Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-06-13
A. C. BAKER WRITES
ABOUT EUROPEAN TRIP
DecOrahian Home From %, 900 Mile
Trip Which Took Him to Many
Places of Interest.
TRAVELLED 5000 MILES
BY RAIL IN CHINA
This Article Deals With His Trip
Through Eastern Asia, the
Home of the Yellow
Man.

1
Man.
Mr.. A. G. Baker, of this city, who
arrived home last Tuesday from a
trip to Europe, covering $4,000
miles has very kindly consented to
give Public Opinion readers a review
of the trip, which will be given II
installments from week to week.
Mr.. Baker left Decorah last Decem-
ber and Joined a party of fourteen
others, and visited Honolulu, Sand
wich Island, Japan, PHILIPPINES, Hong
Kong. China, Macoa, Chinese Por-
tuguese colony, Manchuria, Korea,
etc. He has we'll written diary of
many interesting things, so it will
be we'll to watch for these letters
each week. Following is the first in
lstallment:
Will the readers of the Public
Opinion lay aside the murderous
surroundings of Kultured Europe
llong enough to get glimpse of bar
the pleasure of the writer to COPY
from his diary disconnected des-
Icriptio1 Of the home of the yellow
man. -
The early part of this diary will
necessarily be rather uninteresting
reading but when shall have reach
the fiowery kingdom and lead you
Through halls where no caucasian
~ h.f, l.
trod or had a passing view of Pekil.
the mysterious, Manchuria and
Korea the unfortunates, and Japan
the inviting.
The writer had been wintering in
sunny (cloudy) California. In Feb
ruary went north to San Francisco,
stopping at the Palace Hotel where
the company of whom be was to be
the orly member from outside the
confnes Of the state of Ohio, were
Ito congregate
Our company consisted of four
teen, mostly business people Of
Cleveland and Akron, the company
headed by d. j. Collver a retired
member of the passenger service of
the New York Central railroad and
a person exactly fitted to get the ac-
comodations necessary for railroad
travel in the countries we were to
visit.
Our transportation took us over
the Japanese line the Tekye Kaisan
Kasia perhaps the largest carrier on
the broad Pacific. Our ship the
Shinye Maru (Shinye meaning shin
ling and Maru meaning rolling) is
the largest ship on the Pacific, but
even then it is not in the class Of
those great Atlantic liners.
For two days before sailing Wis
tied Pier 32 to watch the loading of
this great iron monster. ! saw them
unload sixty cars Of sole leather for
the Russian army, sixty cars OF cot
ton for the mills at Kobe, one hun
Idred and fifty cars of rolled steel for
ship building over there, one hun
dred cars of coal to push US over
and piles of miscellaneous freight.
/ could but wonder at the appe-
tite of this monster ald was remind
ed of the description the writer gave
of the, ship Minnesota a few years
since. He spoke of standing on the
deck and seeing them let down into
the hold in the ship fifty-six locomo-
tives for the Trals-Siberian rail-
road as a part Of that cargo. Surely
If one were to fully describe the ca
Ipacity of these floating monsters he
would be classed as the prince of
liars.
We were to have sailed at one o.
clock the afternoon of February 21,
but delay until five gave us the op-
Iportunity to receive the last greet
Iings from those dear to us before
passing out upon waters so extensive
that our imagination had never ex-
lpanded to fully comprehend.
The San Francisco papers report
ed the storm of February 21 to be
the heaviest wind on the bay in 21
years and when we reached the
Golden Gate they dropped anchor
and here we lay until the following
morning. / was the first on deck
that morning and as we steamed out
on the boisterous waters from our
safe haven there seemed to come
general upheavel, though l think
that within me was far more i'm
Ipressive than that outside.
Could one have heard the crash of
false teeth as they crashed into that
washbowl, broken as they were, and
seen the smiling expression on the
face of the writer perhaps he could
more fully appreciate what had TAX
en- place.
Misery likes company and upon
Visiting the dining room found that
few frequented that place, that most
were passing the time along similar
lines with the writer.
1t is six days journey from San
Francisco to Honolulu and on this
trip we saw but one ship and 40 liv-
ling thing except a few albatras that
followed our ship across resting at
might on deck.
On the morning of February 2S
1.-THE writer was up at five to get the
impressions of the surroundings of
Honolulu