32
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN; PORTLAND', OCTOBER 12, 1900.
TALMAGE AT WORLD? EXPOSITION
America's Great Preacher and Lecturer Paints a Glowing Word
Picture of the Many Wonders, Representing a Century
of Grand Achievement, to Be Seen at Paris.
The peroration of the Nineteenth Cen
tury is the World's Pair at Paris. A
century of such wondrous achievements
In art. In science, ln- swiftness of loco
motion, in invention of all kinds, in ca
pacity to study other worlds, ought ta
have a brilliant closing. The last sound
from its bell-tower ought to bo a chime
of victors'.
Sure enough in Paris we have the grand
est exhibition of this century, and of all
centuries. There has been a steady ad
vance from the first fairs recorded In
history those mentioned by Ezekiel, the
prophet, as occurring GOD B. C: Fairs at
Tyre, Horse Fair, Mineraloglcal Fair and
Agricultural Fair (mentioned in the Bi
ble), on and on, until the fair at Dago
fcert, in the time of Louis "VX, and the
Pair on Bartholomew's Day, the Hun
garian fairs at Pesth, and Easter fairs
at Lelpslc, and the Scotch fairs at Perth,
and Vienna Fair, and New Orleans Fair,,
and the Sydenham Palace Fair at Lon
don, and New York "World's Fair, and
Chicago Fair, and Omaha's Fair but the
ocean of progress has reached its high
water mark at Paris.
Others may have excelled in this or
that feature, but take it all In all, the
Parisian Exhibition is unparalleled.
Those who have seen the great fairs of
the last 30 years say there have been
no illuminations like those which have
set the Summer nights in Paris into a
blaze; that there has been no such rich
docoration of pavilions and palaces; no
euch splendor of silk manufactures;, no
cuch presentation of the poetry of cos
tume; no such Street or Nations. The
whole Exposition is a glory beyond that
whlch any finite mind can grasp or fully
appreciate.
American Exhibit.
The most interesting and best man
aged department is the American exhibit.
General Peck, the Commlssioner-Gen--eral,
Drought with him his experience
at the Chicago World's Fair, and after
three years of hard work in Paris, and
with a tax upon his patience and en
durance that would have destroyed an
ordinary man -he has completed the work
that ought to be the exultation of all
Americans and should win for him the
congratulation of the Congress of the
United States.
Of course, he is criticised. He has
snany hundred exhibitors to deal with,
and they cannot all have first place, or
second place, or third place for their
exhibits. Each exhibitor naturally thinks
he has the most important exhibit, and a
snore difficult position no man ever had
than that occupied by General Peck. It
is easy enough to find fault. It requires
o genius to do that. But I do not think
cny other American could have done as
well. If he comes out of his .crushing
work with any nerves left, or any ca
pacity of mind and soul unexhausted, he
will be as wonderful as anything in the
American Department, of which he is
commander-in-chief.
As a specimen of the injustice to which
thousands, have subjected hhn, many
have asked: "Why are not our American
Industries in one cluster of buildings, so
that you could walk through consecu
tively instead of having American ma
chinery here and American pictures a half
mile out yonder and botanical display In
some other direction ?"'
These critics do not understand that
the French Government made the classi
fication, and that General' Peck had no
more to do with saying where the differ
ent exhibits should be located than he
had with deciding that Paris should
etand where it is, instead of being on the
sea coast, or how many rings Saturn
Should wear, or how high should be the
mountains In the moon.
Limited Opportunity.
To augment our appreciation of the
greatness of our American exhibit, we
jieed to call to mind that while the Commissioner-Generals
from Russia. Ger
many, Belgium and Austria were empow
ered by their governments to take what
ever they wished and display it at Paris,
our American Commissioner-General had
2io such power, but had to have the con
sent of the owner, and so had less oppor
tunity than other Commissioner-Generals,
who could command what picture, what
statuary, what machinery, what textile,
he wished to put before the world.
We should also appreciate the fact that
"while other countries could, with com
parative ease, send their products to this
fair, many of our American industries
had first to cross the American Conti
nent, and then cross 3000 miles of sea, and
again take freight train for Iqng distance
before reaching destination. The extent
and splendor of our American depart
ment is five times more and better than
any one had a right to expect.
But many are asking on this side of
the sea whether this fair will close with
a deficit. I suppose it will. Nine out of
ten national expositions do not meet ex
penses, and he who invests in them with
the idea of getting back his money is
mentally deficient, and ought to be taken
care of by sympathetic relatives.
