t
Instituting Reforms
MANCHU
Copyright, 199. by Frank O. Carpenter )
CKDEX, Manchuria, :m.
(fiperlal rorrPHpondence of The
B.) I find Manchuria rapidly
awakening to f.io new rlvllln
tlon. This country han long
been considered tha moat bar
barous part of the Chinese empire. The
home of the Manrhus. It has been held aa
aynonymoiia with brigandage and corrup
tion. Tntll recently neither Ufa nor prop
erty was safe, and today there ara guer
rillas who snoop down from the mountains
to levy taxes on travelers In transit and to
blackmail the villages. The whistle of the
trains on their way from Siberia to the
Yellow sea has sounded the death knell of
the old clvllliatlon, and the hordes of Rus
alansand Japanese, by whom the land has
been overrun during tho last few years,
have aided In nursing the new Into life.
Manchuria has now some of the most pro
gressive of the Chinese officials aa Its
rulers, and they are Instituting all sorts of
reforms. ' The larger cities have been
cleaned. Mukden has streets free from
filth, and all the way from here to Dalny
the Japanese have been Introducing weat
ern ways.
Mnnrhnrln't New Schools.
Hr In Mukden the changes are b.lng
made by the Manchurlan Chinese. This
country is a part of the Chinese empire,
and Its officials are appointed from Teklng.
It contains three great provinces, each of
which has a governor, and over the whole
la a viceroy, who lives at Mukden. Most
of the reforms have been largely due to
the provincial governor. His Excellency
Tnng Shao Yl. who was recently In the
TTnlted Slates to return thanks for the re
mission of the Boxer Indemnity. This man
was for a long tlma director of railroads
of North China, and as 'such was closely
associated with Yuan Shlh Kal, who until
lately held the place of LI Hung Chang In
the councils of the empire. Under Tang
common schools have betrt started, and the
young Chinese mind Is being trained along
the lines of western methods. The boys
are studying arlthmetlo and the modern
sciences, and they have a military drill
several times every week. A big Industrial
sehoo; has been established, and also the
agricultural college of which I have written
In a previous letter.
I drove out Into the country yesterday
to look at the beginnings of a forestry de
partment, which may some day clothe the
bare, dry hills of southern Manchuria with
trees, and from there to an experiment
farm where modern agriculture Is being
taught.
Mukden's Industrial School.
Leaving the plantation. I visited the In
dustrial school. This has now sixty stu
dents who are learning manual training
under Chlneae who have been educated
al road. It has large carpenter shops in
whl h beautiful furniture Is made, and that
from the native wood. It Is only the lower
part of Manchuria which has no forests to
speak of. Along the Sungarl river there
ara vast arras of walnuts, oaka and other
hardwoods. Some of tha best timber Is
only eighty miles from the railroad, but
the transportation Is ao bad that Oregon
pine can be brought across the Taciflc and
up here to Mukden and aold at lower rates
tt an the Manchurlan lumber. At present
there Is a scheme to build a railroad to
connect the forest regions with the South
Manchurlan system, and when that Is dona
tha Manchurlan wood will be used all along
that line from the Yellow sea to Siberia.
Omaha Tel Jed Sokol Teams
IX YOUNG men and six young
SI women will be sent by Tel Jea
I Sokol the Omaha Society of
KithMtilan turners tn r7htoAln
late this month, to compete in
the world's Bohemian turner
meet.
One of the six young men has been
chosen a member of a clasa of six to rep
resent America In the athletic contest with
a plckd team from Bohemia to decide la-
S imm. '
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From Left to liight Llllle Uioveo. Emms VMous. Mamie Kment. Tlllle Treybal. Mnrie Mlk, Tlllle Kment.
UlKLi TEAM OF TEL JED BAKOL TO COMJ'KT. AT CHICAGO.
POLICEMAN.
Some of the finest of the native timber la
walnut. It Is the color of cherry and Its
k'raln Is ss close as that of birch. In the
Industrial shops this wood Is being used
for fine furniture. When stained it closely
resembles mahogany.
