The evening times., 1899-09-12
OUR TRADE WITH CHINA.
James j. Hill Thinks That We Should
Urge Our Commerce There.


(From Cassell's Magazine)
James ]. Hill says: Greatness cannot
be laid to humanitarian reasons. 1t must
be commercial. The only way for Ameri-
ca TO do is to extend her commerce with
the Orient A few weeks ago / crossed
the ocean with the Chinese Minister at
Washington. / asked him the reason of
their long existence without change He
replied veneration for the long -es: ablishcd
customs. Officers In China have 10 pass
Il e highest civil service examinat ons.
Men go year after year until seventy years
old, China is an educated nation. The in
terror of China is agricultural, many dis
tricts entirely SO, raising grain and fruit
the same as here. Some of the farmers
houses are better than in Minnesota. Along
the seacoast it is densely populated, many
living in boats and getting their living
from the sea. Those coming to this coun-
try are of the lower classes, bat not with
out education.
of China she will be absorbed by other na-
tions? Not at all. China, according 70 the
Chinese Minister can absorb all of the
Tartar races. We must not feel that the
Chinese are like other semi-civiliZed races
They have schools and churches and the
Chinese merchant worships his credit. Our
country is well situated to develop that
trade. China and Japan have population
of $50, 600. Should we give them one
bushel wheat per capita per annum it
would take about all the wheat raised in
the United States. Should we give them
flour to make one ounce of bread per day
to feed the inhabitants along the coast it
would take all our surplus. There is no
danger of overriding it, as they can absorb
all we can send. They are not so poor as
We are inclined to consider them. They
I'll
not acquire money the same as in this
country AS their means increase their
wants increase. The interior commerce of
China cannot be of benefit to the coast for
the next hundred years. There is no other
outlet for our commerce except the Orient.
At the commencement of the civil war we
lad about 30,000,000 of people. There is
rate increase of about 2 1-2 per cent per
annum. We must do something to take
care of the increasing population. We can
not have in this country peasant class.
We could not conceive what this country
would be with such class. Let us put
ourselves to work to develop our commerce
with this nation. We can only do this
through the National Government. Go back
through the Congressional records for thir-
ty years and you will find nothing has been
done to extend our commercial relation.
with these Eastern countries. We are in
the habit of considering the world ours. but
it is not so large commercially as formerly.
I'VE have to compete with other nations
and we are at a disadvantage. Our people
must pay the penalty. I'M this case we can
dominate the trade with the Orient if the
people will rise to their opportunity. Only
three or four years ago was our cotton
sent there We could send more, but have
no ships There is commerce that will
consume all we can sell and nearly all we
can raise. Give us 40,OQ0,00Q more of peo-
pie and how shall we employ them? The
question is most serious. but not difficult
il the government will appropriate small
amount to devote to commercial expansion
and there is no market equal to China and
Japan China will not che opened up be-
fore we'll on into the nextqeentury We
cannot find ship room to send one-tenth
of our -four China would take. The last