The Coolidge examiner., 1932-06-24


shaws in the hands of careless noisy
boys, and overwhelmed by the ac-
emulation of odOrS from shops, res
taurants and houses. The cries of
the venders, the yelling and loud
conversation of playing children
and gossiping adults, all amid a
cloud of dust is uninviting. Dust is
unnecessary in Tsinan, for water
is no luxury. Springs perpetually
bubble at several places within the
walls and a lake four miles in cir
cumference occupies about one-third
of the inner walled area.
Tsinan is one Of the most impor-
tant Christian educational centers
in China. The Shantung Christian
university and numerous other mis-
sion schools are situated there. Ma
tive schools also dot the city, and
there is a museum and a library.
Chefoo, China, is a city made IA
nous by "Fickle Fashion" The Ger
mans started the Chefoo hairnet in
dustry on a large scale, but the
World war in Europe, and cheap
hair and cheap labor in Asia, caused
the industry to migrate to Shantung
with Chefoo as headquarters.
Although American women's money
paid the wages of thousands of
women and girls in and near Che
foo, when the hairnet industry was
fourishing, perhaps few of those
American women could locate Che
foo on a map without considerable
searching. The city lies on the
north shore of the Cape Cod' of
China, which extends into the Yel-
low sea from the main portion of
Shantung province, toward the mid
die section of Korea. If a line were
drawn due west from Cincinnati,
Ohio, through Denver, Colo, and
continued across the Pacific, Chefoo
would be one of the first Chinese
cities the line would touch.
Chefoo Is Large and Busy.
Chefoo now ranks third among
Shantung cities, with about 100000
inhabitants. a large foreign settle
ment, with modern hotels, consular
office buildings, and residences
bordering wide, electrically-lighted
streets, occupies a knob of land on
the north. The adjoining quarter
is congested. Narrow streets, wind
Ing through this portion of the town,
are lined with squatty buildings,
mostly of fiimsy construction, but it
is here that Chefoo bristles with
business activity throughout the
day.
StoOped-s coolies from
neighborhood farms and villages
trudge to the market place under
loads nearly as large as those atop
mules and donkeys. Other coolies
tug at the handles Of loaded Shan
tung wheelbarrows whose wheels
are sometimes three feet high.
Through the Chefoo streets, all
the products for export from the
Chefoo reighborhood are carried to
waiting cargo boats in the harbor.
Apples. sweet potatoes, peanuts,
wheat, cotton, corn, tobacco, pongee
silk and hairnets are transported by
various vessels flying the flags of
many nations. Cargoes for Chinese
consumption are loaded on coast
wise boats that make Chefoo a port
of call. Junks that lazily float about
in the harbor pick up short-haul
shipping POngee silk and peanuts
are among the more important Che
foo exports.
Chefoo was classed as one of
the unwalled, therefore unimpor-
tant, communities of China before
1862 when the port was opened to
foreign shipping. Later large por-
tion of Shantung shipping passed
ChefOo and the city enjoyed
a period Of prosperity until 1904,
when the Shantung railroad was
%DAIplCiCu anu tic pun W dS LOICeu
to share commerce with ports the
railroad touched.
Another shock came when the
railroad was COM
pleted in 1912. Tsingtao, a port on
the southern coast of Cape Cod"
in getting railway con-
nections, while Chefoo got only a
promise of a connection. AS a re-
suit, Tsingtao gradually outgrew it's
northern competitor. The nearest
railway station to Chefoo now is 200
miles to the southwest, between
which busses frequently run over a
government-owned highway.
Tsingtao is the Atlantic City of
the China coast. It's climate Is ex-
cellent, its golf courses are we'll con-
and it boasts modern ho-
tells, miles of the finest motor roads,