Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-14
Real Meaning Of Russian Occupation
Of Port Arthur.
4 VALUABLE ALLY TO CHINA
Immense Importance Of the Trans
Siberian Railroad.
AIM OF THE NATIONS
Copyrighted. 1893, by Ewing Cockrell1

copyrighted, 1898 by Ewing Cockrell.)
The Partition of China" Never has
there been more fruitful theme for the
newspapers of the world than this The
occupation Of Kiao Chau by the Germans,
followed by the Russians sailing into Port
Arthur, have been heralded by European
correspondents as the beginning of the di-
vision of the great eastern empire Official
sanction has apparently beer given to this
view by the report that the Emperor Will
helm remarked the other day, China is
like an artichoke; it has to be eaten bit by
bit"
Yet there is probably not one chance in a
hundred that any of US will ever live to see
partition of China or even the beginning
of 1t. And it is only necessary to look
critically at the situation for a moment to
see why such a division will probably
never occur.
Three German warships entered the bay
at Kiao Chau and fercibly took possession
of the forts there-the Chinese general
yielding to superior force" On the other
hand, Russian fleet has occupied Port
Arthur, with the entire acquiescence of
the Chinese government"
Is there no difference between the two
cases? Most decidedly there is. There is
distinction that is most vital, and yet no
one seems to have noticed it. Germany
forcibly seiZes Kiao Chau as China's
enemy. Russia peaceably anchors at Port
Arthur, as China's ally. And no opinion
OF the state of affairs in China today is
worth the paper it is written on if it does
not take full account Of the fact that Rus
STA is really China's ally and faithful
ally at that
This alliance is not composed of high
sounding protestations of mutual affection
and admiration. Its basis is far firmer
than that. 1t is a matter of self-interest
with each power. And China's interests in
this friendship are many.
Chfnn's Tea Trade.
First of all is her tea trade. In this China
is in a very peculiar position. Tea is Chi
mas chief export. Furthermore, it bears
an export duty, that is of the most i'm
portant revenues of the imperial govern
ment. Most of this trade is in the hands of
England but of late England has become
very largely a grower of tea herself. The
tea product of British India has steadily
increased, and is now very considerable.
And by means of the many railroads in
India there are abundant facilities for the
export of the tea. Consequently the tea
trade of China suffers more and more every
year. It's export is steadily decreasing, and
with this decrease the revenues of the gov
eminent are steadily diminishing. And
what is worse for China, the control of her
trade in tea is chiefly in the hands of her
rival in the production of tea
But if China had the internal means of
communication that India has, if her in
terror provinces could be brought as close
ly within reach of western Europe as is the
interior of India, she need no longer fear
Anglo-Indian competition or lack of reve-
nue..
Now, this is exactly what Russia pro-
poses to do for China. The trans-Siberian
railroad is rapidly nearing completion.
When finished, branch line will probably
be built into China. thus uniting most init
mately the two great empires. and at the
same time comforting upon China one of the
greatest benefits she could receive. In an
elaborate work on the Siberian railway and
the trade between China and Russia, pub
lished by the department of trade and
manufactures, under the direction of the
Russian ministry of finance, may be found
the following words
"In all probability, the continued decline
of the tea trade will be very serious Ques-
ton for China, and in this respect the ST.
berian railway may serve as great sup
port for the Chinese tea trade There
fore, not only Russia, but China is most
anxious that Russia should take an active
part in the carriage and sale of tea in Eu-
rope THE Siberian railway approaches
SO near the Chinese frontier that it would
be quite possible by means of a branch line
running into the borders of China to start
direct commercial interchange with the
thickly populated provinces of the interior
of China"
official as they are, is plainly evident.
Russia a Great Tea Drinker.
On one side, China is a great producer
Of tea, while on the other hand, Russia
is great consumer of this product. In
fact, the whole Slav nation is great
nation of tea drinkers. The peasants al
most live on it and black bread, while
in the houses of the higher classes the
samovar and the tea pot stand in the din
ing room the whole day.
Two thirds of the tea consumed in the
great Slav empire comes in overland from
China. 1t crosses the great Cobb desert by
camel caravans to Kiakhta, thence goes
by lake, river and dirt road to the river
OBJ, and then by river and short rail-
way to Nizhny Novgorod. In this way,
tea to the value Of nearly fifteen million
dollars Is brought in annually. At Nizhny
Novgorod, and even I'm Tomsk in Siberia,
are to be seen huge blocks of houses filled
with nothing but tea. But this long, rough
road is necessarily expensive and hazard
GUS. Whereas with the new railroad and
the branch into China, the expense will
be greatly reduced, to the immense ad-
vantage of Russia and her people.
Other Interests in Common.
There are many other interest besides
tea which Russia and China have in COM
mon. For instance, there is timber. In
many of the interior provinces of China
wood is SO extremely precious that it is
sold by weight, having been brought there
by camelS from places nearly thousand
miles distant. While directly north of
China, Siberia has forests of immense ex-
tent, which so far have never been touched
for commercial purposes. AS it is now, we
in the United States control China, but
with the proximity of Siberia's forests,
this cannot continue, and in little while
there will be another important tie between
China and Russia.
Then there is a constant interchange
of manufactured goods and raw products
between the two countries, which will
steadily increase.
Thus it is that Russia and China are
substantially allies, and that the alliance
Is not in name, but in fact. Therefore it
can be depended upon that if Russia al
lows other nations to partition China or
even Its sea coast, it will be either be-
cause she desires such partition or else be-
cause she cannot help herself.
But why should Russia desire a parti-
ton? Such partition means that an in
creased portion of Chinese trade will go
to other nations, and that Russia's share
in this trade will be comparatively dimin-
ished. 1t will be asked why would not
Russia's trade increase also, If she were
to seize a part of China. The answer is
that it would increase, but only to slight
extent, for 1t is a fact, though not gen.
eraIlv knOwn that Russia has now nrac-