St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-28

-S.IXaNIsndd dad a De i,
W(HT/ The count has,
>&ls%/ during the week
---,-a- just passed, fig
ured in New York court Readers Of
the Morning Advertiser know that on
Thursday last he was acquitted on the
charge OF "obtaining money under false
pretenSes," and EOnorably discharged
by the justice. Nobody who knows this
energetic species of the genus Hustler"
ever believed that the case would turn
out differently. Ii Count MitklewIcZ
would shave his flowing auburn wnis-
kers, drop his title. take out his natural
iZation papers and assume Yankee
appellation, he might. with complete
success, pose today as the highest type
OF what is known the world over as
american push"
He ought to have been IN Con-
neeticut parents who emgr Irng
his infancy beyond the Ale anleS.
The story of his persistent attempts 10
most valuable conceivable franchises.
reads like the experience Of a native
Yankee, and native Yankees do not call
themselves counts"
Several years ago the count conceived
the idea of going into thar compare
lively unknown country of the "HeaLhrn
Chinee" and of obtaining certain valu-
able concessions for American capital
lists.
1t never appears to have struck any
other progressive and aggressive Amer
lean that this was the greatest field
probably in the world for investment.
Here was a country with 400. 900, coo in
habitants, and an area so great that
even the United States would be COM
paratively lost if placed in one corner.
/ With all this population and with all
, this territory there was but one tele-
graph and one railroad, not single
telephone, no letter-carrier system, no
/ government mint, and, what WAS still
more surprising, no system OF govern
mental revenue.
!. The count determined to penetrate
the barriers which had been raised about
, the Chinese empire principally by Brit
ISL capital and British enterprise.
The greatest difficulty encountered by
I the count in pushing his scheme was
! really in America. He first had to over
come the natural prejudice in this cOun-
try against foreigners. His scheme also
was SO far away, and at the same time
50 gigantic in its conception and the
results it promised, that many Ameri-
can capitalists who were approached
were startled by its very magnitude.
SO far the count has been unable to
produce these Chinese concessions and
deliver them over to his associates in
the enterprise. But he has by no means
despaired Of accomplishing this result.
In fact, he said Yesterday that he re-
gardpd this as the work of his life, and
would certainly succeed before he died.
The count claims that it is simply a
battle between English aud American
enterprise and capital, and that, as Il
naturallZed Am erican, he is determined
to see the thing brought to successful
conclusion. After many months of work
the count finally sailed for China, backed
not only by American capital, but with
tie letters of introduction which guar
anteed to him an introduction and an
audience with LII Hung Chang, the
prime minister of the Chinese empire
and the seventh prince, the uncl" Of the
emperor. The counts remarkable eX-
perience in China reads like fairy tale,
and is best told in his own words. In
describing it he said:
ION my arrival at Shanghai | was in
formed that shortly steamer sent by
the viceroy, Lii Hung Chang, would he
placed at my disposal. The vessel w as
such as is used only by the royalty, and
from this l was convinced that my let
tiers of Introduction to the Chinese
officials were of the very best. | went
unattended. and was compelled to rely
altogether upon an interpreter, whose
services | secured in Shanghai. But it
seems that the Viceroy had issued ali Or
der that my person was sacred, and this
doubtlessly accounts for the universal
courtesy and attention [ met with Oh
every hand.
II do not doubt but what this atten-
ton was very largely due to the lavish
expenditure of money. 1t is universal
custom in China to pay tribute to every
thing and everybody, and in that coun-
try no official considers it crime to ac-
cept a bride. In fact, they do not con-
slider it as a bribe, but rather as one of
their legitimate perqulsites. | started
in with the Cinnamon who handled my
luggage and worked my way up to the
prime minister of the Chinese empire,
and what with presents of costly silks
and diamonds at the end OF two
months trip | found that my expenses
had reached the enormous sum of
twenty-five thousand odd dollars.
"a small fortune you might say, and.
i'll truth it was, but in reality it was but
the beginning. There has already been
spent on these Chinese concessions GER
tainly not less than S200,000 and it will
take as much more to secure them.
What will they be worth? No man can
tell. Millions certainly. but how many?
1t takes ones breath away in very truth
when he thinks of the possibility. Just
think of the value today of the entire
railroad system of the United States,
the telegraph reaching into every hole
and corner of the land, and the tele-
phone system now in nearly every city
of any size. Their value is billions of
dollarS-nct millions. Such must uti-
nately be the value of the same kind of
property in China, where there are 40O,-
000,000 people, and where there is an
area four times the size of the United
States.
= Every Chinaman is on the make. |
don't care how small he is officially, or
how young he is IL years, each and
every one of them is aSer the mighty
dollar. 1t matters not whether it is an
American dollar or British sovereign
or Chinese tael, it is all the same to
the pigtail gentry of the empire. 1t is
very rare thing, indeed, for foreigner
to secure an audience with the prime
minister of China; in fact, it was even
more difficult than securing an audience
with James q. Blaine when he was sec
rotary of state, and that, you know, was
regarded as one of tile most difficult
things i'll Washington.
Il had very indefinite idea of Chi
nese customs, and had assumed, with
my American ideas, that being pre-
sented to the prime minister coupled
with it presentation to his immediate
family. But was doomed to disaL-
pointment. On my way from Shanghai
to Picking L had heard a great deal
about the wonderful beauty of the wives
of Ii Hung Chang, and had looked for
ward TO the pleasure of meeting them.
But during my entire interview with
the minister | newer set ewes ON anv-