This school teaches all sorts of Iron work
ing. It has spinning and weaving depart
ments, glass-blowing shops and all the up-to-date
appliances of the manual training
schools of America. The students ara
bright young fellows of from 14 to 1 years
of age. They live In the school, sleeping
In dormitories, five boys to ths room.
Each room has a kang or brick ledsre about
two fet high In It. This Is heated by flues
which run under the floor. The boys study
In their rooms during the day, when not In
the class rooms, and sleep there at night.
As In all the new schools, the students
have a special uniform and are suhject to
military drill. They wear trousers. Jackets
and cups and their feet are shod with boots
of black cloth.
Tartar Courts Reformed.
A great reform Is going on now In tha
Manchurlan courts and as to all matters
of law. A well organized police service
has been established and there are now
uniformed policemen on every block.
These men wear padded black clothes of
almost Kuropean cut. The long Manchu
gown has been abolished and they have
coats, trousers and boota. Their pigtails
are covered with caps and they carry
clubs as btg around as a broomstick and
almost as long. The clubs are painted
black to make them look Ilka ebony or
iron, but, in fact, they arc exceedingly
light, and a good blow upon a hard skull
would break them in pieces. Tha police
men still have strips of whit cotton
about four Inches wide wound around
their left arms, as a sign of their mourn
ing for the lata emperor. For monthe
after his majesty's death they dared not
shave their heads; and their black hair,
except where the pigtail came forth,
stood up like a shoe brush all over the
calp. Some of the police carry swords.
The system of Justice In the Manchu
rlan courts is being reformed. The tor
turing of prisoners to make them, con
fess has been largely done away with,
and slicing to death has been abolished.
So far I have met no criminals wearing
the cangue, although this was a com
mon sight during my several previous
visits to China. About eight years ago I
saw three women locked together In a
framework of boards three feet wide and
six feet long. Their necks were f 11 ted
Into holes, and the framework was such
that It could be open and clcsed. The
women could not feed themselvea, and
they could not move unless the all went
together. At the same time I saw men
undergoing similar punishment. They
were loaded down with heavy planks
which rested upon their shoulders, their
heads coming out through a hole in the
center, some Buch canrjues were further
weighted with Iron. I saw one man who
was Inclosed in a barrel so tight that
his head came out through a hole In the
top, and his hands through the sides. The
hales were Just largo enough for the
wrists; the man could not scratch him
self nor convey his fcod to his mouth.
At that time no criminal could he pun
ished until he had confessed, and every
Chinese who was arrested was pounded
with a bamboo on his bare thighs or s'ruek
ternational championship. This champion
is Frank J. ,Rlha, and he and Frank J.
Krecek were In a class sent by Omaha to
contest in the world's meet held In St.
Louis in 1904. One of the six young women,
Miss Tlllle Kment. also contested In the
St. Louis world's meet and Miss Kment
and Mies Mamie Kment, her sister, both
hold gold medals won in state athletic
contests.
The six young men in the one team are
V, 1 M
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in the Schools, Courts and Prisons of
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on the lips with a piece of leather, or
made to kneel upon sharp chains until he
could stand it no longer and ald he was
guilty. Such things have been abolished
here In Manchuria, and, I understand, in
China aa well.
Prison Iteforui la Manrhnrla.
I spent the greater part of today In going
through the new prl-sons which have Just
been built her at Mukden. They are far
different from those I have visited In
China. A few years ago I went through
the Jails at Shanghai, notwithstanding a
warning that the prisoners might tear my
clothes off If I did so. On my wav to thu
prisons I saw many men loaded with
cangues. One was standing in a frame
work so hung by his neck that his toes
barely touched the ground. I could smell
the prison before I enrne to It, and was al
most sickened by the terrible stench as I
went through. The buildings wore Ion
Chinese structures, without floors or sani
tary conveniences. The convicts were
chained to the walls like wild bursts, and
some had chains about the neck as well
as the feet. Tha prison had Its dead house
Quaint
Bootlegged" In Jail.
