Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-04
CHINA DEEPLY MOVED
BY THE PROPAGANDA
OF PREPAREDNESS
Mrs. Fleck, Prominent Suffra.
gist, Returned From Orient,
Tells of Spirit Animating
the People
ORIGINAL "PACIFISTS"
Women of Ancient Country Cling to
the Habits of Centuries
Past

Tho same agitation for preparedness!
which Is going on In this country is beinf
carried on 5000 miles across the seas ir
! China. Everywhere the talk Ia of wal
and the necessity for armlng against 9
possible enemy
| This Is the testimony Of n Philadelphia
woman who has just returned from a six
! months tour of China. Japan and the
! Philippines, She Is Mrs. Annie Dick
! Fleck, a prominent suffraglst OF 4i0l
| Chester avenue, formerly treasurer OF the
| Philadelphia County Woman's Suffrage
! Association
Mrs. Fleck went TO China with her
daughter, Miss Marian Fleck, who was
engaged to marry Ross Corbin n former
Philadolphian, who is a civil engineer In
the employ Of the Standard oil Company.
Mr.. Corbn and Miss FleCk were married
IN Shanghai September and live now in
the Philippines Mrs. Fleck made the trip
homo from the Philippines all alone in
order to spend Christfas with her other
daughter Mrs. Leopold Seyffcrt wife OF
the noted Philadelphia artist
PREPAREDNESS IN CHINA.
Preparedness Is the battle cry Of China
today" declared Mrs. Flcck. Tho country
is undergoing n siege Of propagandists
who are cndeavorinE to arouse enthus-
asnI. Chnn is Fundamentally a peaceful
country and the effect Of her Christian
attitude is held up to her as n powerful
example of unprcparedness. With the
port of TsinE-Tau and the colony OF kiao-
Chau in the hands OF Japan II Is not n
difficult matter. China Is the oldest M
tion in the world but our modern meth
DDS Of warfare make her feel that TO be
sufficiently civilized to meet us on equal
terms. she must become military nation
AS for the change in the form Of Gov
erhmcnt which was impending at the
timc | was leaving. | fear that the av-
erngc Chinaman, the coolie. does not
Know anything about the government
undor which he lives. The country has
not been exactly republican and the ma
Jorlty are absolutely uncducated
Her attitude toward the war? China
mas one hate only, Japan. To such an
extent that since the American flag has
been taken off the Pacific, the Chinese
make every effort to do their shipping on
Dutch boats. japanese bottoms are used
only when no other boat is available
iionk Kong, the part OF China that be-
longs to Great Britain, Is the keystone
OF the passenger service and virtually
controls the coming and going OF ali who
must cross the Pacific on their way TO
the Eastern hemisphere. But China is
trying to divert shipping into the hands
OF hcr friends. Perhaps the difficulty for
her is to discover Just who are her friends
today.
WOMEN KEEP OLD HABITS.
The women in China" and Mrs. FleclS |
signed, still keep up the old customs OF |
their ancestors. / hear that there Is n |
movement TO throw off some of the old |
mar pits. among others that OF binding the !
feet: but all the women | saw we're fol- |
lowers OF the old crecds. In Ningpo a |
day S trip from Shanghai, I was the first
White woman other than transient mis- |
slonary to come into the town | was |
ADVISED to go out only in a palanouin. |
w omen came from their houses to look
ht me, the women In their pantalettes
ana jackets, Tor only on the bridal day
does the Chinese woman wear skirts |
think we found each other very curious
me very young women smear their hair
with a thick black pOmadc and null tEeir
hair back from their forheads so strcnu-
ously that by the time they are 30 the
majority are bald. And they still bind
their feet Here is n shoe sold 10 the
mature Chinese woman" and Mrs FIeok
held out red satin slipper embroidered
m blue and gold, and about five inches
ong. Their ankles are as thick as their
feet; from beneath the trouser leg n col
ankle and foot support the body,
and by means of this extremity the Chi
nese woman walks.
JAPAN'S TRANSITION.
Japan is undergoing another stage of
development. and all the foreigners there
say she is being Amcricanized. The
Mikado In the months preceding his cor
onation' made tour OF his country and
made speeches from the back platform of
his special train. We experience these
.ours so frequently that they make slight
impression on us, but Japan is still over
whe!med by the modern methods of
propaganda as practised by the Mikado
'Ihe japanese say very little about the
war. I've been told that all the Germans !
N Japan are allowed many privileges and
even the interned officers from the fort
1f TsinG-Tau are not incarcerated. The
Japanese officers trained in Germany
have brought back such a good impress
sion of German methods and German |
efficiency that the Japanese have a great
ieai of respect for their quondam in
structors
The Flltpinos. judging from what one
IAN observe in a short visit" said Mrs.
fleck, seem at peace with the present
administration OF course, they want
lome rule, and every one believes in The
independence of small nations viii see the
Justice of their aim. The Hon. NJ l.
luezon, the representative in Congress |
rom the Philippines, is strongly for it
md made many converts on the trim
rom the Philippines TO Shanghai The |
Jne difficulty is that if Manila is given
autonomy, and she is the best fitted for |
I, the smaller islands will demand il, too.
And l don't think they are as ready as
I.uZon.
Everywhere" said Mrs. Freck. there
S a night on. And I've come back In
line for one here-the fight for equal
suffrage. and I'm prepared and ready 10
1esin now"