I stood a few days ago at Vienna, Aus
tria, in the only building left standing
of its world's fair 'of 10 or 15 years ago,
end I asked one who had much to do with
that exhibition whether it had paid its
investors. He replied: "We were 17,000,
000 florins out of pocket."
But, while this Parisian exhibition, like
its predecessors, may have more outgo
than Income, it will bring large reward
in tho wealth it will pour into the lap
of Paris. The receipts at the gates of
the fair are no indication of Its success
or failure; a man may pay during his
visit here no more than $5 at the fair,
but while he stays in the city with his
family he may pay $500 or $1000. The
whole earth is at this moment pouring
its millions of gold Into the exchequer of
the City of Paris; no city under the sun
ever received so much monetary advan
tage from an exposition as this city will
receive.
"Worse Extortion Elsewhere.
But," say some of the correspondents,
the city is full of extortion, and you
must give three times what things are
worth." We have not found It so. We
have this Summer twice crossed the
Continent of Europe, going and coming,
and the place we have found most rea
sonable in its charges is Paris. If you
want to get skinned alive, go to Den
mark, or Norway, or Russia, or Germany,
or Austria as Summer tourists. The
story of disappearing roubles and florins
is more startling than the story of es
caping francs and crowns.
But the only really economical thing a
Summer tourist can do is to go home.
There is no maxim one oftener quotes
to himself while traveling abroad than
the saying which the Sunday School boy
quoted, as, marching in procession with
other children, he put his pennies into the
missionary-box, supposing he was quoting
en apporpriate passage of Scripture: "A
fool and his money are soon parted."
Efow many people in traveling spend
much of their time clear out of temper
about their baggage, or their board, or
theio being crowded. The trouble is,
that when they pack their trunks and
valises for their journey, while they put
In plenty of clothing, and such articles
as they will surely need, they forget to
put in a large amount of good, old-fashioned
patience. The amount of patience
Tvhich. Job had did very well for the slow
time in which he lived, but would not
be sufficient to see one safely through in
a 19th-century world's exhibition. The
fact is that the hardest task wo shall
ever be called upon to undertake is the
management of ourselves, and he who
succeeds In that deserves a prize as lino
as any awarded a few days ago at this
Parisian fair.
As we passed through the different de
partments, only one building saddened
us, and that was the one constructed by
Spain. The walls have a few specimens
of tapestry, probably loaned by some of
the old castles in Spain, and here and
there is a specimen of ancient armor,
but the thing that most impressed me.
was the destitution of the country there
represented.
Poor Spain! She has been fighting
progress and enlightenment for centuries,
ana drowned her last prospect of better
ment in the waters before Santiago. We
are sorry for any Individual or for any
nation that is down, by whatever process
he or it came down. Would that Spain,
by turning her back upon her cruelties
and her superstitions and her face to the
light, might come to political, moral and
religious prosperity, and that at the next
world's fair in Europe, she might have
an exhibit in painting and sculpture and
textile, and literature, equal to any coun
try east of the Pyrenees.
The vacant places which I have seen
this Summer In the art galleries of Berlin,
Dresden, Germany, and St. Petersburg,
made me especially desire to see the art
gallery of the. Paris Exposition. When
I asked in the Holland, Danish, German
and Russian cities the reason of the ab
sence of certain great pictures, and con
cerning the unoccupied pedestals of cer
tain statues, I was told that the painting
or sculpture had been loaned to the
world's fair at Paris. Rubens and Muril
lo and Titian and Raphael had gone to
France. Indeed the departments of paint-
Jng and sculpture in this exposition are
tho heaven of the fine arts.
I can imagine nothing more inspiring
than "a walk amid the sculpture of all
nations, as here you see it. Even that
which is done In cast of plaster skill
fully gives the thought of tho great art
ist. If you want to find genius exalted,
hero behold Victor Hugo enthroned on
the rocks, his great forehead hovering
over the scene, while a figure represent
ing music hands up to him a harp, and
another form holds a mask, suggestive
of the drama, for which he did such
matchless things, and another lifts a lash,
to suggest the chastisements with which
he struck upstart monarchy and sham,
while the winged angel of fame stands
with, trumpet to lip, ready to sound his
praise through all time.
Everything: Represented.
If you would see grief of parting
wrought in stone, here it is In "Emi
grants' Adieu." 'Would you find devo
tion? Here it is in "Paternoster," show
ing a girl at prayer. Would you see
savagery about to rend and devour, look
at Garden's "Tigress." Would you see
a child's glee, look here at the boy carry
ing a goose. Would you realize the
agony of those on a wreck at sea, hail
ing a ship in the distance, study the way
Robert Stlgal freezes it into bronze.