HE liquor law against the sale
""""4 I of intoxicating liquor U more
I I or less vigorously enforced in
ago .the sheriff of a county
seat town seized two barrels
of whisky in bottles, nl the Jail where
the confiscated whisky was stored was a
prisoner who by an ingenious contrivance
got Into one of the barrels. It was re
called afterwards that tho prisoner had
many visitors.
One day he announced that he was ready
to pay his fine and he was released, it
was not until after he had made his
"getaway" out of the state that it was
discovered that he had sold the liquor
taken from tho barrel for enough to pay
hia fine and secure his release from jail.
A net Ion In a (irnveyurd.
The spectacle of a vault wherein lay the
owner's dead, being disposed of at a forced
public sale wan witnessed at Ureensburg,
Pa. at tha old Unity cemetery. The salo
was necessitated by the Insistence of cred
itors of the owner, once a wealthy land
owner of Latrobe, Pa. The creditors de
manded that the cemetery property be
sold, and the proceeds divided. James
Koe.nan of Greenuburg, the authorized ref
eree In bankruptcy, after hesitation, dl
rgct' d that the sale be held. The auc
tioneer and others urged that the sale be
held outside, but It was decided that no
course was open for the auctioneer but to
cry the sale In the plot where lie scores
of the pioneer dead.
The bidding was atarted at 250. Others
raised It to IM. There was a pause. From
out the crowd emerged an old woman,
whose only daughter and grandson lay In
the vault. In a broken voice she bid WIG.
A few more bids raised the figure. Several
$5 increases offered by her were raised by
other bidders. With a sorrowful glance at
Frank J. Rlha, a world champion, Frank
J. Krecek, John Riha, Rudolph Zikmund.
Peter Pecka and Anton Trecka. The six
young women are Miss Tlllle Kment, Miss
Mamie Kment, Miss Tlllle Treybal, Miss
Marie Mlk, Miss Emma Vltous and Miss
L'illle Ulovec. '
The world's meet will begin August 24
and continue four days.
The young women will take part only
in fancy . drills and in calisthenics, bu
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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST
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INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL BOYS.
connected with It, ond deaths from starva
tion and torture were common. The Jailers
got most of their Incomes from squeezing.
They had the right to sell food to the
criminals, and the prisoners who had no
money were likely to starve. The law gave
each man certain fixed rations, but the
Jailer could furnish less or more as he
pleased.
Mukden's rr Prisons.
The prisons I have visited here are In
costly buildings covering acres, and I found
the criminals treated like men, not beasts.
It was through the courtesy of Liang Yu
Ho, the counselor of the viceroy, that I
was able to inspect them. Mr. Liang' Is a
graduate of Yale college, and as such Is
glad to have America know what ills coun
try Is doing along the lines of our civiliza
tion. He sent two English speaking Chinese
officials with me, snd a director of the
penitentiary accompanied lis as we went
through the wards. We visited two pris
ons during the morning, and In one foupd
370 convicts working away at all kinds of
labor.
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Features of Everyday Life
the receptacle of her dead she turned and
left the cemetery.
The vault was finally sold to J. J. Pep
pary for 745. Notice was given on the part
of the owner that the sale would be con
tested. Mechanical Thief Catcher,
Employes of a power plant in Richmond,
Ind., after suffering repeated thefts from
their clothing planned an effectual remedy.
A high tension electric wire was connected
with a bunch of keys and fastened to a
pocketbook. This waa placed In one of the
coats that hung on the wall. Several days
paft-fd without development, but a few
nights ago the men heard a loud cry in
the dressing room and on Investigation
found a young man unconscious on the
floor. The thief had been caught.
Chicken May it I vol Mand S.
Judds, a ten-pound Plymouth Rock
rooster owned by Abel R. Woodward, a
merchant residing on Meadow street, Win
stead, Conn., hus been broken to harness
by his young son, Irving, who hitches
chanticleer to a cart and drives him
around. Judds can't trot yet, but he is a
fast walker, and steps off with as much
grace and style as any well groomed steed.
The harness consists of a breast yoke,
traces and reins. A whip completes the
outfit. Judds will stand patiently while he
Is being hitched and then, with a cluck
from the driver Is off.
