The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-03-18
LABOR'S NEW MENACE
MAY EXPECT TO MEET CHINESE CON-
PETITION.

Rates Paid Co Skilled Oriental Workmon
Range From to - Csnts Dsy-Amer-
soan workmen Must He Protsctsd--Our
Trade with Japan.
No country in the world Is more
abundantly supplied with labor than
China. and in no country in the world
does the laborer receive less compensa-
tion. A Chinese laborer will save money
on wages that would hardly be sufficient
to supply the absolute necessities Of an
American laborer. This is made possible
by the cheapness of the vegetable diet
on which the Chinese laborer is content
to live; the small cost of house accom-
modations, for several families will SUBJ
divide one room of house and live in
contentment in it. and the low price
paid for clothing, which is made Of the
coarsest cottons. But the cheapness Of
labor in China does not mean that the
products of that labor are inferior in
quality The Japanese laborer, receiv-
ing higher wages, is more artistic in his
work-his productions are more finish
ed; in dyes and in the blending of colors
he is superior to his Chinese rival. but
in substantial and lasting quality the
latter is fully the equal, and. in some
instances, the superior.
The silk that comes from the looms of
Japan compares in gloss and fineness
with any In the world, and japanese
grapes have a reputation in almost every
market for softness of beauty and har-
mony of color, but for substantial wear,
for lasting quality, the silk goods of
merchants of all lands.
There is i'm Chinese character a con-
servatism which has discouraged all
progress in China. The principle, let
we'll enough Alone" has been adhered
to under the mistaken idea that well
enough" was the best, but in China this
adherence to custom. this opposition to
change. has filled the empire with an
impoverished population, for a people
that use in their trade and business
currency Of SO small denomination as
one tenth of a Mexican cent cannot be
said to have felt the quickening inf1u-
ence Of an enlarged and civilizing COM
MERGE. The cheapness and small de-
nominations of Chinese currency and
the low price of the diet and clothing
of the Chinese laborer are evidences Of
nonprogressiveness, but it should not
be inferred from these that the capacity
for progress is absent from Chinese char
acter.
During the last fiscal year the value
of the trade relations between Japan
and the United States was estimated,
in round numbers, at $2S, 900, 900, but
the figures show balance against the
United States of $40, 10000 Japan is
nearer to the United States than any
other western nation, and several thou
sand miles nearer than to Great Britain,
and yet the balance sheet, for compari
son, between Japan and Great Britain
shows balance in favor of the latter
about as large as the balance against the
United States
During the same period the value of
the aggregate trade relations between
China and the United States was esti
mated at $25, 500, 900, with balance
against the United States of $1,000,
900, while in China, as in Japan, Great
Britain checks off large balances in her
favor, although more remote from China
by thousands of miles
European nations are sustaining the
efforts of European merchants more sub
stantially than the American merchant
is sustained. The latter, i'll the compe-
tition for Asiatic trade, has to rely up
ON his own skill and energy, while the
merchants of Europe are encouraged by
the aid given to the great steamship
lines which carry their flags and pour
the productions Of Europe into Asiatic
ports. At the port of Shanghai. the
great commercial and distributing CEN
ter of Asiatic trade, Great Britain,
France and Germany have direct mail
and commercial communication, the
steamers entering and leaving the port
every week, carrying the flags of their
respective nationalities. while no ship
carrying the American mail and flying
the stars and stripes touches at Shang-
hal at all.
From this standpoint the advantages
to American interest Of the cutting Of
the Nicaragua canal would evidently
be great. Should the United States cut
the canal and say that vessels corrying
the flag Of the United States should
pass toll free or at very moderate tolls
for a certain period would not the bene-
fit to American shipping be almost in
calculable? Would it not create new
life in the shipyards Of the United
States and soon restore our flag to its
former supremacy on the ocean?
In conclusion, we give the value of
Chinese labor, the rates of wages being
those paid at Shanghai and reduced to
American currency by Consul Jernigan
on Sept. 30, 1895:
Per day.
Blacksmith. ................. $O.13
Brass worker. Observation-Disclosures. .l6
Barber. Observation-Disclosures. .O3
III
Bamboo cabinet maker. ............... IL
Bricxlayer ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 10
Compositor (per month) ............... 5.S