Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-08-08

Moukden alone there are shipped g.
600, 900 pounds of bean oil and 100,-
10000 million pounds of bean cake.
The nearer Moukden we get the
more desert-like and sandy it bcomes
and we onder why this is spoken of
as such rich country. We arrive
at Moukden at 7:10 and go direct to
the Yomatto Hotel, japanese host
lery, very we'll kept. The station and
hotel are about four miles from the
walled city of Moukden, a city of
about 100000, will not say souls as
l much doubt this one attribute.
In the morning we look out of our
room and our frst view, a one horse
street car line, such as We remember
at the stock yards in Chicago fifty
years since. The dust is so thick one
can see but a short distance, but
through it you see what the Russians
and Japs have done in making mod
ern street.
Going on the street you find small
ponies hauling a wagon, two wheeled,
with a prairie schooner cover in
which you will see sitting on the
bottom the Manchu women with their
high head dress, their faces painted
or enameled red, and far surprising
the American Indian in their gaudy
attire.
We take one horse carriages to the
city but before we have gone mile
most of our company turn back as
the dust is almost unbearable, one
hardly being able to breath and can
not see any distance. AS we reach
the gate to the city and enter it cuts
off the terrible wind but dust still
| fills the air? The gates are very or
lamental but the wall is of adobe and
fast going to decay. 1t is about IL
miles in circumference. About mile
inside this mud wall is the inner wall
about a mile square walled in with a
brick and stone wall forty feet high
and thirty wide.
AS you ride through this city what
will most impress you is the barbaric
signs, the most hideous dragons and
devils that one could imagine to adj
lvertise their business.
On all this railroad coming into
Moukden there are stationed twenty
japanese soldiers to the mile and in
the city 400 Japanese soldiers and
about 10000 Chinese soldiers.
l will not mention the many pla-
! ces of interest but what most i'm
pressed me was the degraded condi-
ton of the people
here met young man from Mas
sachusetts, a Dartmouth boy sent
here to take charge of loans for Bos-
ton banks. he told me Of the wretch
ed condition of these people. STEPPED
in disease he said about eight months
before that the government gathered
$50 leprous ones, put them in a ditch
where a feast was served, and while
they were eating a company of sol
diers were ordered to shoot the entire
mass and they were buried in mass in
the ditch. To make the degeneracy
worse Japan sends out all its prosti-
tutes to Ma1churia to farther the al
ready degraded animals. They can
be easily distinguished as they are
obliged to wear their obi in front in
stead of on the back and surely the
city was alive with them.
Like all these western countries
they here pad their clothing with
cotton to keep warm, as fires are al
most unknown for warming purposes,
few chimneys being seen In the city.
This man Marsh told noe that last
winter the mercury was down to 90
below and that over 1000 people
froZe to death. He also told me that
he saw from his room girl of about
three, as dogs caught her and killed
her on the spot and ate her, there
were throngs of natives passing.
These great Russian wolf dogs are
seen at every corner and he said it
was common to throw girl babies to
them. He said at times the dogs get
that hungry that they kill other dogs
and eat them. Only the fittest survive
here and one sees great men standing
much larger than any people we have
in our country.
The Japanese are now in fnli con-
troll and fully realize it as their word
is the law.
1t was from this city that came the
rulers Of China for many generations
and from Manchuria came those that
filed the most important positions
in China, SO many Of them moving
south that they almost depopulated
large portions of Manchuria which at
that time had about 20,000,O00 peo-
pie but now much Of which is not cul-
tivated.