He Quits Country for Dogr,
Arraigned for allowing his dog to run
at large on the streets of Detroit without
an official tag on tis collar, John Bark
owskl Bald: "I'll take him over to Wlnd
Bor and go there and live with him." He
said he was opposed to buying a brass
sign to hang on Its neck.
When the Judge warned him that it will
be uccessary for him to purchase, John
to Compete in World's Turner
the men will participate in almost every
known form of athletic exercise, or, ten
in number, as follows: Calisthenics,
horizontal bars, parallel bars, vaulting
horse, side horse, shot put, running Jump,
running broad Jump, pole vault and 100
yard dash.
The contestants will be divided Into
five classes, but under the Bohemian
method the first and second classes do
not count for much. The fifth class counts
the most, the fourth class next and so on
down to the fust clos. Ten points wl I
be acrtdlted the con'.esiant fr winn.ng
out In the fifth class, nine points for win
ning out In the fourth ii'(f and el,iht
po ll's for winnlrg In the thii d rli? s. It U
expected that nore .if lie (tniahu (un
tenants will be put in a Cass under the
th,rd.
..',11 contestanis will he nbllm'd to go
through four kinds of exeicl-e -jn each
piece of athletic apptii atus. The contest
ants will have the privilege of selecting two
of the exeicltes. the other two to bo se
lected by the Judges. Two of these y Jges
wli come from innaha-tJldiich Jeii.ii and
J. ft. Fiala. B fore they can s.rve, how
ev r. the J'tdqes must piss examinations
In drills to show they are qualified to act.
Aside from the regular ten contests from
which the rating will be sicurcd in tiie
world's meet, the Oninha tesm will . give
a specialty drill with base ball buts. This
drill will be slniiUr to drills had with
Incian clubs, the coi. tectums swinging bats
lnttead of clubs.
The champli n team to represent America
has already been selected This will be
corrposid of six men, of whom Frank J.
Rll.a of Onviha is one. Mr. Rlha we a
member of the American team sent to
Bohemia to contest with the old country
team in IM. and he' carried off second
honors for the United States.
Pohtmia is sending seven of Its best
turners to contest with the American team
fui championship huuora. Thcie tire over
P. 1009.
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This latter prison covers about four
acres. It Is surrounded by a wall of gray
brick fifteen feet high and Its front gate
Is guarded by two six-foot Manchu sol
diers, who presented arms as we entered.
The buildings are large one-story struc
tures made of gray brick and heavy tiled
roofs. They are so built that they form
a series of wings running out from a
central point like the spokes of a wheel,
so that the guards standing at the hub
can command four or five aisles on each
side, and the architecture altogether la
not unlike that of our best prison at
home.
These buildings are situated In courts,
one of which we entered as . we came
through the gate. At the same time a
gang of seventy-five convicts marched In
to take their afternoon meal. They had
been working on the roads outside the
prison. I asked the director to stop them
In the sunlight that I might make a snap
shot with my camera. He did so and I
had a good chance to study them. The
convicts are tall, burly fellows, weighing
I venture, one-third more than the aver
age Chinese of America. They all wear
queues and their faces are about tire same
declared that It is a change In his country
for him. Judge Phelan pleaded with John
to stick to the United States, but the lat
ter Insisted that he must give bis beast
a square deal,
A Striking; Coincidence.
Lovers of striking coincidences will do
well to observe the late submarine boat
disaster in Great Britain, says the New
York Tribune. The steamer which crashed
into the submarine was named, the Eddy
stone and one of the victims of the dis
aster was named Wlnstanley. It is now
more than 200 years since Henry Wlnstan
ley went to the Edrtystone rock In order
to gratify his often cxpresstd desire to
weather the fiercest November gale that
ever swept the channel in the famous light
house which he had built there. He went
and the gale came, but when the storm
had passfd Wlnstanley and his lighthouse
had vanished forever. That the two un
common names should, after the lapse of
2u6 years, again be associated in a marine
tragedy is an incident worthy at least of
passing notice,
I.antpa on llnby Carts.
