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but actively engaged in superintending its operation were several Germans and Americans, among the latter a former Pittsburgh man. When asked why the wonderful opportunity offered by China had not been seized by enterprising persons, or why the iron and steel industry there had net been developed more largely than it has, Mr. Donner explained that it is very difficult to obtain concessions from the Chinese government; but after the present internal troubles are ended things may be different.
"The younger generation of Chinese is very wide-awake, and I believe there will be a wonderful development and building of railroads in China," he said. "While China has the oldest civilization in the world, the religious fanaticism of her people has checked development. The building of railroads has been almost entirely blocked because it interfered with the tombs of the Chinaman's ancestors, which he regards as sacred. The same difficulty was encountered in mining. However, these old-fashioned beliefs are gradually being supplanted by modern ideas. The Chinaman of today realizes the advantages of a railroad.
Railroad Proves Important
"While in Nanking there wag a terrible famine in a district into which a railroad was being constructed, and while the railroad was not completed or ready for operation, it was possible to use it in transporting rice to the starving people. The building of this road made it possible to save more than 1,000,000 from starvation, who, under former conditions, would have perished. The intelligent Chinese appreciated this."
Mr. Donner declared that the people in and about Hankow and Hanyang, where the steel mill is located, did not appear to be greatly impressed by the importance of their industry. In his opinion, if China develops into a dangerous competitor in the iron and steel trade it will not be the Chinese themselves who will be responsible, but enterprising Americans or Germans who will secure concessions and build up the industry
China, with labor at a figure which makes unnecessary the expensive labor-saving devices so common in America and Germany, with a wealth of raw materials that could be assembled very cheaply, and excellent transportation facilities for export trade, would, in the opinion of Mr. Donner, lead the world in the iron and steel industry.
Mr. Donner was in China last April. With Mrs.