Would you behold a specimen of the sub
Hmest impudence, yonder Is Marc An
tony, in gilded chariot, drawn by three
lions, he leading the fourth. Would you
know how heaven-sent charity illumines
the countenance, look at the statues of
those philanthropists. Would you see the
spirit of play, there it is in Gulllonnet'a
"iootball." Would you have illustrated
how human intelligence can triumph over
brute force, look at that "Hungarian
Horsebreaker."
Would you have demonstrated, so that
you can never forget it, helpful sympathy
for the wounded, look at Slcard's "Good
Samaritan." Would you learn the terror
of on offended conscience, stand a while
before that "Cain and Abel." Would you
realize what Christian eloquence can ac
complish, listen, for standing there you
can hear, as well as see, Bossuet, in a
burst of holy oratorj'f which moves his
audience till some are ready to spring to
their feet and others swoon into tears.
In one hour, you can, in this cbngrega
tlon of the world's sculpture, see all the
passions, rage or triumph, and all the
grandeurs unroll. Coming down from,
amid the statuary, one feels that he has
descended from Mont Blanc, the snow
white heights of the world's sculpture.
Practical Side.
If you have time, go up and down all
the buildings of this World's Fair and
see the life insurance exhibits. Illustrating,
in the most radient way, the best tem
poral blessing which ever came to benefit
households, and feel the enchantment of
ceramics, and mineralogy and horticul
ture, and optics, and tapestry, and metal
lurgy, and hydraulics, and machinery and
lithography, and engraving, and book
bindery, and the printing presses, one of
which can print In one hour 45,000 copies
of a 10-page paper, and fold and count
them; and electrography, and compare all
the Industries of the world's brain, and
tho world's eye, and the world's hand,
and the world's foot, but somehow man
age to come out, at the close of your last
visit through the doors, over and beside
which are the four gigantic figures repre
senting Architecture, with Its compass and
scroll; Music, with Its bow and violin;
PaintJng, with its pencil and easel; and
Sculpture, with Its mallet and chisel; so
among all your impressions of the World's
Fair, your last Impression may be the
grandest, most thrilling, and most lasting
of them all.
What a good thing to have this object
lesson of peace at a time when three
wars are raging. There are swords In
this exposition, but they are all sheathed,
or hung up, or asleep on cushions of dam
ask. There are guns here, but none of
them loaded. There are warriors here
Out of Its mingling of Confucianism. Bud
dhism, and Taoism, tho Chinese people havo
been prolific of Idols and votaries of Image
worship. Some one has written that the first
of these religions was based upon morality,
the second on idolatry, and the third on spirit
worship, and that out of this blending has
sprung tho multitudinous crop of Chinese
deities who are assigned functions dealing with
almost every interest of man. Most of theso
MHWHMaMaiiMaiMaaaMiMJnMaaBMaaaMwMaiMK(aaaoBiaBMMaaav-- ----mm .. i ma"i"i"-a,ffl,,a",",l""B"""""""i"""
riding into battle, but they ore in saddles
of bronze or marble. Germany and
France, Russia and China, but in peace.
This whole scene Is a tableau of the mil
lennium. Is not the 19th century too late
an age for wholesale cut-throatry and
diabolism?"
This Exposition Universal is a mighty
move in the right direction. Among the
most unique things to be found within Its
walls Is the gift from the Czar of Russia
to this Republic It is a map of France
in colored marble, and the chief cities of
France are designated by precious stones,
and the rivers are of rock crystal and
the provinces are of gold.
.May the time soon come when a map of
another sort will be appropriate at some
world's fair in America or Europe. I
would make It out of the marble of many
lands on both sides of the sea. All styles
of precious stones should represent the
nations In brotherhood.
Austria and Spain and Switzerland
should be indicated by the amethyst, and
topaz, and opal, and Italy should be a
pearl of the sea, and Germany should be
the sapphire, and Russia the Diamond,
and Great Britain the emerald, .as green
as her Emerald Isle, and the United,
States the ruby, not crimson as with the
carnage of battle, but with, the full blush
of the morning and of universal peace.
It is time that the cavalry horses stop
WHERE TENS
Industrial centers all over tho -world are
showing the region la which tho miners aro
eating out of the raanger In which Christ
was born. T. DE WITT TALMAGE.
This article Is published by permission
of the Christian Herald, by which Jour
nal it is copyrighted.
FROM HEAD TO FOOT.
