The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-08-22

people VINO u quarter OF century dso
| had none. and who were separated from
| the world by wide CULTS of both race ana
habit-a foreign trade amounting per
| capita to one-third the total exports OF
| the United States, including breadstuils,
| provisions, iron, steel. leather, oil, etc
| Is nothing less than marvellous. The Dulk
| of 1t, too. has come into existence In less
| than ten years. AS late as 1891 1t amcunt-
| ed TO IA little more than one-half its pres
| ent volume AS is grows its capacity TO
| take Cn new growth proportiOnately In
| crcases. 1t illustrates the commercial
| axiom that wants, once created, grow
| raster than the means of supplying them.
| The growth, too. has been chiefly In what
| the outside world has sent to Japan. In
| 1881 her entire Importation amounted to
| not quite $3.0O00 90. Six years later 1t had
| reached Sill, 900 600. | confidently ask, IS
| there in the annals of mankind another
| such striking commercial revolution? A
| people isolated from the world from the
| beginning of time by race, religion, and
| seas, sprirging in a quarter of century
| TO commercial standing equal to that Of
the Caucasian settlements in South Amer
| lea, and approaching to that of the peo-
| pie or the United States themselves.
| o
But the significance of this Is that what
has transpired in Japan can and will hap
| pen among their Asiatic kin. The worlds
|
| phenomenally during the last few years.
| IL has now reached the volume of two
| hundred and seventy millions, one num-
| dred and seventy of which are imports.
| This is more than five times the Amer-
| can expectations to all of South America.
But the Chinese commerce today, mag
| niftCent as IL is, is not the impressive fact.
| It's capacity for growth, it's immediate
promise, as measured by the example of
| Japan, the fact that 1t is, per CAPITA still
| less than one-seventh Of the Japanese
| trade, Is the consideration of greatest sig
| nihcance. Can any one tell why the full
| story of Japan may not be rewritten in
| the immediate future of China? Will
| this people. like the Japanese in every
! quality making them susceptible to for
| eign influences, develop less rapidly? VIII
! not the year 1915 or 1920 witness in one
the change that has already been wrought
| in the other? Is there any reason to be-
lieve that the magic of civilization that
| has transformed the one, and has already
| brought about n fair beginning upon the
other. will not go on with equal strides in
both? Stop. then, and consider what may
| be expected in China in ten or fifteen
years. At the ratio obtained i'm Japan,
the world ought in fifteen years to have
with China trade of more than s. 00O,-
100000. This would be considerably larger
than the commerce that the whole world
both by way of imports and exports, has
now with the people of the United States
At the same ratio. the world ought then
| to bo sending to China merchandise
| amounting to 81, $50, 900 000 or 50 per cent
more than the United States takes from
| all the world. 1t is difficult. | know, to
| appreciate the significance of figures so
| large; without the presence of familiar
| measures or tests. we do not fathom
| their nearing. But every American
| knows the estimation in which the trade
| Of the United States is held by all the
| world. The tariff debates taught us al
| least that much. The great lines of rail-
| way that daily bear our exports to the
| sea, the mammoth steamers and whiten-
| iEg sails that carry them across. the for
| cign marks upon the cloths we wear the
plates from which we eat. the impe-
ments with which we work, the man
wrought visitors from other lands that
meet us wherever we turn-al these give
| testimony, only approximately, however,
OF the extent of that trade we call our
| commerce with the rest of ruar,i,l 1t
| Is one of the great facts of modern life
| and interests deeply every people on the
| globe. But before us, in the far east at
this very mOmcr;, are opening rate, thrt
VIII in few years reveal n market
transcending in value our own and trans
| Cendng our own immensely in it's poten-
| tialitics for the future. The full magni-
| tude of this opening era has not yet
da~ned upon the wCrld. The far-seeing
| statesmen of Europe see it; far-sceing
America will soon compass it. Looked at
from every side-its certainty. it's imme-
date propC rtiCns, its immeasurable po-
tcntialities for growth-it reveals itself
| as WCrld event commercially more in-
portant than the discovery of America;
| an event in many respects without a par
a!lel in the history of mankind.
o
The character of the eG stern trade. too
will be suited exactly to the present sit
| uation of the people of the United States
We have come to a point of DEVELOPMENT
where we need takers of our manufac-
lures The products of our SOIL beyond
domestic needs, 20 to Europe; but Eu-
rope, in the nature of things can take
but little of the products of our mills
We have for years East been looking for
markets toward the West Indies and to-
ward the agricultural peoples of South
America, and have, by treaties of recip-
rocity and by the acquainting influences
of such institutions as the bureau of
American republics assiduously cultiyaI-
ed these fields. Nor have our hopes Ecen
wholly disappointed Commerce and
manufactures have felt the cheering ef-
fects of growing trade from these direc-
tions. But all the West Indies and South
America combined contain not one-eighth
of the population of this new field. The
wants of almost a half score of people
beckon us from across the Pacific for the
wants of every one that call to us from
the southern hemisphere. They are a peo-
pie, too, who, like the people of South
America, and unlike those of Europe, are
in need of manufactures. and will call
for that side of our resources in their de-
Velopment A trade of that character
will exactly supplement the character of
trade we already have with Europe.
Could our situation be more fortunate?
Lying between two great and populous
continents with the highways of the
ocean to each, we should feed the one
from our corn fields and supply from our
centers of industry the things involved in
the wants of the other The oppOrtuu-
ity is at hand to become the workshop as
well as the granary of the world.
But fortune like this will not fall, fully
ripened into our lap. We must assume
responsibilities and make preparat tons
proportiOnate to the results to lie
achieved. Obviously the first need is the
right to go into Asia on equal terms with
other people This we must be prepared
10 demand. The great powers of Europe.
accustomed through centuries to the
planting of new settlements and to regu-
lations under which the trade of these is
exclusively controlled, are extending
these devices to the far east. All save
England are playing for a trade monop-
oily, not through merit, but by virtue of
treaty concession. Unfortunately the
field for their operations is plastic to dip
lomacy The favorite conditions exist.
The Chinese empire Is highly heterogen-
eous and on that account easily open to
internal disorder and dissension. II is
hard pressed for money and honeycombed
with corrupt ofiicialism. 1t crumbles
easily whenever touched. 1t will, unless
hedged about, fall easily into the hands