The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-07-21
LOCOMOTIVES FOR EUROPE
England, France, Russia, Finland
and China Buy In America.

idation engines from the state rail-
ways of Finland. These locomo
tives are to be ready for delivery by
January I, 1900. The steamship
Puritan is taking on forty enginas foi
the Chinese & Eastern railway ano
thirty one more are to be built anc
ready for shipment by the beginning
of next year. The ten locomotives
for the French state railway, the
first American engines ever exported
to France, are loading upon the
steamship Panama, whicA leaves fol-
Bordeaux in a few days.
The second lot of ten engines for
the Midland railway of England will
leave New York In few days upon
the steamship Creig Earn and TWEEN
ty more will be shipped about July
"a on the steamship Uplands for
the Moscow, KEW & VoroneJ.-
Kansas City Star.
1t is astonishing what hold this
country is getting on the trade OF
the world. Had any one suggested
a few years ago that this country
would soon be shipping in any
quantity heavy machinery to the
principal countries of the old world
he would have been branded as a
crank and an enthusiast unworthy
of attention. Yet here we are,
shipping locomotives and other
heavy and intricate and complicat-
ed machines not only to the less
commercial countries of Europe
but.to old England herself. Gradu-
ally and surely we seem to be steal
ing from England her supremacy in
the worlds markets of manufacture
ed goods.
While as Republicans we are in
clined 10 give the tariff law credit
for all of our manufacturing activ-
ity and for the wonderful revival in
all commercial and manufacturing
lines (and it doubtless does have a
great deal to do with our increased
prosperity and is evidently the
foundation of it alb, still we can't
figure it out exactly how high tar
if enables us to manufacture ma
chinery with high-priced labor and
freight it to England and compete
with her old established factories
and foundries right under the smoke
of their own fires. We think there
must be other causes working with
the tariff to bring about this great
result.
England still has plenty of coal
and plenty of iron and abundance
of factories with unlimited capital
and thousands of unemployed la
borers clamoring for work at what
ever compensation they can secure,
Why, then, can't she supply all
home demands for machinery cheap
err than it can be secured in Amerl-
ca and freighted across the ocean,
1t seems to us that one of the prin
cipal causes of our ability to meet
the world in successful competition
lies in the superior intelligence and
skill of our workmen. Our mechan-
les are not mere automatic ma
chimes that accomplish a certain
allotted task without thought, but
they are an intelligent, thinking set
of men, who are constantly invent
ing new devices and machines for
shortening the various processes OF
manufacture, and by the applica-
ton of intelligent thought to their
business they are enabled to &C
complish much more in given time
than the average Old world mechan-
ic and are thus enabled to more
than offset the greater wages they
receive by the extra amount of work
accomplished.
Our superior system of public
schools and attention to education
al matters is developing in the la
boring man of this country higher
grade of intelligence and greater
capabilities than are found in the
laborers of the Old world, and our
laborers and mechanics bring to
bear thought and intelligence to the
accomplishment of their tasks, as