The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-11
COMMERCIAL EXPANSION BY WIND

COMMERCIAL EXPANSION BY WIND.
There has been a great deal of what in
the popular phrase of the day has come
to be known as "wind-jamming' within
the past two years or so regarding our
trade that is yet to be built up with the
Orient That same trade has furnished
many a beautiful text for the imperialist
orator According to him all we want is
the possession of the Philippines to en-
able us to get that trade and to take con-
troll of it to the exclusion of the powers
OF the earth. Anything like specific
measures which may enable our mer
chants to understand the prime require
ments Of the trade, to avail themselves
of the best facilities for getting control
or even participation in it, or to aid them
to compete with the subjects Of other ma
tons with the backing of those nations
right at hand, never seems to enter into
the imperialist understanding of the re-
quirements Of the situation.
What little trade we have there now
tinue to do 1t in such bottoms for all
time, so far as the militant expansionfst
Is concerned. Millions of dollars to be ex-
pended i'll arms and ammunition and
other civilizing agencies in the Philip
pines. but not a cent at the disposal Of
the men upon whom this people must
depend if ever they are to avail them
selves of the immense possibilities which
confront merchants, shipbuilders, manu-
facturers and merchants in the East.
We may assume here for all purposes
that the ownership of the Philippines
for all time is an essential to the de-
velopment of our Oriental trade But Is
there man so utterly lost in admiration
of our proposed colonial policy that he
believes we can by the mere possession
and ownership of the archipelago alone
secure for ourselves the commercial po-
sition IN the Orient that we seek? There
appears to be not only one such person;
but as matter of fact the entire ma
tional administration and its advocates
In the press and elsewhere seem to be
completely possessed of the idea
What is congress doing to supplement
the efforts Of our soldiers and sailors in
the Philippines with a view to the ulti-
mate control of Oriental trade? 1t pro-
poses TO build up an ocean greyhound
service on the Atlantic under the Amer
lean flag. Will this aid US in the Orient?
VIII 1t enable us to compete with the
highly subsidized Canadian steamship
line running from Vancouver to Oriental
ports?
We are. as a matter of fact, doing
nothing, or practically next to nothing.
Thus FAR all we have to point to in this
direction are the two bills introduced by
Senator McCumber OF North Dakota,
providing for the appointment of two
commissions of five each by the presl-
dent to look into things in the East, one
commission to operate in China; the other
In Japan; and appropriating the vast sum
Of $4,000 between the two wherewith to
NotiS oil liiSli AllNuliiCS. 11SlS ~ lllS OU-
.ect sought to be accomplished, as stated
in Senator McCumber's measures:
So to investigate the commercial
and industrial condition In China anc
Japan with the view Of charging the
export trade of the United States there
with; to inquire into the matter of pre-.
pairing and packing goods for shipment
to said empire, and the demands Of the
trade with respect thereto. with the view
Of facilitating the use and consumption
of articles Of American export; to In
vestigate and study the dietary condi
tions and customs of the people of SAID
empire, and the feasibility and bes
method of introducing American flour
and farm products therein, and securing
their consumption as a substitute for the
foods now In general use in such coun,
try"
OF course this measure is all right q:
far as 1t goes. But how far does it go
How FAR viii s95.COO go to enlighten the
American people as to the commercial
possibilities Of this nation with the EN-
pirc OF China, or with the empire o.
Japan, or in helping US to get the trade
about which we are making SO much ado
or course the bills Should become law
But even aftor they have become law WI
VIII sill occupy the position of seeking
to extend our commerce In the Orien
after tbs fashion formerly pursued b.