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CHINESE DANDY AT MIS MIRROR.
(Copyright, 1U02, by Frank a. Carpenter.)
ANTON, Clilnu, Jan. 3. (Spoulul
Correspondence of Thu lieu.)
Canton In thu biggest city of thu
Asiatic continent. It In thu In
(litHtrlul center of this sldo of thu
globu, ami thu day may coinu when It will
surpass any city of thu world In slzu. Lou
don litis almost reached Kb iiiuxlmum; Nuw
York Ib In Its prlmo, but Canton, which Is
older than either, seems to bu ul Ha very
beginning, for It has been bom ngalu.
Throughout tho ages it bus grown Into a
city of 2,500,000 through u buslucus of
whoclburrowB, boats uiid manual work. It
Is now to bavo steam, electricity and all
lulor-Bavlug Inventions. It Is to bo tho end
of thu great truuk lino originated by tho
lalo Calvin S. llrlco and other Americans
which shall cross China from l'ekln to
Hankow and thence comu hero, tapping
thu Industries or hundreds of millions.
Thu Canton of today has not a rullroad of
any kind. In tho fuluru It will havo as
many tracks as Chicago, and thu cars will
shoot out from huro to Touking, Yunnan,
lliirmuh and all parts of thu Chinese em
pire. It has tbousuuds ot llttlo factories
now. In tho futuru It will have moro steam
mills than Philadelphia, mora foundries
Jinn Pittsburg and moro cotton mills than
AinsuachUBctls.
1 huvu spent many weeks In Canton dur
ing my Boveral visits to Asia'. Tho luiaion
Blty of tho city grows upon mo. It is a
vast 111 vo In which every huinuu bee Is at
work. Chicago covors ubout tho wholu ot
Cook county. Canton proper Is surrounded
by walla only six miles In circumference
Tho walls aru thirty foot high aud aru bat
tered and worn. They now embrace only
tho older parts of tho city. Modern Canton
bus lo'ig slnco overllowcd thorn, and It now
oxtcudB for miles up and down tho Pear)
rlvor. It covors tho banks, and it has oven
gouo out aud built houses on tho watci
itself.
From tho wbarvos I went on Into tho olty.
1 moved slowly, for tho streots wero
crowded with almond-eyed humanity, and I
was jostled at every step. Nuw and then 1
slopped In a store to rest, and as I did so
tcado notes ot my surroundings that I might
glvo you an Idea of a puro Chinese city. 1
Bhall try to do It by comparing Canton
with Chicago.
Canton Is blggor than our great city on
lnko Michigan, and It could not be more
different If It wore situated In the planot
of Mara. Tho town la made up of one and
two-Btory houses built along atreeta ao nar
row that you can often aland In the centor
and reach both walla by atretchlng out your
hands. Thoy are ao narrow that two wheel
barrows can hardly pass, and when
two sedan chairs moot one haa to hug the
walls to let tho other go by. A Chicago
diay could not get through them, and a big
dry goods box carried on a pole by two
coolies crowds tho passcrsby to the wall.
Tho Chicago streets are well paved. So
are those of Canton, but the pavementa bore
are of flagstone worn smooth by tho tramp,
tramp, tramp ot millions of baro feet
through many generations. The Btrcets
are, In fact, little alloys paved with stones,
to llttlo that tho only bcastB ot burden
within thorn aro men.
Suppose you could take out ot Chicago
overy strcot car, every dray and wagon,
buggy and cab; suppose you could remove
tho horses, tho buses and tho automobiles
and tako away tho elovated roods and let
tho only means ot conveyance bo shank's
mare and box-llko sedan chairs two toct
wide, slung betweon polos carried on the
ehouldera ot men. Then you have the rapid
transport ot Canton.
Chinese- Water Itnla.
Tho boat population horo Is enormous.
Thero aro more people living on tho water
at Canton than ut any single placo In the
world. You could take tho floating popula
tion ot Venice and lose It In tho floating
population of this city. China has moro
boats than all tho rest ot the world put to
gether and Canton haa more than any other
Canton, Metropolis of China, and Its Future
part of China. Thero aro hundreds of thou
sands of people hero who aro born, llvo and
dlo upon boats, Thero aro thousands of
babies who aro always within six Inches
of drowning. I havo visited many of tho
beat homes sculling along from ono llttlo
floating houso to another, creating conster
nation among both parents and children by
pointing my camera nt thorn. On Bomo ot
he boats babies were playing, on somo
'hey wero squalling and cn somo taking a
mo.il from their mothers. Many of thu
Binall children had barrels or flonts of wood
tied to their backs,
Theso aro llfo preservers to keep them
from sinking when thoy fall In the water.
