The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-14

fuence capital in seeking investment are
first, an abundance of raw material, sec
ond, an available market. and third,
cheap and competent labor. 1t needs bit
a glance to- assure us that China has
all of these to degree unexcelied by
any other country. OF the first of these
conditions we have already spoken. 1t
may be well to note the conditions that
surround the other two. Undoubtedly
the greatest market for Chinese goods
will be in China itself when once the
Chinese taste for the necessities of civ
ilization has been aroused. This will al
ways be cheap market But while
capital always seeks cheap labor for
manufacture, on the other hand it always
seeks the highest priced market for its
goods. So it is that already the Japanese
are shipping tons of matches into our
country, and are manufacturing our
wheat into. flour so cheaply and SO well
as to be able to undersell us in our
own market similar result must fol-
low the establishment of manufactures
in China, and the product of Chinese
labor, backed by European and Ameri-
can capital will find its first and most
profitable market in Europe and America
themselves.
And this brings us face to face with
A.
nese situation. This ultimate effect Of
the new movement upon our own indus
tries and labor. 1t is often asserted that
the Chinaman cannot compete with his
white brethren because he lacks reason
ing and inventive powers, and is simply
imita tive in his nature. Granting that he
does not possess these frst-named quail
ties, yet it must be admitted that the latter
has stood him in good stead when
brought into competition with skilled Ia
Dor along the lines of work which he
chooses to pursue For a proof of this
we have but to follow the first years
history of John from the day that he
lands in Vancouver and is spirited by
some mysterious means across the Cana
dian border In few days he finds HIM
self in Seattle or San Francisco, and Sc
cures a place as helper to some of his
countrymen in a kitchen. By the end of
a year he will have acquired fair
knowledge of the language, and such
skill in the culinary art as to put to
shame the ordinary American cook
wherever he meets him. And 1t is by no
means certain that he lacks either inven-
tiveness or reasoning powers. On the con-
trary, the subtle diplomacy Of Ii Hung
Chang throughout his whole career, and
the recent sound utterances of the
Chinese minister at Washington,
through the medium of our best
magazines, would lead US to be-
1ieve that the race possesses even these
qualities to a very high degree. But at
any rate all indications point to the fact
that during the next decade capital will
find as free field for exploration in
China as in any other country, and while
first be employed as masters of industry,
yet the great bulk of the labor will be
done by the Chinese themselves, whom
we have no reason to believe may not
acquire great skill in all lines of work.
1t is not only possible but probable that
during the next quarter of century one
hundred million Of Chinese laborers,
crowded to the utmost for the means of
lance, will have become direct competi-
tors with American labor in every branch
of Industry. Then to preserve the dig
nifty Of American labor will indeed be a
great and difficult problem, but one which
will need to be decisvely met by the
most drastic protective legislation. Then
what party will be the champions of
American labor against the greed of capt.
tai, with such a mighty instrument as
cheap Chinese labor in its hands? Then
American politics will present a peculiar
situation The Republican party then, as
it is now, will be the instrument of CAPT
tai, While the DemocraIlc party, IL II Is
true to its present instincts, will still be
the champion of the people. The defunct
war cry of the Republican party, PRO
lection for American labor, will need to
be revived. But 1t cannot continue to be
the watchword of the Republicans, for
they, as the champions of expansion cap
ital, will demand an. open door for Chi
nese expansion goods, and the curious
anomaly will then exist-the Democratic
party as the champion of protection for
American labor Let us hope that its
advocacy of it may be more sincere than
that of it's rival during the last quarter
of century.