Male members of the
smart set of New York are
engaged in earnest discus
sion of the news that the
Prince of Wales has 'decreed
that the double-breasted
frock coat must go and a
Blngle-breasted garment take
its place. The single
breasted frock coat has had
a huge advertisement, but
by no means a huge sale.
Next year It will be worn
In London, and New York
will soon follow. Sad as It may seem. It
may be two or three seasons before the
new coat Is worn in the cities of the Far
West.
Rather than be caught in the street,
the club, or the drawing-room, in the
double-breasted frock, after "that jolly
sprig of English royalty," as the Wash
ington Post alludes to the Prince of
Wales, had appeared in a "single," the
chappies of Washington who watch for
hints In dress from the Prince appear to
have been shutting themselves up in their
bedrooms until their tailors could get
them out with the now fashion.
The Raglan still holds Its own, both as
a stylish garment and one of considerable
service to mankind and womankind; but.
acknowledging 4t to be a coat of great
importance, it Is not as fashionable now
as it was, and although it Is always a
desirable thing to have, by reason of Its
stylishness and serviceability aforesaid,
the smart man is not swearing by it this
season as being the coat of coats.
The. overcoat which promises to have a
special vogue this Winter Is the single
breasted Chesterfield made from gay
coatings, cut decidedly full and reaching
down to an inch or two below the knee.
The .pockets (side) are perpendicular or
horizontal. For our climate this coat
is very serviceable, and can be worn on
all occasions.
There is nothing new in trouserings.
Gray and black angolas and cashmeres
and their numberless imitations are the
staple stock, so far as material and
color are concerned, but In cut they are
closer than usual at the thighs, knee3 and
bottoms.
In selecting a fancy waistcoat one muBt
be careful to give ue conslfration to
the hue of hair and complexion; with a
view to avoiding anything like an Inar
tistic arrangement of colors. Very few
men, for Instance, can wear, with harmo
nious effect, a pink satin waistcoat
worked over with crimson marigolds, and
white heliotrope, with crimson rings on it,
can be worn only by men with drab com
plexions. White faces, with red spots,
go very well with red waistcoats, with
white spots, and vice versa.
BEAU BRUMMEL, JR.
deities are historical characters who once lived
on earth, but who afterwards were canonized
as saints.
Literally they number millions, for each hill
and mountain has Its ruling god, and nature,
the elements, the occupations of men, and the
thoughts and desires of the people arc domi
nated by these creatures of a superstitious rev
erence. In some sections of the country evon
clods of earth are set up and worshiped by the
farmers.
In every house,savo tho hovels of tho poor
-7- .. . J11r;n a-mm ag'1
a ST
AMERICA'S GIFT TO INDIA
SHIP QUITO'S "WELCOJUE CARGO OF
CORN' DISTRIBUTED.
Deep Impression Made Upon Hindu
Population by Relief Vessel's
Arrival at Destination.
Tho cargo of corn sent by the people
of 'the United States, through the hands
of the Christian Herald,' of New York, to
tho starving people of India, some months
ago, on the steamer Quito, has been
distributed among those who most needed
it. This Introduction of American grain
Into India shows that India, as a market
for our cereals, offers vast possibilities.
The arrival of the corn. In good con
dition, further demonstrates that cereals
will withstand the various climatic
changes of a long ocean voyage like that
taken by the Quito.
The donation of American maize to In
dia's famlne-strlcken people was great
In conception, and In the reach of Its
OF THOUSANDS OF COALMINERS ARE IDLE.
affected by tho mammoth coal strike in Eastern Pennsylvania. Hero is & map of the state,
playing a grim waiting game against tho anthracite operators. (
beneficence. A venerable Hindu, watoh
ing the issue of the corn to his starving
fellow-countrymen and wonien, turned
to a missionary and asked:
"Was this grain sent out of pure char
ity?" "Out of pure charity," replied tho mis
sionary." "Was it given outright, without any
pay for it?"
"Not a pIco of pay for it; given outright
for the love of Godl and man."
"Well, sir," he said, "I am an old man,
but I have never seen anything like this."
The fact Is, according to reports that
have reached thia country, that the send
ing of the corn to Indian from America,
has more or less affected" the whole Hindu,
community of Great Britain's chief East
ern possession, those who have received
no help at all, as well as those who have.
As the people havo carried It on their
heads all over the stricken district, along
the high roads, through country lanes,
by footpaths, through ''the -fields, 20, 30
or even 60 miles, to their distant homes,
It has attracted the attention and touched
the hearts of the remotest villagers. It
has been more .effective than thrice the
value of the corn, Invested in native grain
and distributed, would have been. The
fact that it was sent by people living
thousands of miles away, across three
seas, out of pure philanthropy, has moved
the hearts of the people, as a 1000 sermons
would not have done.
