' _ ! 1MM1. OMATTA iM.rsTHATHD China and the Philippines WASHINGTON , Oct. 1C. ( Special Corre spondence of The Dee. ) "Hollo , Central ! " "Hello ! Who do you want ? " "I want the Chinese minister at the Chl- iiofo locution. " "Walt a. inlniile Here ho Is ! Drop in yrur dime ! " Tills coiueisatlon went over the wires between inself and a tinny-voiced tele phone ghl if ilio central station in Wash ington this morning. I was patronizing one cf the drug store public tolophi ncs anil was anxious tri arrange for an interview with the Chinese minister. The coniiojtloii hav ing been made It tcok but a moment to learn that the minister would sec mo at ouce and within a shcrt time I was at the door of tbo legation. The Chinese legation Is situated on the corner of Eighteenth and Q streets , within a stone's throw of the enormous palace which .Millionaire Loiter put up as a "Shel ter for Mary , " as one of the family ex pressed It. Not far away Is Dupont Circle anil Ulaiuc's big house , for which Mr. Lelter used to pay $1,000 a month rent before the shelter was built and long before Mary mar ried Mr. Curzon and became the w.fe of the viceroy of India. I don't know what rent the Chinese pay , but I should Judge the house to bo worth more than the Dlalne mansion. It Is a great building of white stone , magnificently finished , with many looms and gorge us appointments. A press upon the electric button brought thu colored butler to the dcor and a s < n of Africa told mo that the representative of the biggest nation of Asia was expecting mo aiid would be down Immediately. He lc < l me Into the parlor , a room about as large as the red room of the White House , tha walls of which were hung with rare Chi nese paintings and tall porcelain vases at their base , the latter containing enough material to tllo a bath room. The Chinese MlulNter. I had hardly taken my seat before the THU CHINKS- ! : MINISTER , WINO TINO FANG I hoto by his Secietnry , October , 18'JO. minister entered. Ho Is a tall , straight Chinese of about 40 years of ago. He mny bo older , for you can never tell the ago of a celestial , and the older ho It * the prouder ha Is of It. He was dressed In a dark silk gown , with a vest of purple silk. His sleeves weie very long , but wore rolled up nt the wrists , showing a white Bilk undenlress and long , slender , aristocratic hands. On his head was a black skull cap and upon It , just over the forehead , was a round diamond pin , as big an a nickel , sot with stones of the first water. His exccl- lency shook hands , sat down beside me , and the conversation began. We first talked of Peru The Chinese minister to America Is also minister to Peru , and his excellency will make a trip to South America along about the first of the year. Ho Is rather alarmed about the climate and was pleased to learn that Lima Is as healthful as any part of the celestial empire. The next subject was tbo Philippines and the prohibition of Chinese Immigration by General Otis. I auked the minister what ho thought of the decree. Ho replied : "I think it is a mistake for tbo Ameri cans to endeavor to keep tbo Chinese out of the Philippines. I mean a mistake from the American standpoint ; not as It will affect China , but as regards the develop ment of the Islands. The moot ot the labor of the far east Is furnished by the Chinese. They are the business people and the In dustrial perple of the orient. They furnish the best lull ir , and It Is almost Impossible to accomplish anything without them. Tin ? English have learned this long ago. Take the Island of HOUR Kong. It has been built up by Chinese labor. Take the Straits settlements , the Chinese do the work rf Singapore and all that region , although the population Is made up of Maln.\s. The Malays arc , however , unreliable. They will work for a short time and then lay off for weeks. The chief business houses of Singapore are owned by Chinese , and the English think so much of the Chinese clement there that there are Chinese In the council ft the governors , and the Chi nese have considerable to do with all pub lie matters. In Slam tbo Chinese form the host working element of the population and In the cities of Dttrmah nearly all the me chanics are Chinese. I understand that the English in Hong Kong are much alarmed about the possibilities of competition from the Philippines as to cotton factories. This , however , Is only In connection with the In troduction of Chinese labor In the Philip pines. The natives cannot manage the factories and there will bo no danger If the Chinese are kept out. It will be the same with the development of the tobacco plantations. The Philippine Islands have sonic cf the finest tobacco lands of the