The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-24

ships shall once more carry her COM
merce on the high seas
1t was the developing of Manchuria and
Northern China by Russia that caused
our exports to the Celestial Kingdom to
more than double, so that today there
are not ships enough on the Pacific to
transport the freight on our Western
coast awaiting shipment to Asia. To fa-
cilitate this enormous and rapidly in
creasing trade, the Great Northern rail-
way is building in America the two larg-
est ocean steamships ever constructed.
These will fly our flag. and reduce freight
rates to China fully so per cent thereby
establishing permanently our commercial
supremacy on the Pacific. Other great
railroad systems in America will be COM
PEELED to build ships to compete with the
Great Northern, and we need then no
longer fear competition in Asia with
European nations who, even under exist
ing conditions, are forced to give way
before the advance of our commodities
and manufactures.
Five years of sustained effort on our
part to secure the Chinese market, such
as is put forth by every European nation,
would give US a monopoly of exports to
Pacific Asia. 1t Is in spite of the fact
that We have no direct line of steamships
to Northern Asia that we have succeeded
so marvelously there, Chefoo and the
three Russianized ports of Port Arthur,
New ChWang and Tien Tsin being worth
more to Us than all the other eighteen
treaty ports of China combined
In Shantung, south of Pechili gulf, Ger
many will soon find means to exclude our
exports, as she has from every other
colony she possesses; already she has re-
fused to permit an American syndicate to
build a railroad along the further edge
of this province, although compelled to
OOT OToic lot With
pany
In North China, both the Germans and
the English publish trade papers, while
We are still unrepresented in this way.
although we control the export trade of
that region. We alone of the great ma
tions have no bank in China, doing much
of our business through the multitudinous
branches of the RussO-Chinese bank. Ow-
ing to the negligence of American and
| other foreign merchants In not learning
Chinese, they have become the subagents
of their cOmpradOrs-cleVer Cinnamon
once employed as translators between
the merchant and the Celestials, but now
recognized by their countrymen as the
real agents, while the actual employer is
looked upon merely as an assistant to
I'LL the comprador's orders. In fact John
Chinaman would not dare deal with the
white merchant directly, for in China
labor unions are more perfectly organized
than anywhere else in the world There is
no trade. no matter how humble not sub
Ject to the laws Of d guild. No one
knows who its officers are, but quickly,
from mouth to mouth, the edicts go
forth, and they are never disobeyed. The
Guild of the. Compradors is one of the
most powerful in China.
CHINESE COMPETITION
Quickly the Chinese have adopted civil
iCoa all
pete with US. Chinese merchants have
learned to charter vessels and out-trade
their former employers. In ten years
they have stretched telegraph wires to
every part Of the empire, they have
millions invested in cotton mills, mining
machinery and railroads. Their influence
has been successfully eXerted toward
having the rivers Of China opened UP 70
the world. so that the history OF the
Yang -Kiang is now being repeated on
other waterways ali through the empire
Great bodies are necessarily slow 10
| move, but once an Initiative is given and
inertia is overcome the onward movement
rapidly accumulates force. 1t is not Ia
| be expected that China, with its 400. JOG .OOc
people, will be developed as rapidly As
was Japan, with but tenth Of thai
! population, ana no part of its territory a
| hundred miles from the ocean. In China
along the coast or on the rivers long
opened 10 foreign commerce and infiu.
! ences, marvellous changes have taken
place Thousands of miles from the
| ocean, the electric light has become SO
| familiar that 1t on longer excites native
! curiosity. The leaven of enlightenment
is at work all through the empire and
| with the building of the 10000 miles OF
| railway now projected, to cover like 9
network the most populoqs parts OF
China, tapping every navigable water
way, market vast and remunerative
viii be opened up to our products.
Hitherto our exports have been con.
fined almost exclusively to coast cite.
| and few treaty ports on the Yang-tse