Generous Railway Directors.
The United States Consul at Bombay.
Mr. W.- T. Fee, writes thatf the railroads
which carried the corn from the Quito to
the interior districts, originally charged
largely reduced rates for 'the freight.
After payment was made, the directors
met, and having heard from Mr. Fee the
circumstances connected with the gift,
they promptly refunded to the commit
tee 35,000 rupees (abbutt $11,666). . which
meant that they carried the cargo below
the actual expenses Involved. They said
that they made thd rebate to show their
appreciation of "the gift of the big
hearted American people."
A grand reception was given the, Quito
on her arrival at the wharf at Bombay.
The assemblage was extremely pictur
esque. Hindus, of several castes; Mah
rattls and Gujaratfs, Parseea and Mo
hammedans, mingled with the sober-suited
Europeans and the -'native Christian
and Parsee women, in their graceful'
costumes. While the ceremony was in
progress, news that something unusual
was on spread to "the neighboring popu
lation, and a whole swarm of the com
mon people perched themselves along the
top of the pile of grain bags on tho relief
ship. r
On the table, before the chairman, lay
two silver dishes, containing samples of
the Quito's cargo, salted and parched after
the American fashion. This had been
done the previous might by women of
the American Methodlsf & Alliance Mis
sions, working in Bombay. The corn, thus
served, was quite -a novelty, and was
tasted and pronounced excellent by most
IDOLS ADORED BY THE CHINESE
est poor. Just within the doorway, high up,
are three pigeon-hole's where the family gods
reside. In the middle one, on a tablet, are In
scribed the words, "Heaven, earth, ruler,
parent, teacher." To the left, also Inscribed,
are the words, "We burn Incense to the holy
multitude of family geds." On tho right are
tho ancestral tablets, placed in order of rank,
with the oldest In the Tear, The door gods,
who were ministers of state in the Tang dy
nasty, are Wei Tsukung, and Chlng Sohpao.
At tho present time Interest most attaches to
of the company. The native guests were
particularly struck with the size of the
grains, which were three times as large
as those of the maize grown in India.
Sai W"i chairman:
"The good ship Quito has arrived, in
the nick -of time, to supply the cultiva
tors with food, just between seed time
and harvest. It has not only brought
grain, but also a most welcome rain, and
we axe grateful to It for its double har
vest. There Is a proverbial saying that
no one should ever look a gift horse in
the mouth. There "are reasons, and good
ones, for refraining from such inspection,
in the case of ordinary gift horses, but
this particular gift horso cannot only
be looked! in the mouth with perfect sat
isfaction, but taken- Into the mouth with
even greater appreciation. It consists of
a splendid gift, worthy of America, of the
very best, kind of 2-year-old American
grain."
Good Words for Onr Corn.
A Hindu official, who addressed the
meeting, said that there was an impres
sion, in certain parts of India, that Amer
ican maize was not a staple food, to bo
distributed in -famine time. He would
"show that it was good food, and one
which the people would gladly accept
H1b experience of a previous Indian fam
ine convinced him that people liked tho
corn sent from America on that occa-
slon, and he was certain it would be ac
ceptable now as well. American maize
had become more and more widely known
in India; it was superior in flouring
quality to Indian maize.
During the distribution of the corn In
the Indian cdun,try districts, a mission
ary told this story of a little, 4 months'
old baby that was sold by its Hindu
father for a small quantity of corn.
One Hariba, a blacksmith, living in the
village of ArphaL was burned out of
house and home. He would, perhaps,
have been able to put out the fire, but
there was not water in, the stream, and
none available elsewhere. His tools, his
cooking vessels all his worldly posses
sions, were burned, and he was deprived
of the means of livelihood.
Then Hariba carried the baby about
in his arms, begging milk, till he lost
patience with the bother of It all, and
made up his mind to be free. He offered
to sell the child to the Christians for four
rupees,' coming down finally to two ru
pees. But a Christian Hindu, named
Vithoba, told Hariba that such a trans
action would be illegal.
"Well," persisted the father, "if you
will not take it, I will sell it to the
bad women."
Vithoba tried to frighten him out of
this idea, but not very successfully, so,
in order to save the child, he reported
how matters stood to the Magistrate. Two
policemen were forthwith sent to bring
the father and child. The Magistrate
threatened Hariba with punishment if he
should carry out his purpose. He added:
"Better than to do that, you might
give the child to the Christians, who
will take good care of It."
