Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1914 — Land of Wheelbarrows. [ARTICLE]

Land of Wheelbarrows.

The wheelbarrow is the most common medium of transportation in ■Shantung, China. The load is 'balanced about the wheel eo that the workman does not have to carry a portion of the load, as is the case with the American wheelbarrow. Some wheelbarrows have but one push man; some having a pulling man as well; sorae have one, two or three donkeys to aid in the pulling, and some are equipped with a sail to obtain the help of favorable winds. The equipment depends on the load carried, the maximum load being about a ton. Transportation by wheelbarrow is from five to eight times as expensive as transportation by rail in this province. Thus, the native methods of land transportation, even with labor receiving a wage less than ten cents gold a day. ate costly, disproportionately so as compared With the prices of other commodities. Yet Shantung has tens of thousands of wheelbarrows engaged in traffic. It is easy to appreciate what railroads will mean to the development of this densely populated province.