The Ordway new era., 1920-08-20

The city is 20 miles up the Pearl
river from the sea. Naming the kinds
of junks that ply about Canton re-
quires ms much knowledge as picking
the makes of automobiles that spin
along Riverside drive or Michigan ave
nue.. The slipper boats are recog-
niZable because of striking resem-
blance to their Europeangiven nick
name: the Canton sampans" are nu-
merous; the two-masted passenger
junks are the Canton HongkOng fer
ries, but the most curious of the many
other kinds. perhaps. are the che-ting.
operated by Chlnamen stepping on a
treadmill in the rear. These were in
vented by an European who sensed
that man power is the cheapest and
most plentiful to be had fn China
land where lnbOr-utilizing ratiier than
labor-saving devices pique the inysn-
tor.
The cutters are in the middle OF the
street, in Canton. The divers down
by the water front go in feet first.
The Canton bon-bon is pit-tan. eggs
preserved in rice hulls ashes and lime.
If a man has beautiful yard or gar
den, lie hides 1t by high WALL hut
once the visitor breaks through this
privacy, in company with trusted
guide he may find himself not only
on the premises hut conducted through
an exclusive home as If it were pub
lie building, and the household mem
bers go serenely about their own affairs
while they too, are described and ex-
planned by the cordial friend Here
is II hint of the origin of the China
town tours in our great cities
Temples and Legends.
If the struggle for existence sug-
gests materialism, one need only visit
the temples in Canton. to glimpse the
delicate. subtle. and daring imagina-
tion of the seemingly literal, cautious
Chinaman. The "F'lowery Pagoda,"
with the copper pillar topped by
golden ball. is where a famed Indian
missionary once spent night. and
so fragrant was his presence that the
tower still is free from mosquitoes.
To the Five Fairies Temple" once
came five genii. wearing coats of diff
ent colors. Each fairy brought II stalk
of grain, which was given to the pco-
pie with the benediction "Dweli here
in perpetual peace, and never know
famine" The fairies departed, but
their stee9s turned to stone. and re
main to this day in the temple A
more mechanical curiosity is the tow
er where time is measured by water
dripping from four copper vessels ar
ranged at different levels.
The hills about are famed no less
for their legends than for the terraces
where the ginger root is grown thar
is preserved by the Cantonese. One
peak is crowned by rock that sways
when spoken to in angry tones there
is stream where some Oriental
Enoch drank a potion of iris leaves
and, becoming Immortal, was waited
away to heaven.
There is n chamber of commerce at
Canton. hut the characteristic indus
trial bodies are the guilds, ~ in num-
Der, iron bound, self-perpetuating- or
gnnizations OF great power both eco
nOmically and POLITICALLY The Chi
heSe Hei'ihH' anu aIlisun is IN Upt
example Of the tremendous forces of
Inertia. or precedent, IL you like, in
Chinese life. He carves. brews. or
sells gold foil not only because his
father or grandfather did, but because
his remote ancestors. when Columbus
sailed westward or Marco Polo toured
east. did that very thing in just that
way.
Quality. not variety, is the merit he
seeks, and. the guilds define the exact
sphere Of their members minu,ely.
There Is the Guild of Dealers In Cloth
interviewer with Metal Threads of
Various Colors. the Guild OF Dealers
in Kerosene Lamps. the Guild of Deal
ers in Hand-Reeled silk. and the Guild
of Dealers in Liquor Brewcd from
Rice.
The honesty of the Chinese mer-
chant Is proverbial. In Canton lived
Hon Qua. II millionaire, who furnished
u conspicuous example of this quniity.
When n firm which owed large sums
TO foreigners became bankrupt. Hon
Qua headed list of Canton business
men who made good the debt. on the
ground that Chinese credit must not
he tarnIshed