"Then," asked the father, "what shall
I eat? I want to profit somewhat by
this transaction."
Hera Vithoba, taking pity upon the
poor man, offered him four bushels of
American corn.
The Magistrate then said: "Go, now,
you have the promise of a little corn.
Take proper care of the child.
Minded to Cast It Away.
Thereupon Hariba told Vithoba, confi
dentially, that if no one would buy the
child, he had a mind to throw It away
somewhere; there would' still be two chil
dren" left, and he must rid himself of
such an incumbrance. Vithoba begged
him not to throw it away, until he could
report the case at Satlra, after which
help would, perhaps, be given.
"It is needless to say,"" remarked the
missionary who told the story, ....at
when, we heard the whole pitiful tale, our
sympathies were aroused and we wanted
to adopt tho baby. It was brought to us
at once in a basket. There was a mu
tual exehangeof presents; the baby was
made over to us, and we gave Hariba a
blanket, plus two rupees.
The American corn bags.hav served -e
famine children as umbrellas during tho
rains. The eager little ones find it hard
to wait their turn till the bags' are emp
tied one by .one. They wear them
proudly over their heads while going to
and from school, or while working In the
garden. .
PEOPLE.
the god of war. He was Kwante, who figured
Just after the beginning of the Christian era.
In 1850 he Is said to have appeared In the
heavens and turned the tide of battle to the
Imperialists, for which the Emperor raised
him to the rank of Confucius.
There Is a god of thunder, of lightning, of
tho earth, sea and sky. There Is a god of
cruelty and a cod of revenge; of smallpox, of
measles, and, strangely enough, a god of lice.
This manufacture of Images of worship Is an
important branch of trade. It is not art. Tho
CHINESE ARE NOT RETROGRESSIVE
Thus Says Margherita Arlina Hamm, Who, Basing Her Deductions
on Personal Observation, Asserts Further That, in Their
Own Way, They Are Quite Up to Date.
NEW YORK, Oct. 10. A very prevalent
error is found in the assumption that
China is stagnant, or, as some writers put
It, Is retrograding. Such clever writers
as Miss Gordon C'ummlng, Miss Scldmore,
Bishop Williams, Lord Beresford. Archl
bold Colauhoun, Dyer Ball, Sir Stewart
Lockhart and even Professor Giles have
adopted this view In their ablo writings
upon the subject.
Only Archdeacon Moule and Dr. Arthur
Smith have recognized the true condition
of affairs. Though differing entirely In
Its civilization from any and all of the
Western powers, China la not stagnant,
and Is not retrogressive. . On the con
trary, it is In a stato of active growth,
and, according to Its own law of develop
ment, is as progressive as the United
States or Germany. The error has arisen
by measuring Chinese social and National
life by Western standards.
This course Is unscientific and In many
ways Incorrect. It would be just as fair
to measure the growth of a pine by that
of an oak tree, or that of a mollusk by an
articulate. Few observers have noticed
that Chinese society and Government arc
based upon and are an extension of the
family system, while European civiliza
tion Is essontially Individualistic Both
the East and the West started their civi
lizations alike and grew alike. They be
gan with a polygamous family unit, and
not with an Individual. This "stage of evo
lution Jasted centuries, if not ages. Sir
Henry Sumner Maine and other jurists
have pointed out that this system con
tinued in Europe to quite a recent date,
and that there are still many relics or
survivals.
Similar Development.
In Europe, as In China, the village set
tlement or village community developed
into the village proper and the clan. Here
tho heads were the fathers or grand
fathers. They exercised the same general
power that the specific pater famlllas did
over his own household or households. An
ancient survival of this political stage Is
found In the word alderman, meaning sim
ply an old man, and also in the Latin word
senator, which has tho same significance.
The Anglo-Saxon alderman and the Ro
man senator were In the beginning the
same officials as the village elders who
still rule China, as they did thousands of
years ago.
How Europe and America broke away
from the system of family unit is difficult
to say. Christianity was very potent In
this respect, both In Its teachings and In
the practices and customs which grew us
under its auspices. Chivalry and feudal
ism were also strong causes in producing
the effect. Migrations and Invasions can
not be overlooked, and it may be that
the maritime disposition evinced by the"
dwellers on the Mediterranean and the
Northern Atlantic contributed to the re
sult. At any rate, the transformation of
the village community and the- family
unit into the individualism of the Chris
tian world marks the era of progress
which we have now had for 500 years.