Other llttlo ones wero tied by ropes to tho
boats, but ns a rulo tho children sprawled
about free. They dodged this way and that
bb my boat moved toward them, diving
down Into tho hold or hiding behind a sail
or maBt to keep out of tho way of the
camera. ThlH morning I pointed tho In
strument nt four llttlo boys playing on tho
wharf. Knch had a barrel on his back. I
was about lo press tho button when ono of
them spied mo and gavo a yoll, whereupon
tho quartet scampered away crying, their
barrels flying on behind them ns they ran.
I find tho Chinese hero decidedly object
to being photographed. When Hubbard T.
Smith was in chnrgo of our conBiilato he
offered lila chair bearers 20 cents aplcco It
thoy would hold him up In tho consular
chair while lie had n photograph taken.
They Indignantly refused, one of them ask
ing Hub Smith whether he thought him
such a fool as to stand In that plcturo all
tho rest of bis llfo lifting up tho Amorlcan
consul for 20 cents, I had a similar photo
graph mado tho other day. It cost ma Jl.
To carry out tho Illusion you must cut
down Chicago's big buildings to rldgo
roofed structured of bluo brick ot ono and
two stories, with horo nnd thero n pawn
broker's shop six or seven stories high
rising nbovo them. Tho buildings must bo
closo to tho strouts nnd their overhanging
roofs must almost shut out tho sun. In
tho ewell shopping sections you must roof
tho space between with oyster shells, shut
ting out tho glare and giving an opales
cent light to tho crowd below.
liiirKi'iniN Store MIkiim.
You would 'havo to change nil tho signs,
Wo Americans do not know what fine busi
ness signs arc. If I could havo ono hun
dredth part of tho gold which Is plastered
over such signs In Canton my prospective
grnndchlldrcn might rldo in their car
riages. The signs aro wonderfully carved.
Thoy au inlaid with gold leaf or enameled
In brilliant colors, so that you sco a blazo
ot red, white, green nnd gold as you look
through tho streets. Each sign Is a board
a foot or morn wldo and from four to ten
feet long, upon which Is cut tho namo ot
tho firm doing business, Somo advcrtlso
thu excellence ot tho storo within nnd
othors bear such names as "Lucky Profits,"
"(Icod Fortutio" nnd "Cheap John."
Supposo wo tako ono of Chicago's chief
AMERICAN CONSUL AT CANTON IN HIS SEDAN CHAIH.
business btrcets and with tho maglo wand
ot tho fairy mako It Chinese. Wo havo
brought tho walla cloao together; tho plate
glass windows have nil disappeared; thu
big department stores havo vanished and
tho clorks and merchants havo multiplied a
thousandfold. Tho complexions of tho
peoplo havo turned yellow; ovory man
wears a pigtail, slant eyes and long gown
und tho yellow-faced women hobble along
on small feet. Tho five-foot streets are
lined with booth-llko openings, each about
fifteen feet wldo, soparatod from one
another by walls ot bluo brick. Each ot
the booths Is a storo and overy ono Is
filled with atrango merchandise. Somo
havo glass showcases at tho front and all
have counters, Thero aro scores ot book
keepers and clorks, many of tho latter
bare to tho waist. Thero aro proprie
tors dressed In flno Bilks and purchasers
ot all classes embracing the vast variety
of tho Chlncso world ot today.
How llnslneaa la Clnaaltleri.
Notice how business Is classified as you
push your way through tho city, your chair
bearors shouting to tho people to get' out ot
tho way. Horo an alley walled with fur-'
nlturo stores Thero Is ono In when thoy
sell nothing but silks, and on that aide
street Is a section devoted to Jade stones,
earrings, bracelets and other such orna-
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RICE
mcnlB. Wo rldo for a mllo through lines
of silversmiths who work and sell sltlo by
sldo, and go by block after block devoted
to embroidery and on Into streets where
thero aro nothing but pipes and tobacco.
You may have tho Idea that all tho Clil
ncso aro poor and that most of them go
barefooted. Como with mo through one of
tho shoo streets of Canton. Wo shall visit
hundreds of stores which sell nothing else.
Thero aro enough shoea In ono ot these
streots to shoo all tho girls of Chicago, but
If tho said girls came hero to bo fitted they
would havo to buy men's shoes, and not
women's. This would bo tho caso with any
American girl, old or young, big or little.
Tho Chlneso havo naturally very small feet.
