The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-08-07
EVERY COUNTRY
IN THE WORLD
Newspaper Man Starts on Assignment
Which VIII Probably Take
Him Twenty Years to
Complete.

VANCOUVER, B. c.. Aug. =
Charles w Wood, a New York news
paper man, is scheduled to sail today
on the Empress Of Russia" on one
of the most remarkable assignments
since Jason set out to find the Golden
Fleece.
Visit every country on earth and
find out what the people want This
commission was given Wood by the
Centenary committee Of the Methodist
Episcopal church. 1t may take him
twenty years. 1t probably will.
Wood was on the Sunday editorial
staff of the New York World when
given his sailing order. Twelve years
ago, at 81, he was a locomotive fire
man and began his newspaper career
as a cub reporter on the Syracuse
journal, in 1909. His wartime inter
views in the New York World were
later put together in a book 1.-THE
Great Change
Woods first stop on his trip will be
at Shanghai, China. From there he
will go up the Yang Use Kang river
to interior China. His mission Is not
merely to write up the missions" but
to interpret the needs Of each country
as expressed by its leaders in every
walk Of life.
II don't know where I'm going but
I'm on my way" is literally true OF
Wood. He has never been in any
foreign country before and speaks no
language except English. He has no
guide, no schedule and no definite
orders. He is accompanied only BY
Ibis wife, who is equally unacquainted
with foreign lands. Their Immediate
destination, however, is Cheng-Tu in
western China, which is about as
thoroughly foreign city as any white
folks ever visit. There, rather than
in the cities familiar to American
tourists, Mr.. and Mrs. Wood will
begin to look at the problems OF
earth, as far as it is Manhattanly pos
sible, through thoroughly Oriental
eyes.
II don't know anything about China"
said Wood, before starting on his un-
precedented journey. "and have been
doing my best not to Learn anything
about it until get there. have heard
that it had 4O0,O00,000 people. and l
have taken it for granted that they
all run launderies. I suppose was
selected for the job because they
couldn't think of anyone else who
would have so little to unlearn."
do you feel confident" he was
asked, that you can actually get the
Chinese way of looking at things
across to American readers?"
Il don't know" he said. II don't
know whether there is any Chinese
way of looking at things. Maybe the
Chinese people are human Maybe they
love and hate and aspire like other
human beings. Maybe they have
human differences and human tradi-
lions and human prejudices. 1t is pos
sible that they live on the same planet
that Americans have been customarily
inhabiting and that their problems
may turn out to be our problems too"
IT am most anxious to learn" he
added, what the people of all these
countries want, and don't know OF
any better way of finding out than to
ask them. Most Americans that L
have met seem to go on the assump-
ton that we have certain advantages
here which the people of the Orient
do not possess. If that is true, we
have a wonderful opportunity to be OF
service to them. / am not a mission
airy. I am not a churchman. But l
happen to agree with Jesus that it Is
more blessed to give than to receive;
and 1 may be able to discover some