While Europe made a departure from
its line of growth, China kept on undevl
atlngly. Her entire fabric Is based even
at the present moment upon the family,
and not tho individual as a unit. If a
Chinese citizen receives an, honor, tltlo
or degree, it ennobles his father and
grandfather, and scarcely ever his chil
dren, and still more seldom his descen
dants. His Heart Broke.
I recall once, when the son of a moder
ately well off farmer In Fuhklen, where I
lived, passed an official examination with
high honor and took the degree of Sou
Chai. The news was carried to his father
by friends and neighbors, who presented
him with rich gifts, and treated him the
same as if he had been the graduate. The
old man was so overjoyed that, according
to a native physician, his heart broke with
delight.
This custom Is encouraged by the Chl
neso Government, which seems never to
tire of paying honors to what Is called
"filial worth" or "filial piety." Thus
where a girl of IS cut off slices of her
own body to feed her starving father, and
died finally from pain and exhaustion, the
authorities erected a magnificent arch to
her memory.
As applied to real estate the family unit
system works what to the European mind
seems chaos. All the land of China Is held
by the Emperor, who Is a sort of All
Father, but In trust for his people. There
ls,no such thing In Chinese law as the fee
simple; the richest as well as the poorest
man is a lease holder, upon a moderate
ground rent, of the Imperial crown. The
lease Itself belongs to the head of the
family, In trust for the family.
On one occasion a circus came to Amoy,
where I was visiting. The manager hired
or leased a tract of land from a wealth
morchant. The lease was only for four
weeks, but the receipt was signed by six
male members of the family. Two days
after the signing of the document, the
manager was waited upon by three cous
ins, who demanded payment for their In
terest in the rent. The next day there
were two and upon the' third day four.
Altogether 50 members of tho family ap
peared upon the scene beforo the luckless
manager was able to go ahead with his
entertainment.
Some Carloas Facts.
You hire a house and surrounding gar
den in China for 100 years or 1000 years.
as- the case may be, and pay your money.
for it. In going over tho ground you will
find six or eight ancient, dilapidated
graves. Tljey are mere ruins, and around
them have accumulated the debris and
figures are out of proportion, grotesque, and
even hideous. An Image shop may have sev
eral hundred of these deities, ranging from
3 Inches to 10 feet In height. Across the street:
may be daubs of mud drying In the sun, out
of which these gods are made. Wood serves
as a skeleton, mud for flesh, paint for skin,
with a slver or pewter heart. A hole is left
in the back, and into this a frog, snake, lizard
or centipede Is put, and the 'object becomes a
living deity. Chicago Tribune.
garbage of years or. centuries. In the wall
which surrounds the property just oppo
site to each grave Is a grillage or brick
honeycomb which enables the passer-by
on the road to look through at the grave,
and, according to the Chinese, also en
ables the ghostly tenant of the tomb to
see his friends and acquaintances as they
pass by.
Nowjf you should desire to clean the
property and remove or bury the tombs,
or close the unsightly opening in tho wall
you would get Into serious trouble. The
Chinese Government would complain, and
your Consul would be compelled to forbid
It. and If you still persisted, you would
become the victim of a so-called antl-for-elgn
riot of the most blood-thirsty kind.
The ramifications of the family unit sys
ter extend throughout Chinese life. In a
family each son should have the same op
portunity as the rest; therefore under
Chinese law, there should be no laws re
stricting or limiting opportunities. Thua
the Chinese are bitterly opposed to such
legal fictions or creations as patents,
copyrights and trademarks. Their theory
Is that If a man makes an improvement
in a tool or a process the benefit should
go to all of his fellow-workers. Human
nature is the same in China as elsewhere.
While the law enables no single man to
tako advantage of his fellows. It does per
mit a society or guild to do this.
China Is a network of guilds, each one
of which owns one or more trade secrets.
The guild Itself becomes the family on a
larger scale, and as the membership la
hereditary. It enjoys the benefit of Inven
tions or discoveries, without recourse to
courts or statute books. It work3 well
except In the case of great wars, when a
guild Is liable to be destroyed.
Network of Guild.
Before the Manchu Conquest, the Porce
lain Guilds of the Yang-tse excelled the
world. They were destroyed by the Tar
tar Invaders, and although the Chinese
have worked patiently In their kilns and
potteries, they have never regained the
marvelous skill the dead guilds possessed.
