The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-08
TAKING THE TRADE
Our Future Rival in the Manufao-
ture Of Cotton.
Assembling Progress In the Various No
ehanlcs Being Made by the Stu
dious People Of the Flow
cry Kingdom.

japan s imports for 1898 amounted to
nearly $4,000, 600 according to report
Of DR.. Paul Ritter, the Swiss vice con-
sui at Yokohama Comparatively few
Of the products were sent from Amer
lea. Great Britain manages 10 control
the greater part of the market there
Americans have created stir in
japan, though, by the establishment
of watch factory. This big concern
was described In detail in recent let
ter from Frank G. Carpenter, the press
correspondent. Japan imported loS,s4T
watches in 1898 and s9,S1s in 1881. The
value Of the watches imported in 1898
was about S261, 500. Americans are
after this trade. most of which has
cone TO the Swiss. Of the 1887
watches imported in 1898, S6,i13 came
from Switzerland, France sent le,24s,
Germany 1904, and the United States
1894. Great Britain sent but 69l. The
Swiss consul thinks that Swiss watch
makers have nothing to fear from the
encroachments of the Americans. Their
object, he says, is to manufacture cheap
watches. He thinks that the Japanese
do not want cheap American watches
or they would have bought them long
ago instead of paying more money for
the expensive Swiss article. The
Americans own one-half the stock In
the new factory and make no secret OF
the fact that they are on the ground to
take advantage of the remarsaoi
cheap labor of that country. The
American rclled-gold or flled-gold osse
Is popular in Japan. Nearly 500 OF
them were imported by that country
il 1893
Japan imports goods to the value OF
about sTC0, 900 more than she exports.
Her principal articles of export are rice,
tea and silks. In 1898 the exports Of
tea to the United States fell off nearly
one-third. The United States Is Japan's
best customer IN the purchase of teas.
Prices of tea in Japan fell SO much that
many japanese tea raisers have turned
their attention to raising barley and
other cereals. The production OF nice
represents one-haf the total agricul-
irral product of the country. Japan
exports some cigarettes TO Europe. Tho
japanese cigarettes are very much like
the American. In fact they are using
American machinery In some Japanese
cigarette factories.
The United States is Japsn's chief
market for silks, and the crisis here IN
1898 PLAYED havoc with the silk Indus
try there. America bought SO little
silk that the market was terribly un-
settled, and finally American buyers
withdrew entirely. This action COM
pletely demoralized the industry, and,
although in 1894 our buyers went back
to Japan for silks, the industry has not
yet recovered.
The cotton industry Of Japan Is OF
more interest to Americans than any
other in the empire. MIR. Carpenter
pointed out in one of his letters few
weeks ago that Japan was in fair way
to become our rival in cotton manufac-
ture. His predictions are substantiated
by some of Vice Consul Ritter's fgures-
The progress within the last four or
five years is astonishing.
In 1887 there were twenty-four mills
in operation, with $50, COO spindlea In
1898 the mills increased to forty-three,
with total of Ss5. 265 spindles. Manual
labor is so appallingly cheap in Japan
that cotton spinners can meet all out
side competition, even that Of India.
So rapid has been the growth of this:
industry that where in 1855 Japan pro-.
duced but 95s. sO4 pounds Of manufac-i
tured cotton and imported 47,4s9, $50
pounds, in 1892 the empire produced
81, O46. 925 pounds, while the cotton I'M
ports fell to q, 30s, 49l pounds, or nearly
one-half. This shows astonishing prog
ress. America may well fear Japan as
competitor in the markets OF the,
world, at least as far as cotton manu-
facture is concerned