Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-04-27
NOTED SPEAKERS
Address the National Associa-
ton of Manufacturers.
Sec. Gage, Sec. Root, Lieut.. Gov.
Woodruff and Sec. Long.
Chinese Minister Makes a Hit-Greai Enthus
iasm at The Banquet.


huge proportions ana amid great en-
| thusiasin. the sessions Of the NatiOna
| Association Of Manufacturers came Il
a close at Mechanics hall, tonight. tt
| this feast of good things were addet
the flow Of Oratory from gentlemen 81
national reputation, dignificd and com
prchensivc reviews of our national af-
fairs and generous words Of praise fol
the great body Of men who had beeI
the guests of the city for several days
The banquet brought together nearly
1000 people ut the tables. while twice
that number came into the hall after
wards and listened TO the speeches
The hall was profusely decorated and
as small flags Were distributed by the
waving Of these cmblems
Interest in the speeches ccntcred in
that of WI Ting Fang, the chinese
minister to this country. ana his every
word was listened to with the greatest
attention. Perhaps hardly less inter
csting were the words Of Secretaries
Root. Gage ana Long. Of President
MckinIey's cabinet. VINO devoted them
selves entirely To- a discussion of ma
tional affairs.
Previous 10 the banquet. the guests
Of the evening held reception in n
small hall. The pOstprandial exercises
wcre opened by Former COY. WolcJtt.
Immediately following his address
came A brief selection from "A male
quartet after which GOV. Wnlcptt in
troduced GOV. cram. who briefly spoke.
extending greeting "a the guests
The next speaker was President a.
&. Search II the Manufacturers Assoc
citation. who was introduced a a man
Of wide knowledge. large experience
and able writer. and one To- whom tn
manufactures Of the country are un-
der heavy obligations for his earnest
and effective advocacy in their in
tercst.
The presiding officers introduced IN
Of the Chinese minister was q happy
one and the latter. as he arose, arraycd
in Oriental costume and amid sea NJ
American dress coats. H. was greeted
with a burst Of cheers which lasted fnr
some minutes.
He said in part:
In days gone by China was wen
nigh cut off from the rest Of the world
by natural barriers. thus for centuries
left to herself to work out her own
destiny. Foreign commerce. therefore.
was for long time to her of no spec
ial consequence. But trade was by no
means neglected. The whole country
was an industrial beehive. The mag
nificent systems of waterways. both
natural and artificial. rendered the re-
hottest parts of the empire accessible
al
mOdities. An enormous internal trade
was developed
1T was, however, only 60 years ago
when the commercial relations between
China ana Western nations We're first
clearly defined by treaty. Since that
time obstacle after obstacle to free
Intercourse has from time to time been
removed. until now China is open to
the commerce of the whole world.
Perhaps very few people can fully
realize what this means. In the first
place. China has 4 population of tenn
ing millions. We need the cotton man.
ufactures of Lowell and the food pro-
ducts Of the West In the next place
we have immense natural resources to
be developed We need your modern
mechanical appliances to supplant the
slow processes Of production. The
market is vast enough for every line
Of American goods.
The question now before YOU is
what should be done to obtain 4 due
share of the China trade. 1t seems to
me there are two courses open to you.
The first one is that you should go to
China to show us what you have to
sell. We are a practical people. In
business We take nothing on faith. We
have to see what we buy. and we buy
only what We want. | have all along
advocated the establishment of an ex-
position in Shanghai and in other
treaty ports for the exhibition Of
American goods. This will enable
Chinese buyers to find out with the
least expenditure Of time and labor the
quality and price Of your goods. I am
sure that in these respects American
goods need fear no competition. 1t is.
therefore. with much qualification that
l have learned that the National Asso-
station of Manufacturers have taken
up the matter in a line indicated by
me, that building for the display and
sale of American goods has been secur-
ed in Shanghai and that 20 of the larg-
est manufacturers in this country have
already arranged for the placing of
their wares there. There is every rea-
son to believe that success will attend
the efforts of these pioneers of a new
enterprise.
Chinese merchants should be in
Continued on page 80