It Is the duty of a father to see that
every child Is employed upon some gain
ful pursuit. In order that the family shall
have a minimum burden, and the policy
of tho Chinese state Is so to rule as to
give employment of some shape to every
citizen. It carries Its policy Into execu
tion. It does so stupidly, wastefully, ru
inously, but it does so nevertheless. It
opposes the introduction of all labor
saving machinery because it does not wish
to save labor.
The bitter fight against steamers on
China's coasts and rivers, against rail
ways, telegraphs and the postal system la
not based upon superstition in the least,
but simply on the fear that these Western
Innovations will throw myriads out of em
ployment. Nor is the fear groundless. The
making of Canton a treaty port utterly
ruined several hundred thousand souls of
whom many must have died of starvation.
Time and again the European tea hongs
have attempted to Introduce tea-curing
machinery. Each machine would have
done the work of ICO. or maybe 500 men.
In every Instance there was a terrific pro
test from the men whose labor was to be
displaced: the authorities intervened, or
else there would have been a strike or a
riot.
First llall-Jvny.
The first railway from Wu Sung to
Shanf hai was a complete success In every
respect from a Western point of view,
but it threatened to destroy the liveli
hood of a great army of junkmen, port
ers, chair cooliea and others, so the Chi
nese Government bought the entire rail
way and Its equipment at tne price set
by its owners ana a very fancy price
it was threw oue-half of tho road Into
the river and sent the' other half over
to the ForuOiUia wilderness.
A thoughtful father takes his son away
from his work upon iocky ground and
places him in a iertlle meadow. So with
the Imperial Cnioese Government. They
havo an office known as the Bureau for
the Removal of Surplus Populations to
More Advantageous Localities. At ouo
lime the b.nest. was a great power for
good but the awful political corruption
of tho empire has rendered It a fossilised
Institution. In the old years it transport
ed, thousands and even myriads from One
district to auouier, and did. upon a vast
scale, what the little colonization bureaus
In new countr'fs are doing today.
The desire and duty to prevent suffer
ing, causes the government to encourago
poljgamy. The poor have but one wife,
the weulthy many. There are no old
maids, and th number of harlots Is small
er In proportion to the population than
In any cMiUcd country. There Is ter
rible poverty, but it Is not one whit
worse than the pauperism of Great Brit
ain, Italy or Spain, and there are prac
tically no tramps, in which respect China
sets an example to the United StatC3.
There are many ways of measuring na
tional prosperity. We speak of Spain,
Portugal and France as declining pow
ers, because theirpopuIatIons are decreas
ing ano4 their national debt increasing.
According to these standards, what shall
be said of a political system which en
dures for at least -iOOff yeara, and which
In spite of terrible wars, ghastly plagucj
and stupendous inundations, has Increased
steadily and Is Increasing today.
Population. .
Bishop Williams gave this matter con
siderable study, and his figures are of
great Interest. In the beginning of the
last century the population Is estimated
to have been 125.000.000; In. the middle of
the century, 150,000,000. In the beginning
of this century It was about 300.COO.000,
and today it Is suposed to be 400.000,000.
China never had a national debt until It
was brought under the Influence and par
tial control of tho great powers. Even to
day Its entire Indebtedness is less than 50
cents per head of Its entire population.
Quite a contrast with France, with Its
$150 a head.
A wise father wants his good children
to marry and have offspring, but is ad
verse to an evil child reproducing bis
kind. This feeling is the basi3 of Chi
nese common law. It metes out death to
almost every crime, partly as punishment,
but chiefly as a preventive of continua
tion of criminal tendencies. It has re
duced crimes of violence tq a minimum.
In all of the Empire there are fewer mur
ders, highway robberies, burglaries cases
of arson, jails and jail Inmates than ln
any one of the great countries of the
West.
With individualism there Is greater lib
erty and activity of each human unit.
With the family unit system, there is
less specialization and les heterogeneity.
The former conduces to what wa call
progress; the latter opposes our kind of
progress and has a progress of its own.
The two tendencies are antagonistic and
are bound to Increase in their mutual
antipathy.
The breaking out of the present war
i3 providential. It precipitates the con
flict when Christendom Is thoroughly pre
pared for battle and when the Imperial
devilfish Is still unarmed and unsupplled
with fangs and claws. Ten years hence,
equipped with Mausers and Krupp guns,
it would have swept Europe from tho
North Cape to Gibraltar. Today we will
sweep It from the Amur to Hai Nan
Margherita Arlina Hamm.
To Maidens.
But believe what you please
When they swear they adore you.
Let them rest on their knees.
But believe what you please
Let them, argue and tease
If the thing doesn't bora you.
But believe -what you please
When they swear they adore you.
Smart Sot.