Los Angeles has passed an ordinance,
the effect of which is to compel baby
buggies and pushcarts to be equipped with
lamps like automobiles, two clear lights
In front and a red light behind, unlcsa the
baby is red-headed. The necessity of hav
ing a honk horn on the perambulator was
not fell, baby being trusted to do all tha
honking necessary.
Bumper Suuke Crop.
There Is a bumper snake crop In Pikes
county, Pennsylvania, this year. Martin
Courtrlght, a state game warden of Hunt
er's Range, In Pike county, ttated when
In Stroudsburg last week that from April
15 to July IS he had killed 115 snakes, most
of them being rattlers of large size. The
largest number killed in one day was ten.
60,000 turners In Bohemia and 3,500 of these
contested in the Luxuraburg meet in June,
when the class of seven was chosen to
represent the old country in the world's
meet to be held In Chicago the latter part
of this month. The seven selected are
Judged as the best of the 3.500 and there
fore America realizes that hard work will
have to be done to carry tiff the honors
for this country.
tft to Right O J. Je'.en. Peter
MEN o TEAM
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PRISON OFFICIALS. MUKDEN.
as those of the Tartars I see on the strecta.
The prison dresa Is of a Jacket or coat
which falls to tha hips and a pair of thick
trousers which look as though they were
made of quilted comfort, such as we use
on our beds. The material Is wadded cot
ton. The color Is light gray, except on the
back, where a cross of dead black Is
painted. Each man wear shoes of pigskin,
and his legs are so chained together that
he can take but one short step at a time.
As I looked I asked the director to point
out Borne of the bad cases. He replied:
"You can tell them by their collars. You
see, the moat of the collars are of the
same gray color as the rest of the gar
ment, but some are red. black and bl ie.
Those black-collared fellows are each In
for thirty years. The convicts wearing the
blue collars are in for twenty years, ihor.
wearing red for ten, while the gray rave
still shorter sentences. The most ;f our
men have been convicted of robbery and
assault with Intent to kill. The murderers
we have In another prison, which has Just
been constructed.".
Convicts at Dinner.
After making the picture I followed the
convicts on Into the wards and saw them
eating. As I looked the director told me
that he gave them two meals a day, con
sisting of a breakfast at t and a dinner at
a. Bald he:
"The men rise at 6:30 a. m. and stop work
at 5 in the evening. It costs us about 6 or
6 cents of your money a day to feed each
of them, and we are now spending fifty
Mexican dollars, or about $30 In gold, per
day for the food we are serving to the 370
men we have here. We make the prison
ers pay for their meals by their work. We
allow each about 10 cents a day and of this
6 or 7 cents is taken out for his board
and clothes. The rest he can put tn his
pocket. Oh, I assure you, they are treated
quite well."
While we waited the food was brought
in and served to the prisoners, who had
teated themselves in the aisles aa they
entered the ward. Before doing so each
man took from his back a little brown
canvas knapsack, containing all the In
dividual furniture he has for his prison
life. This consists of a folding camp stool
four Inches high, six Inches wide and
twelve Inches long; a pair of wooden
chopsticks and two porcelain bowls, each
of which holds half a pint. At a given
signal the men pulled the Ktools from
their knapsacks and set them down on the
floor, and at a second signal they ar
ranged themselves on the stools In two
long aisles facing each other. Now a
gang of convicts who acted as waiters
brought in great water-tight baskets
filled with steamed sorghum seed ond
vegetable soup. The millet was served
first. It was shoveled out Into bowls much
like wash basins, and one of these was
placed on the floor In each group of four
men. There was a spoon In the basin and
each convict filled his porcelain bov 1. At
the same time a bowl of the soup was
handed around, each man helping himself,
using his other bowl for the purpose. In
eating, the men picked some of the vege
tables out of the soup with their chop
sticks, and, mixing them with the sorghum,
raised the bowl to their mouth and
scraped the food In with the chopsticks.
