It will be interesting to watch the attitude of the
people towards the railway, for Szech'wan is essentially the province of
the farmer. Szech'wan was one of the provinces where concessions were
demanded, and railways had been planned by European syndicates, and
where the gentry and students held mass meetings, feverishly declaring
that none shall build Chinese lines but the people themselves. I have no
space in a work of this nature to go fully into the question of
industrialism, railways, and other matters immediately vital to the
interests of China, but if the peace of China is to be maintained, it
is incumbent upon every foreigner to "go slowly." Machines of foreign
make have before now been scrapped, railways have been pulled up and
thrown into the sea, telegraph lines have been torn down and sold, and
on every hand among this wonderful people there has always been apparent
a distinct hatred to things and ideas foreign. But industrially
particularly the benefits of the West are being recognized in Eastern
China, and gradually, if foreigners who have to do the pioneering are
tactful, trust in the foreign-manufactured machine will spread to
Western China, and enlarged industrialism will bring all-round
advantages to Western trade.
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