Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-07
The Chinese Still Look to Americans
to Build Their Railroads and
Establish Banks.
GREAT ADVANTAGES ARE OFFERED
Count MitkiewieB Explains How the En-
glish and French Blocked His
Concessions,
BUT he RETAINS HIS INFLUENCE
Jealous Of Their Chinese Trade They Frightened on
Capitalists

One doesn't hear much nowadays Of Count
Eugene de Mitkiewicz, the Russian who
held the Chinese concessions, for the reason
that he keeps out OF the newspapers as much
as possible, but he is still in the ring.
He arrived in Pittsburg late Monday
evening. accompanied by his wife, on a
social visit to Frank A. Smith, at the
Monongahela House. The Count and Mr..
Smith have met frequently at the Chinese
Legation, in Washington, and they are fast
friends.
In personal appearance the Count is pre-
| possessing man. He is tall and well built,
wears long flowing side whiskers OF red
dish hue, and he talks fuently with a very
pretty accent He has been jumped on so
numerically by some American news
papers that he takes great pains to avoid re-
porters until the proper time comes, but
under the influence OF friendly intro
duction yesterday he consented to talk about
some of his projects.
The Chinese Emulating the Americans.
''The time has come" he said, "when the
Chinese desire to emulate the Americans in
conducting their business. They boast of
their ancient literature and the porcelain
pagods at Nankin, which is a wonder, and
they say, in their way, that they were intel
ligent people when the Americans were rum
ming wild with the buffalo on the prairies,
but, with all that. they know nothing about
financial matters and they are anxious to
learn, but they have no desire to be
robbed. The Chinese Governm ment has
implicit confidence in the American people,
and they look to them to help them. They
feel that the Yankees are not after their land
like the English, French and Russians. The
Chinese recognize these latter Governments
as their old enemies, and they are very wary
with them.
In Need of Railroads and Banks.
"What the Chinese want now is railroads
and banks. They need mint and national
currency. They have none of
these. and in the line of modern
improvements they are really 2, 900 years
behind the times. The bulk OF tn cir trade
is in the hands of foreign nations who
never fail to leech them. When 1 secured
my concessions from the Government, which
have expired, the English, French and
Germans did all in their power to discredit
tie scheme. They got the New York
papers to jump on me, and finally scared
off the Yankee capitalist to whom looked
for help to carry out these projects. The
English to-day are sitting back and laugh
ing over the manner in which they fooled
the Americans and are reaping the benefits
OF the Chinese trade. But 1 still retain the
confidence of the Chinese Government, and
nobody will builc their railroads or estab-
lish banks for them except through me.
These foreign nations that speak of would
Ilks to do it, but the Chinese will
never permit them. Leo Chang,
the Prime Minister, told me that
rather than grant these franchises to their
enemies they would continue to do business
as they do now G, 900 years hence. 4 will
die he said, but will still see from nv
grave. and they shall not build our rail-
roads, This is the way the Chinese have of
speaking.
China an Undeveloped vastness.
"China is still vast undeveloped ter
ritory, as large as Europe. The
population is 100000, 600, and the peo
pie are all intelligent. Their min
eral resources and agricultural
possibilities are great, but their mines must
be opened and the fields cultivated to yield
the heaviest crops. 1t can't be done with
out financial system and railroads, and it
the opportunity for making money in this
country is enormous, and / came to the
United States and laid the plum in the laps
of the American people, and they
refused to eat it. They permitted
the French. English and Russians, who
saw their trade endangered to trighten
them of. Nobody knows what have had
to endure, and sometimes wonder that L
have come out OF it all ahead as am.
was forced to fight, not only men, but
foreign nations who knew that nv success
would hurt them, and they started in, and
through the press turned the batteries
Of ridicule on me. If it had
not been for Wharton Barker, the
scheme would have been executed. He
wanted too much, and desired TO be the head
and front OF the enterprise. However, am
still working and hope to secure enough
capital in this country TO carry out the pro-
ject. Two hundred years from now YOU will
see machinery made in China from machin-
cry produced in this country"
Why the Chinese Like Americanisms,
''But why is it that the Chinese prefer
the Americans to all others, when their
people are excluded from the United States?"
THAT is easily explained. The officials
OF the Government recognize that the law
was not passed through the influence of the
intelligent people. but by the California
hoodlum. Leo Chang told me that when the
act became a law the English suggested to
the Chinese Minister in London that it
would be good plan to retaljate against
the Americans, but Leo Chang saw the
trick. No. he replied, if 1 did
that it would only put us IN the
hands of our enemies, the English, French
and Russians and we would be more at their
mercy than ever. Our position is such that
it is much better to stand an afront from the
Americans than to cut of a resource that
will bring the other nations to our feet One
thing is certain, the Yankees are not after
slice of our territory
"The time is not far distant when the
Chinese will need railroads for military
operations and to transport troops.
Russia has decided to build roads through
Siberia to the ocean. With Russia friendly
to such project and backed BY American
capital, the English, French and Germans
would no longer be in it. 1t is next to an
impossibility to reach the crown in China.
and without getting the ears of high
officials capitalist can do nothing in that
country.
One of the Schemes of the British.
"The British have organized secret
society to keep people away from the
Emperor, and they bribe Chinese officers
to do it. II a man goes over there
we'll recommended by some prominent
house, he is received very we'll ap-
parently by the foreign merchants,
and they pretend to do all in their
power to help him. They introduce him to
a number OF people, and the capitalist i'm
AGNES ne is getting along swimmingly.