world. They arc far superior to those of Sumatra and Java , but It will require Chi nese labor to work thorn. I think that the matter of self-interest will eventually show your people that they cannot get along without the Chinese In the Philippines. " Cliliin'N Neiv iliillriiatlN. I next asked his excellency something about the new railroads of China. He Is by far thu best posted man on the subject out side the celestial empire. Ho was con- nc'cted with the lallroads of north China before lit- came here. He has traveled all over the country and knows all about the possibilities. Said ho : "There IH no land where railroads will pay bettor than In China , Wo have a vast population. Wo bavo cities of enormous sl/.o Mtuuted only a few miles apart and villages Innumerable ) . Wo are a great busi ness people and our local trade Is enormous. Today the most of our manufactures and agricultural products are carried from placu to place on the water , on the backs of men or In eartfl. In the future the greater part of them will go by rail. The Chinese will appreciate the economy of railroad trans portation and the roads will bo well patron ized. " "How do the roads now In operation pay ? " I asked , "Somo of them are paying enormous dividends , " replied the Chinese minister. "Take the road from Tien Tsln to Shan Hal Kwan. This was the first railroad of any length In China. I was one of the builders. We could not get the Imperial sanction to it at first and we had to operate 1 KETl'KN OF THE SOL'TIl IKOTVOU'NTEEKS PASSING I'NDEIl THE AHCII AT DEADWOOI ) slowly. Li Hung Chang was at the head of the movement nnd we built the line mile by mile , feeling our way , until wo connected the great Kalplng cnal mines with Tien Tsin , and finally pushed the road on to the Chinese wall anil to the sea at Shan Hal Kwan. That road now has an enormous business and It pajs , I venture , s unethlng llko 100 per cent. Wo have fartoilrs at Kalplng , whole wo make our own cais and locomotives. Wo havu Chinese engineers , brakcmen and conductois , and UK- work In tbo machine shops Is d'no by Chinese I can't describe the trouble wo hail In gettln-j ; the people to allow us to build the real Even after wo had the Imperial sinctkn we were held back by public opinion Tb labor organizations were against us anl wr had to move very cauti' usly You see the Inb'irmions are very strong In China The general Idea Is that tbo oinintiy is an abso lute monarchy. The truth IK tint it Is as democratic almost as the United States , aiil the words "Vox popuil , vex Hoi" have al mo = t as much w eight. " Illlllroiii ! < < I'M. luir. "Thorn Is now a railroad from Tien Tsln Tien Tsln , you know , has over 1,000,000 people. It Is the capital of a province , and Is the center of trade- for JIITO than 100- 000,000 of population. The steamers come uti through the Yellow sea and enter the Pelho , the stream which flows by Tien Tsln. They then unload , nnd from Tien Tsln their goods are carried to nil pnrts of north China. Peking has between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 people. It Is only eighty miles from Tlon Tsln , nnd the country between the two is as lint as a door. LI Hung Chang thought there- should ho a railroad , and It was nt his Instance that I went over the route , making surveys and talking up the matter with the Inhabitants. We had to go very slowly , canvassing the country almost ns a candidate does his district bore In a campaign. I made many speeches. "At last , when wo thought wo had the matter pretty well worked up , It was pro- sonlo'l ' to the emperor , and ho asked for ad vice upon the subject from his council In Peking , nnd also from the viceroys and dis tinguished men all ever the country. All Mnds of replies came In , but tbo one which had the most to do with keeping back the road was ono from the viceroy of Canton , Chans Chi Tung. Chang nil Tung said that ho thought that loads ought to bo built In tbo Intorlor flrfl : that there was danger from foreign Invasl n , and that a road llko tills connecting wllh tbo sen would put the capital In a perilous position. "Ho suggested that a railroad should bo built frnni Hankow to Poking. This would bo n great trunk line going north and south through the most populous part of the om- plro. Now , wo had thought that the Tlcn Tsln-PeklnK road was a sure thing , nnd hnd oven gene so far as to order the materials. Tim officials at Peking , liownvor , docldod tbnt Chang Chi Tung's ndvlco was good , nnd tboy ordered us to stop the work for tbo tlmo. Wo told them wo hnd ordered the mnterlnls. They snld "that makes no difference , pay for what you Jinvo ordered , but lot tlm mntter drop. " This wo were forced to do. The mntter did