand for foreign thing
is growing. l am often surprised 70
know that, even in the far interior places.
people are getting to know the uses of
foreign things and are calling for sewing
machines and monographs and cameras
and ice boxes and many of the other
things of Western civilization -
One odd thing about the Chinese .E
their belief in advertising They believe
the printed word is sacredly true. and
manufacturers from America, with all
the advertising schemes l saw displayed
there when l was minister to Washing
ton, ought to do marvelously well in
China. Your manufacturers ought &c
establish plants here in China and woCk
hand in hand with the Chinese. There
are fortunes here for the men VINO Will
do this