Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-07-11


Injuries i'll their everyday life will not
become general perhaps for Il century
TO come. III view of this fact there will
be no demand i'll China for foreign
goods to offset the output of goods
which will como into competition with
the manufactures of the rest of the
world.
All of the 10 provinces of China con-
tain coal, and the country is regarded
by authorities as one of the first coal
countries i'll the world. Tho stores of
iron and copper i'll the country are stu
pendoas i'll extent, notwithstanding they
have been worked for centuries.
China, too, is III agricultural country.
Wheat. barley, corn and millet are cul
tivatcd i'll the north, where they grow
in great quantities. LII the south most
OF the rice is raised, and here cotton,
wherever the effort has been made, has
shown II marvellous liking for and adapt
ability to the soil and climate. Sugar
III enormous quantities can be raised in
the south provinces, where it is now ex~
tsnaivaly cultivated as we'll MS in For
.nosa. Thctea provinces arc i'll the west
and south. In these provinces also the
mulberry tree grows i'll great numbers,
and from Kwang Tung, SZc-Chw;.n and
Cheh-t'hiang particularly most of the
| Chinese silk of commerce comes.
The principal countries to which China
exported goods in 1898 and the value
| thereof in tacls (a tacl is II silver meas
/ IRE of valy,e, about 81 333) are as follows:
| Value in tacls.
Great Britain and I1onsiSon:; 5n.a5s, 1863
India 2,':5, d13
United States. 25.Gi
Europe twthout Hussi&l l.............. l5,s;5,07a
lap.n 9, :as7 ,0775
aussi;. D.is}, ,9l3
As an instance of how cheap labor
has affected the Manufacture of cotton
in England alone may he shown the
| enormous increase of the mn,lufactue
I of cotton i'll Indi;. since 1868. 1t WAS be-
gun i'll that year at Kurla, in thc presi-
dency of Bombay, and considered Il
doubtful experiment. Still it grew rn-
til at tire present day there arc in Bcm-
bay, Madras, Bengal. Surat, Bracll aud
.Almcdabad over 2,500.O0O spindlcs at
work, producing cotton goods valued
yearly at the sum of $3.50, 600, 900, COIL
suming 100000 bales of cotton. Of
its manufactures of cotton India now
exports yearly over 30.OO0,OOO pounds
and consumes 100000 pounds. Nine
fy per cent of its consumption was for
aerly manufactured in England, and as
a result of the competition of India
looms With those of England tho cotton
manufacturing business i'll the latter
country was never so bad as ii is at the
1 present day.
Perhaps, one of tho most important
concessions, aside from tho commercial
privileges, which China has granted is
ehe abolition of what is known as the
"li!lin" tax, and perpetual free transit
FOR goods through the entire empire.
The "liliin' tax is an institution in
China as Old as its revenue systcn-in
\ fact, it has for centuries furnished the
| interior towns with most of the revenue
upon which they carried on their gov
ernment.
1t finally became a local duty or tax
that could be assessed upon foreigners
or foreign goods by any province orlnu-
nicipality to such an amount and as fre-
quently as the local authorities desired
Under the operation of the tax and
the provision lit which perhaps caused
the japanese more trouble than any one
else i'll recent years, for it was against
them it was most rigidly enforced, IL
merchant shipping goods into the inte-
rlor was liable to have them assessed
for valuation and taxation by every mu-
nicipality through which they passed.
Frequently tho tax was so heavy it be-
came necessary for tho merchant to pay
the full value of his goods to have them
released The cxaction of this tribute
really amounted to an embargo on trade
and kept tradors out of the country.
Tho rush of capitalists to tako adyan-
taSe OF the conditions Of the peace treaty
has already begun. Chester A. Holcolnb,
for many years secretary Of the United
States legation at Peling and author
of a book called Tho Real Cllinanlan, I"
is already Oh his way to China from
Washington i'll the interest of ~ syndi-
cate of American millionaires. His mis-
sion is to obtain concessions and to pick
out the most likely places and lines of
trade or manufacture i'll which money
can be invested
He IS but one Of a hundred others OH
their way to China with similar OBJ
Ject in yiow, and they arc from Eng
land, Germany, Russia and France, as
we'll as from America.
Tho above only shows how willing
capital is to take advantage of an op-
portulity to go into China. But tho
only ones to be benefited by the opening
up of the territory arc men who are al
ready millionaires. The employment
the opening up Of the country will fur
] nish will go to Cinnamon. These, work
ing at rate Of wages less per day than
is sufficient to feed an American yellow
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