The Coolidge examiner., 1932-06-24

(WNU Service.)
DOLITICAL leaders in Shantune
announce that they will again
acknowledge the central Chi
nese government at Marking in mat,
ters of taxation, despite reports to
the contrary. Shantung has re-
Gently shown independence of Nan
king.
Shantung is the Holy Land of
China because it was the birthplace
and burial place of Confucius. Thou
sands of Chinese pilgrims visit the
provinces numerous temples every
year. 1t also is a beehive of busi-
ness. The Grand canal, the muddy,
moody Hwang-ho or Yellow river,
Twentieth century built railroads,
wheelbarrows and strong coolie
backs handle large volumes of COM
merce destined to all parts of the
world.
Thirty million people live in Shan
tung, which is about the size of
Iowa. Most of them inhabit viii
lagos thickly sprinkled over the
landscape, but the province also
boasts large cities that have figured
prominently in international politics
and business.
Tsinan, the capital, is a city of
about 100000 inhabitants situated
on the plains of Shantung. Although
nearly 200 miles from the sea,
Tsinan is an important commercial
center. Small native boats navigate
canals that connect the city with
the Yellow and Hsiao-Ching rivers
nearby. Perhaps, more important,
however, are Tsinan's railroad trans
portation facilities, for it is here
that the railroad which penetrates
the Shantung peninsula connects
with the trunk line joining Peiping,
Tientsin and Shanghai.
Tsinan's Flour and Peanut Oil.
Products from the western grain
fields reach Tsinan. Grain is stored
in Tsinan warehouses and milled in
Tsinan mills, while large quantities
of peanuts and tobacco form near
by Shantung plantations are also
shipped there for disposal. Flour
mills and peanut oil facturies are
among the city's largest industries.
Some Of the peanuts are cousin to
American tubers that were intro
duced into Shantung by American
missionaries. And the tobacco,
some Of which was introduced by
American tobacco companies, might
claim relationship to the leaves that
had part in bringing fame to Sir
Walter Raleigh.
In Tsinan homes and factories fine
Chinese rugs are woven. When
long hair was the crowning glory
of the American girl and speedy
roadsters undid the patient strokes
of the boudoir comb, Tsinan pros
pered making hair-nets. Each Amer
lean girl who, in recent years, has
emerged from a barber shop with
shorn locks unwittingly did her bit
to cripple this industry.
Tsinan is more than a thousand
years older than the Christian era.
Guides will tell the travellers that
the city was once situated 25 miles
from its present site and was moved
piece by piece by a continuous line
of men stretching from the old to
the new site. From remote times,
the natives have believed that an
imaginary chain from the nearby
Pagoda hill keeps Tsinan from blow
ing away in the wind blasts off the
Shantung plain, or being washed
away by the frequent floods of the
murky Yellow river. That sinis-
ter stream is about six miles north
of the city.
Two walls surround three sides Of
the city. The inner wall is an ir-
regular square with many gates.
The outer wall flares outward on
a zigzagging course from the north
east and northwest corners Of the
square wall.
Until 1906, Tsinan was a strange
city to foreign traders. Then it
voluntarily opened its doors. Most
of the foreign trading is done at
Shang-pu, a small commercial town
west of the walls.
Seeing Tsinan Afoot.
In a quarter Of a century that has
elapsed since the Tsinan gates were
opened, automobiles have traversed
the few streets that are wide enough
for their passage; a few modern
stores have been wedged between
native shops; and electric light
bulbs dangle from corner posts.
But off these wider streets, Tsinan
is a "Chinese puzzle" of mere Sits
between rows of low mud and stone
houses. Only rickshaws, wheelbar-
rows and springless donkey carts
traverse these passageways; and
when they appear pedestrians are