They seemed to enjoy the meal, and I
was told that It was better than they had
Accompanying the class of seven will be
twenty-two high Bohemian officials. New
York turners will give them a reception
upon their arrival In this country and tliey
will be .s-orted to Washington and be
presented to President Taft. Two hundred
ond sixty-five Bohemian Turner organiza
tions in New York will take part in this
reception.
On tho afternoon of Sunday, August 2?,
Pecka. Rudolph TtVmTind. FranV 3 Tt'ha. John Rina SVaiik J. Krecek, u
TO REPHbENT TEL JEI fcOKOL AT CHICAGO.
Manchuria
!
been accustomed to before they were
caught. Sorghum se4 thus rooked Is the
chief food of Manchuria, holding the same
plu-e that bread and meat have with us.
Look at the Cells.
After this I took a walk through the
wards and examined the cells. They are
about twelve feet square and well arranged
as to ventilation and light. They are
heated by tha kangs upon which the men
sleep. The fire Is put Into a hole at the
lower front of each kang. and an armful
of straw Bufflcee to keep one room warm
the whole night. lire prisoners axe kept
in each room.
I asked as te punishment, and was told
tha. the brbrois cuitor&a had been dona
away l:, although the convicts are still
bambooed on their base ski-is. For serious
c?fr- dA.-fe .' a.- 5.-11. but the di
ry.fir ia;s th'. :t Is eiV. a. towed to keep
a rri.i ir. c.-.e of ths. fir more than five
dajrs a; a t..Tj. At EC 7 rn .-, he showed
rr.e ,lA,- en.1 siii tr.e i.isle. The
ce.I u i tr-.A-g ;th a base
1 j. U.-ge r.O'ii fir f. :r, and the
tao cr.f ',.'. rr.evurT la a-i acute ang.e
at ae oS'-.mr r,t T.rfr Is rom for a
man t.j l.e n uaea Cr, but
could T.:i.T fj-J w.-.-. l it touch::.c
the Wi.'.j. Tt r .om t.v.1 ce.-r-.er bed i-.-'r
cha'rs. ar d I" . -xt.c:t.4. The food fc.s
thrust in through a l:-.t: hole in the d.or.
so atrar.:ed i'.h a dou'oie U4 that it cou.d
be done without aJ.u.tux.g the light After
the door was closed upon me the darkness
was such that it could re felt. There was
not a ray of light anywhere, and I waa
decidedly relieved on being let out.
In the Workshops.
Leaving the cells, the director took us
through the work shops. Until now no
labor of any kind has been done in the
prisons. Here every man learns a trade and
all sorts of things are mads to be sold In
the stores. The first shop we entered was
devoted to saddlery and shoemaklng. This
is about 100 feet square, and scores of these
gray-gowned, plg-talled Manchus were la
boring In it. Some sat on low stools before
shoemakers' benches, pegging and sewing;
others were cutting out the fat boots uaed
by the army, nnd a third group was work
ing on sewing machines, Joining pieces of
leather together. I walked over to them
and examined the machines. They were all
marked "linger" and had been Imported
from America. In another factory was a
rang of carpenters and cabinet makers,
and In a third about two dozen convicts
were spinning and weaving. The spinners
sat on the floor, turning their wheels with
tho hand, and the weavers were using
looms worked by the feet.
In another place they were weaving car
pets and rugs, somo of the latter being
twenty feet square. Such rugs are made
on n great framwork. The weaving be
right Inside the room. The weaving be
gins at the bottom, and ns the rug pro
gresses the men huvo to use scaffolds upon
which to sit while they draw the threads
In and out. All the work is done by hand,
and that In designs of oriental patterns
composed of many colored wools. One of
the rugs now on the frames Is to be four
teen feet wide and twenty feet long. It la
bring made for the American Tobacco com
pany's new building In Mukden.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Contests
a public athletic exhibition will be held In
the Tel Jed Sokol hall, Thirteenth and
I'oicas streets, for the purpose of raising
money to defray the expenses of the teams
to be sent to the Chicago meet. The two
teams will go through all the exercises
which will be given at the world's meet
and thi hall will be open to all lnterctcd
In aililotlcs, whether of the Bohemian
nationality or not.
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