Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1913-03-14

experience came 10 me tnat gave 10
me such thoughts. When l was l3 a
great flood came into my province
Our family ruled the province of
Changmong-an estate, if you will, of
II square miles. In it is the city of
Chingting. with about 1000 inhabt
ants. When the flood came the whole
country was covered. The people
screamed and fought and starved and
drowned. | was not afraid; | stayed
in the palace and played. | did not
know what was going on without the
palace walls. Nor did l care.
~ looked out and saw the great
flood l got board and a paddle and
padded off across the water. 1t was
wonderful; / had never done anything
like that before and / was a boy, to
whom novelty and excitement are twin
necessities of life. I padded and pad
died and then found couldn't make
my way back. Then | was swept out
into the river itself. | saw people
drown; | saw homes destroyed. l saw
Olhcl Hlcu anu othCi poso Pihu'ihE INV
myself 1t was all very new to me-
"Then it began to get dark. Soon it
was night and still floated down the
river in the midst of the people Early
in the morning l saw a merchant junk
with great wings coming toward me.
How | yelled and bawled! They saw
me and picked me up. They took me
to the city of Tientsin. 1 was taken to
the captain home, where l lived a
week until my father came for me and
took me back to the palace. In that
week / was changed. / studied tho
people; | learned to love them; | said
/ would spend my life working for
them They had saved me; / would
save them.
"I asked my mother to let me travel
She told me I was too young. | waited
until | was l6 and then set out, with
five servants to watch over me. When
| reached England I sent them home.
They were too much bother and eX
pense. Afterward I always travelled
alone. / wanted education and | went
to oxford. / have studied and travelled
ever since. | want no more degrees;
want to get to work. | have learned
for others and now / want to do for
others.'
His plan is not complicated. After
he has studied farming and manufae-
turing, schools and the press in the
United States, he will return to China.
There he will organize a society. He
will call upon other Chinese with eX-
perence and education won abroad but
whose talents have not been in service,
because of lack of direction. with
the help of these men, he will write
books, plays, pamphlets, papers-any-
thing that will serve toward a popular
education. He expects to start daily
newspaper in one of China's large
cities and he will use this paper to pave
the way for the building of factories.
''I shall put the people to work, y says
Prince Changmong, "and teach them
how to work"
He plans to erect modern buildings
and to teach scientific agriculture.
! Already he has learned how Yankee
| farmers grow more rice on a given ter
ritory than do Chinese farmers, though
the latter have centuries of experience
in raising rice.
He does not intend to ask the govern
ment for help, although he says that
the government is welcome to assist II
it so wishes. He believes that n great
educational wave will sweep all China
and he thinks himself called to direct
that wave into proper channels. Prince
Changmong has the instincts of the
builder of commercial empires and he
has trained long and assiduously to fit
himself for such work. He sees won
derful future for China and he sees
the need of master mind, of real
man. He believes that he is the man
and that the moment for his usefulness
has come. 1t is not often that the
crisis of people finds its leader
presciently prepared, as Prince Chang
mong thinks he is. Yet, it is true that
every crisis has developed its leader,
its master mind, it's real man. Such
are the men who have written their
names large on the pages Of the
world s. records and the Manchu prince
who floated away from the palace of
contempt for the common people into
the river of understanding and love of
the common people may live to hear
men call him blessed. He is unselfish
and the unselfish men are the ones who
accomplish really great things, for self
ishness 10 the greatest bar to accom-
plishment. So, the world may well
watch with interest Prince Changmong
and his idsa and his ideal.