Thoy are among nature's aristocrats as
far as delicacy ot form Is concerned, and
tho girls who work In the fields havo feet
surpassing thoso of Venus In beauty. Tho
ladles' shoes are so llttlo that the mnallcst
would hardly hold a Yankee girl's fist,
much U-ss her foot. They aro mado of tho
finest of eatln aud aro often embroidered in
gold.
Tho men's shoes are not unllko slippers
with heavy soles. Tho commonest kinds
are ot black satin, with soles ot whlto wood
or cloth, half an Inch thick. For full dress
tho most delicate reds and Bky bluC3 are
worn by both men nnd women. The shoea
havo no strings and do not lace or button.
In tho shoe streot you eeo no women at
tho bargain counter. I have never seen n
Chlneso lady buy shoes, and I am sure nu
Chinese shoo clerk has tho delight of fit
ting tho "tootslo-wootslcs" of the maids ot
Canton. In China It would bo Improper for
a man to lay his band on a strango woman,
and a woman's foot Is considered one ot thu
moBt sacred parts ot her person.
Imlaatrles of a Chinese City.
Every Bhoo store Is also a shoo factory.
Tho most of tho goods mado In China aro
turned out by hand and thero Is a vast
amount of homo and shop Industry. At tho
back ot tho storo men aro pasting, sewing
and stitching on tho shoes soon to bo sold
at tho front. This Is so all over the city,
each establishment making a largo part ot
tho goods which It Bells.
Lot us go Into ono of tho rlco streets.
At the front of each storo aro great
baskots made ot bamboo, each holding from
ton to twenty bushels of grain, while In tho
roar aro tho cleaning and hulling mills.
We hear the thud, thud, thud ot tho pound
ers and go In to boo tho machinery. It Is
largely human. The hulling Is done by
men who step on and oft a board all day
long, moving the mill by their weight.
It Is so with everything In Canton. Tho
whole city Is moved by human muscle. It
la a cannibal town, feeding upon the flesh
MILL IN CANTON DRIVEN HY HUMAN
and blood of Its citizens. In somo mills I
found fifty men going up nnd down llko a
dog in n churn, moving n belt communi
cating .with a buzz saw. You would think
steam would bo cheaper. It Is not. Wages
nro bo low that tho whole fifty do not earn
moro than $5 a day, and tho fuol for tho
steam and tho wear nnd tear of tho ma
chinery would cost moro than that. Those
human machines need no repairs. If a man
gets sick ho la dropped and another takes
his nlacc.
In this samo connection many of tho
boats on tho Pearl river ore run by human
weight. Tho paddlo wheels nt tho stern
nro moved by men who walk up and down
on tho spokes ot connecting wheels insldo
tho boat, thus forcing the great whcol
around nnd moving tho boat through tho
water. Many foreigners havo houso boats
operated In this way. Now and then they
take tho men from tho wheels and harness
them to a long ropo which Is tied to tho
mast of tho boat, and, llko so many horses
or mules, they pull It along from the banks.
Fond of Jewelry.
Dut let us go Into one of tho jewolry sec
tions. Tho Chlncso are fond of flno things.
They hnvo luxurious tastes. The richer ot
them delight In silver plato and they wear
Jowclry of puro gold. Tho Chinese swell,
woman or man, will havo nothing but gold
22 karats flno. The women nre decked with
earrings, bracelets and anklets, and tha
children of the well-to-do wear many rings.
Silver drinking cups aro common.
Most ot tho ladles uso stiver hairpins,
and tho gentlemen drink their wine out of
silver cups. You enn buy silver toilet arti
cles everywhere. Thoro aro combs and
brushes, toothpicks and carplcks, tongue
scrapers and scralch-your-backs. Thero
are silver saucers tor cups of flno china and
carved tea sets of solid sliver. Many Jewels
are sold. The Chinese like diamonds and
pearls. They are fond of Jade, an opales
cent stone, which is so popular that thero
are wholo streets ot Jado stores. They also
like coral, using It In different shapes.
Coral beads are strung and wound Into
balls about as big as a walnut and used as
buttons on the crown of the bat.
Nearly every American traveler talks ot
China's bad smells. I And that there are
more good smells than bad ones, and thero
are many which I wish I could carry homo
with me. Much ot Canton la a Dutch par
lor compared with parts ot New York, Phil
adelphia and Boston, and some ot It la com
raratlvoly clean. Some sections are per
fumed with sandalwood. Thero aro streets
which deal In nothing but sweet-smelling
woods. Here you find men cutting tho odor
iferous logs Into pieces for fane, work
boxes and other things.
