The evening times., 1900-02-05

Built by Yankee Machinery and
MateriaIs-The Road Will Extend
2.Goo Miles Before Its Completion.
President Mckinley has announced his
intention OF appointing a commission TO in
vestigate the question Of American trade
with the Far East. A reply as to the open
door in China favorable to American in
terests has been received from the various
European Powers. But it is important to
understand existing conditions in the Far
East and precisely what has been accom-
plished hitherto.
To this end an interview has been OBJ
tanned with a gentleman who understands
the situation fully and has done yeoman
work i'm pushing American machinery and
manufactures to the front He has been
10 China four times within the last three
years. and it is due TO him alone that the
Manchurian Railway, now being built by
the Russian Government under the con-
cessions received from the Tsung- famen,
uses American locomotives rails, machin-
cry. tools. and nails. Up to three years
ago there were only three hundred miles
of railway in all China, but the Manchu-
rian branch of the Trans Siberian Railway
will extend for :. coo miles before it is COM
pleted.
When MIR. NJ. Sergey Friede went TO
Manchuria in 1897, in order TO have an in
terview with the chief engineer of the rail
way then engaged in surveying the route,
he found little or nothing of what We call
civilization.
Today there has been a complete meta
mOrphoss of all Manchuria. Some Of the
towns are lighted by electricity. There are
large. well-provided machine shops, ice
machines, flour mills-and all Of this ma
chinery is American. The boilers. engines.
picks shovels. and nails come from the
United States.
Americans Did Nothing.
Asked what American manufacturers had
done TO secure this important market, Mr..
Friede said: Il am sorry TO state they
have done absolutely nothing to gain
foothold in Manchuria.
j was somewhat amused he contin-
ued, 10 read that Lord Beresford stated
when he was here that unless We Joined
hands with England We would be excluded
from the markets of the world. The fact
is that wherever England is in control
neither Americans nor anyone else can sell
anything. ! am free TO admit that Eng
land does civilize. but il is for the profit
Of her own merchants and manufacturers
only. l cannot see much difference be-
tween the methods Of civilization employ
I'd by Great Britain and Russia. The for
10 for sc5F no l-n1
she uses the rife and the Gatlng gun. /
do not wish to stand forth as a special ad-
VOcate for Russia. The Chinaman cannot
be handled with kid gloves; Russia does
not try to do so. But ] see that England
is not more gentle.
Il have tried 10 sell American machin-
cry in British settlements. and at the first
mention of the subject it was poohpOohed.
What, American machinery; it's all trash.
We don't want any Of it,
The fact is that the only places in
which Americans are really encouraged 10
introduce their goods is in the tracts un-
der Russian control or in Russia itself.
Russia has already taken 100 600 tons of
reils and ESQ locomotives from American
manufacturers for the NLanchurian Rail
way.
Suppose for instance. that Great Bri-
tain had taken possession Of Port Arthur
instead of Russia. Would not the Cana
dian railways naturally be chosen as the /
carriers connecting with the steamers 10 1
that port? But now that ii is i'm The pos
session of Russia although it is really /
a naval port il has been opened to the |
commerce Of the world. As one of The |
termini Of the Trans-Siberian Railway the 4
products carried over that road may now 4
he carried in American ships 10 san Fran 1
cisco and thence over American railways /
to the East.
There is no doubt Of The importance /
and value of the Russian market to all /
manufacturers. and every European nation |
recognizes this fact and is striving strenu- /
ously to capture IT, Belgium. Of course. /
the most vide-awake manufacturing ma
tfon in the world is doing its share. Ger
many is doing the largest amount OF the
business with Russia especially through !
her Hamburg houses. France. too. has no
inconsderable part in Russian commerce.
Why are American manufacturers SO back
ward in attempting 10 reach out for this
valuable patronage Ii seems that preju-
dice has much 10 DO with II. False re-
ports regarding Siberia have had great in
fuence ! have been all through there.
and to tell the truth ! found the convicts
working with far lighter chains on their
bodies Than l have seen in the city of De-
trot. The bali and chain Of American !
conyicts are far heavier than those Of the /
Russian should he Learned.
There is another reason why The French
and Germans do business more easily in
Russia than an Englishman or an Ameri-
can-and that is on account of the Ian
guage. All the cultured Russians speak
French and German, but they have just
about begun 10 study English. The fact
is that the Russian language would be I
most valuable to young American boys be- |
ing trained for a commercial career. With |
all the talk of expansion why not train
the coming merchant for expansion by
teaching him Russian. opening his eyes to
great, almost inexhaustible, market? 1t /
seems TO me that il would be a good idea |
for the United States TO have National
Commercial Academy, just as it has Ma
val Academy at Annapolis and a Military
Academy at West Point
There are vacancies today in New York
Offices for American young men who speak
Russian-places in which they could earn
salaries of from $4,000 10 $1,000 year. In
Manchuria the Russian does not learn Chi
nese: the Chinaman learns Russian. The
millions of inhabitants of Russia and Man
churia are open TO the American merchant
who speaks the Russian language. The
introduction of the railroad has stimulated
The needs OF the people already.
The natives have even learned how to
strike upon the introduction of machinery
The only strike on the Manchurian Rail-
way was caused by my Introduction of the
steam power rock drill
How many of us in this country ever
stop TO think of the extent and phenome-
nal resources of Manchuria now oDened 10 |