Page:James Hudson Maurer - The Far East (1912).pdf/53

 ant plant, a Government arsenal, with a productive capacity of 150 modern army rifles per day. The material for these comes from Great Britain, but the work on them is all done here by Chinese exclusively. This place also makes field guns up to four inches, and makes cartridges and powder. There are two other such arsenals in China.

"Chinese turn all the rolls in the Hankow Steel Works, with Europeans to do the drafting. They do the steel melting, the heating and rolling in the mills. The chief engineer of these works said they seem to have instincts in the handling of foreign steels, seldom injuring a piece in the working, and tempering tools perfectly of any of the high quality steels, either self-hardening or others.

"At all these works Chinamen have entire charge of the electric department, operating and keeping in repair, and do it perfectly.

"That they are resourceful the following will show: At the steel plant a valve of one of the largest engines wsawas [sic] broken badly. It would take four months to get one from the makers. The matter was serious, but the break was evidently too bad to even make an attempt to repair it. The valve was taken into the repair shop, but after thorough consideration it was decided there was nothing to do but send to the makers for a new one. At this point a Chinese foreman of the shop, an exceptionally clever mechanic, said in his guileless way, "Me can fixee."

"'No you can't. That cannot be repaired,' said the chief engineer.

"'Yes, can do!' repeated the foreman.

"'Well how? Show me what you would do.'

"The foreman explained his plan, the engineer decided to let him try; the work was done in two days and the valve has been in use two years, and still running, with a new one lying in the shop waiting for it to break.

"A yard locomotive came from America in the knockdown. The drawings for it were delayed in transit. The engine was put in the shop in pieces, and the chief engineer forgot to say that nothing should be done with it until the drawings came.

"Shortly after he was astonished to see the engine running up and down the tracks in front of the shop, being tried out. They had assembled the engine without the drawings and had done the work perfectly.

"When I asked the engineer if he considered it