Some are sawing them up Into dust to
mix with mud for the Incense sticks used In
overy Chlneso templo and house. Such
sticks servo as cigarette and pipe lighters.
They aro burned In front ot the stores un
der llttlo altars to the Qod of Fortune bung
upon tho wall. Sometimes there are altars
of this kind outside tho stores. In this ease
the lnccnso sticks aro always lighted to
ward night, and thoy look qulto weird ns
dusk comes on.
Mitlit llnalneaa In Canton.
But the night llfo of a Chlneso city Is
hardly worth mentioning. It Is not to be
seen on tho streets. No business Ib donp
after dark. Tho stores aro all closed as
tight as a drum and the only lights aro
oil lamps.
It would do almost Impossible to go
through Canton late at night. In the day
tlmo tho city is a checkerboard of densely
packed workshops; at night It Is a cata
combs with tho passages walled up. Every
narrow street has doors at the end of each
block, and at overy street crossing and al
loy there aro gates provided with locks.
Thero are also great doors at the holes In
tho walls, whether at the entrances of
canals Into the city or ot streets. All such
places aro closed at a certain hour In tho
MUSCLE
evening, so that you could not walk a block
without coming to a gate, and onco Insido
you could not get out.
Thero arc but tow policemen, cither day
or night, and tho order on tho streets Is
excellent. Tho pollco call out tho hours
ns they go their rounds after dark.
They make tho night hideous by clapping
sticks nnd gongs to show that they nro
awake, and, possibly, to warn thieves of
their approach. Tho pollco stations nro
immense wooden boxes, not unllko cool
storago boxes; thoy aro placed along the
sides of tho streets and In them tho po
licemen Ho down to rest, ot n fow Bleep
ing on their posts, as do our policemen
nt homo.
Clilneue of All Clnaaea.
In fact, I And tho Chlncso decidedly
human. They have about tho samo classes
as In the United States, and they are moved
by much tho samo springs of nctlon. Can
ton Is mado up of rich and poor, of work
ers and loafers, of business men and Idiotic
dandles. Tho crowd through which I walk
Is ot all classes, from tho sweating coolie,
who, bnro to tho waist, drips perspiration
08 ho trots along with his burden, to tho
satin-gowned mandarin, whoso long finger
nailed hands nro as soft as tho cheek of
your baby. Thero aro big-footed women
who toll for 3 cents n day, and thero nro
"goldcn-lllled" painted, powdered ladles
who each spend $1,000 a year on tholr
clothes. Thero are Chlncso scholars with
spectacles as big around as silver dollars,
politicians who lick their lips nnd look
wise, story tellers nnd nctors, solid bankers
and brainless foola, ana all tho other classes
you will find In our cities. Indeed, thoro
nro tho samo grades of society, tho mem
bers of which havo as many petty ambi
tions, as many tears and hopes, nnd I might
almost say as many loves and hates. This
Chinese human, although In our conceit we
nro prone to think differently, Is about the
Bamo kind of a two-legged animal without
feathers that you and I aro, and our dear.
Lord gavo him qulto as good a body and
as good an Intellect, feelings and will.
FRANK O. CARPENTER.
A Warning from Lo
Washington Star: "Wo uro absolutely
sure," said tho westorn man, "that Gormany
tnink3 over nnd ever bo much of us, acd
wouldn't do a thing to harm us for tin
world."
it
er
"How do you know?" asked tho Indian
cnier.
"Decauso Prince Henrv Ir nnm np nvnr
hero to present our loading citizens and
omciais witn beautiful clgaretto cases and
sleovo buttons and other valuable souve
nirs." "Listen, oh, whlto man," said the Indian
earnestly; "listen to tho voice ot sad ex
perience. Do not bo too trustful. When
tho Europeans first visited our country
thoy mado us beautiful presents of glass
beads nnd Jackknlves. Ana now they aro
trying to mako us cut our hair and wear
suspenders!"
Healthy Indeed
"So this Is a healthy town?" Interrogated
tho now arrival.
"Healthy ain't no namo for It, stranger,"
boasted tho native. "Why, wo havo only
threo patients In the hospital."
"Who aro thoy?"
"Why, tho doctor, the undertaker and
tho tombstono man. They nro thero for
lack of nourishment."
His Gentle Hint
Chicago Post: "How much of a salary
do you get?" asked tho inquisitive dlnor.
"Oh, I don't get nny salary," replied tho
obsequious waiter. "Tho gentlemen that
dlno hore nro such perfect gentlemen that
I don't need any regular salary or wages."
As tho diner reached down Into his pocket
for a tip he was hoard to mutter some
thing about curiosity always being costly.