drop , and It was not until after the war that It wan taken up again. The rend hns slnco boon built , nnd though I do not know exactly ns to its buslnepfl I should Judge tbnt It must have an enormous traffic " Cliliin'H Crenl TriuiU I.Inc. "Hut how about Chang Chi Tung's road ? " "You mean the < no from Hankow to Po king , " enlil tbo mlnlstor. "Well , that Is being built from both ends. Hankow , you know , Is 700 miles In from the coast. It Is reached by the Yang TBO Klang , which Is ( Continued on Eighth Page. ) UETI'IIN OF SOL'TH DAKOTA VOLl'NTEE KS C mpanles I , II and M dolmiklng fnm train at Deadwood. Troop I , mounted cavalry , of Fort Meade In fongiound. A Bunch of Short Stories Ex-Congi < nsmaii Tim Campbell , whom ) dulliiltlon , "A virgin fuiet-t In a place whoio tbo hand of man has nuNur set a fool , " made him ' famous , Is ever and anon adding to thu amusement ' or edification of the public. Tills Is his latest , vouched For by the Philadelphia Post : A friend who had boon reading the dally papur ' with painful slowness looked suddenly up. "Tim , fwot IH that nuw-fanglcd crolmo. in Germany they call leaso-majosty ? " Tim bystanders , aroused by thu words , looked Inquisitively at tholi loader , who , with a mild cxpH'sslon of comloscoiiHlon , re plied : "Loaso-majesty , Mike , IH a foreign crime , ami Is taking the Icawi of a house without the emperor's coimont. " A head adorned with shaggy and iiiiman- ngo.ihlo whiskers was thrust out of the win dow , rolaton Collier's Weekly , and a volco that lilted the beard Inquired : "What Is It ? " "Oh , Is this Mr. Hlgglns ? " came a hhrlll volco from thu slmdo of the doorway bolow. "Yes. " "Ploaso ennui lo No. Ill High street , just as quick as you can , and bring your Instru ments. " "I ain't no doctor ; I'm a carpenter. Dr. HlgKlns lives In the next street. " and the window en mo down with a slam that told of former oxporlcnccw of the same kind on tbo part of the humble artisan. Hut Mr. HlggliiH bad not got comfortably back Into bed before tbo boll rang again , and , uttorlng some forcible remarks , ho rose once moro and wont to the window. "Well , what do you want now ? " ho ejacu lated. "Ploaso , sir , " U < i the little volco , "It's you wo want ; pa and ma Is shut up In the ' foldlii' bed , an' wo can't get 'em out. " Ilov. Frank Crane was speaking at the ! union religious Bcrvlccs held during tha fall festival In the Auditorium , relates the Chicago cage Nows. The audience was serious as a | result of the grave remarks of the previous , speakers. Dr. Crane had a mind to bo , solemn when discussing Chicago's great ness , but unintentionally ho caused a laugh. Just us ho said , "There la a time , " ha took a drink , then Hie people xarod , as he continued , "for everything. " For a moment ho was lieulldeieil at the sinldon menImeiil of thu audience ; then IMS ( u\v the joke. Looking wlho , ho re- murlu'il : "Ami soirellmo.s , " hetook another sip , "there is a long tlmo hotwccn times. " Ho put down tbo glass ) nnd moved lightly fiom ono foot lo the oilier , as If keeping limn lo tbo peals of laughter which shook tlio audience out of Us holomnlty. A bland and pntinnl/.liiK Now Yorker , HI a Tilbuno story runs , wim passing through i raw and now hamlet In the west , which Its pruiiil founders had dubbed II City , and uero sure would hoon become , i thriving hive of human beings. Addressing a lank and la/.y youth who UIIH lounging at the door of ono of tbo Hide uliantieM that passed for a "shoo ompoiliim , " the Now Yorker lniiilied | , sarcastically : "Who Is that Important -looking gentle man wllh the red llannel shirt ? " "Thill's Sam Potois , " was Ilio proud ri > - ply. "llo's just opened the now post- olllco. " "Ami thu tall poison with no collar ? " "llo's Long Mike. JiiHt opened a gro cery nloro. " "And thu plump Individual with the bald bead ? " "ll.indy .Mm. Owns the now saloon. " "Indeed ? " nalil the Now Yoiker. "Your city dooms to bo prolty well started. 1 should wipprso them was nothing left for u stranger llko myself to open. " "Oh , I diinno , " diawlod Ilio lanky one "Wo ain't got no loonatlo asylum yet. You might start that. " On ono of his eltotlonoeiliiK touts General "Joo" Wheeler , who IH quite pmull In stature , was called upon to address thu pupils at a country sohoi I. Thin the teacher reminded the boys that ulu-n they grew up they , too , might bo coiigioasmcn. "Mo , too ? " Inquired a lanky lad of KOIIIO 11 "Certainly , " said the liMohor. "I locKon I'll have to grow down 'HI.-id ! o' grow In' up If I want to bo a congressman llko hlmi , " said the boy , point- Ing to the diminutive statesman. The teacher wau much embarrassed and her visitor correspondingly delighted.