The Washington herald., 1913-03-09

cipal aim in view being TO open up to
| foreign trade the vast and pOpulous, but
almos' wholly unknown. interior Of
China.
Suppose it were said that somewhere
In the world there was an undiscovered
country-undiscoversd that Is to say. in
Q commercial senss-with 15o.00o.000 civil
ICED Inhabitants shut of from the rest Of
mankind, and SO far dependent upon their
own resources as to be acquainted with
but single product OF foreign origin.
namely. kerosene OIL Should we not re-
gard such a statement as incredible?
1t would certainly seem SO. And yet q
region exactly corresponding to this de-
scription Is to be found in the interior OF
China, where. In the western provinces.
cut of from the outside world by lack OF
railroad or other modern means of COM
munication. conditions are substantially
what they were 1000 years or more ago.
Thus. for example, the sIens Of the bor-
derland Of Yunnan are held by chieftains
under a species OF feudal tenure, and over
wide areas the crossbow is to-day the
most advanced of weapons. In many dis
tricts the railroad surveyors-advanee
agents of future commerce-are the
first white men ever seen by the ma
tives; even the adventurous missionary
having as yet failed to penetrate so far.
Nine Eggs for One Cent.
In the province Of Shansi one can buy
nine eggs for cent. a chicken for 5
cents. mutton at cents a pound with
out bone), pheasants at cents a brace
wheat for Is cents a bushel corn for %
cents a bushel. and coal at 80 cents
ton.
These figures are taken from the notes
of l.2co-mile trip made last summer by
representative OF our Department of
Commerce, Mr.. Julean II. Arnold. through
the region in question. 1t is one Of the
most densely populated parts of the world
and developed to the highest degree ag-
riculturally; yet. for lack of roads or
comfortable means of conveyance. Mr..
Arnold was obliged to cover 100 miles Of
his journey on foot. 80 miles on mule
back. and 800 miles in sedan chairs.
A missionary in Shansi told Mr.. Ar
mold that his bills for food supplies
amounted to only $50 a month. With
-four at half a cent a pound, bread is
cheap. and unskllled labor all over West
ern China Is obtainabie at from 5 to 5
cents a day. The low prices are thought
to be largely attributable to the fact that.
owing to the commercial isolation Of the
region. the worlds food of gold has not
Yet thrown its first ripple upon the bor-
ders of the land, to raise the scale of
values.
The provinces Of Shansi and shensi
grow something like 51.0o0,oco bushels Of
wheat per annum, but cannot find
market for II at . cents a bushel. A
patient and plucky little railroad has
managed to penetrate as far as Taiyuan-
fu. the capital of Shansi and. as re-
suit. the town which has 5000 inhabl
tants, has become wonderfully modern
ized. with broad. weil-paved streets. cleo
trio lights. telephones. fine school build
ings, a salaried police, and uniformed
street-sweeping brigade. Women go about
shopping and visiting. and schoolgirls
march in public parades. There is even
an up-to-date match factory, which ships
its product by rail to Tientsin and other
Chinese cities. But IN the outlying coun-
try, only a few miles away, conditions
are wholly medieval
In Shensi province there is already some
complaint of the rise OF the cost of liv
ing. One must pay a cent for only five
eggs there, and other necessaries of life
are going up proportionately. This state
Of affairs arises. to some extent. appar-
emily. from a recent imitation OF the local
currency due to the Importation into the
province Of hundreds Of carloads of
brass cash" These cash are discarded
money from East China (where they are
DtlnE ulSpldCtu DN Copper COiHf. ana IlI-
teen pounds of them are equivalent to 81
in gold.
The plain OF ChenRtu (all Of it a ver-
table garden) extends over a distance
just about equal to that which separates
Philadelphia from New York, with a
width half as great It has a system
OF irrigation that was in use during the
lifetime of Christ, and which to-day fully
meets the requirements of 100000 peo-
pie. Scattered over this plain art a num-
ber of large and wealthy towns chief
among which Is Chengtu. With a popu-
lation OF 3s50no. Chingtu, the capital OF
the province Of Szechuan, is far removed
from foreign influences for the reason
that It is 200 miles UP the Yangtze.
That mighty river. which is the main
artery OF trade between East and West
China, is navigated by fleets of foreign
and native steamers for !. 900 miles from
its mouth: but above that point 1t runs
through a serious of tremendous noun |
tain gorges with dangerous rapids, which |
are barrier to traffic with the country
higher up.
Szechuan. the most extensive and rich |
est Of all the eighteen Chinese provinces.
has a population not far from equal
to that Of the United States. |
II Is an inviting field for foreign COM
merce, as yet practically untouched: but. |
as soon as the Hankow-Szechuan Rail- |
roed (now building) taps It, there will be |
wonderful transformations.
A Fertile Valley.
Another very promising region, COM !
speaking. is the Wei Basin, ]
tn Shensi-known as the Cradle Of the |
Chinese Empire. 1t Is one Of the most !
fertile valleys in all China, producing |
enormous quantities Of cotton The raw |
cotton Is transported out OF the valley |
10 northern Shansi by carts and mules, |
and to Szechuan and the Han Valley by |
coolies over high and difficult mountain
eoolie carrying on his back |
I50 pounds q distance of sixteen miles /
per day. for a wage Of Z cents per diem. |
Says Mr.. Arnold: travelling across
Honan Province. through southern Chill.
southern Shensi, and southern Shansi. :
turing the summer months, one marveIs |
II the vast quantities OF cotton produces.
n these districts. Within the last two
,r three years there has been a great
Increase Of cotton cultivation because of |
he prohibition Of poppy-growing by the
of Chill and Shansi. Much
II the area formerly devoted to opium
aising is now planted in cotton-the
product being ginned by machine of
,ative invention that Is both cheap and
Ingenious"
The region here described supports a
,reater number of people in proportion
o area than any other part Of the world
ave perhaps Belgium. Yet the amount
II foreign goods consumed by these
eeming millions Is so small as to be
hardly worth mentioning. But the re-
ources OF the country are enormous. and
'efcre long the building OF railroads
lready projected will bring II into COM