The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-06-25

to China more than 100000 miles of cotton
cloth. The woven belt would reach
four times around the globe.
Nearly S4U,VOOOOO worth of cotton is now
annually imported into Japan, and a
large proportion of this amount is Amer
lean. On the 18th of last November the
steamship Hero sailed from New Orleans
Tor Kobe, Japan. The bulk of its freight
was S,91 bales of cotton. This vessel
enjoys a unique distinction. 1t was the
first steamer to make a direct voyage
from New Orleans to the Orient by way
OF the Suez canal. After the completion
OF the Nicaragua waterway large fleets
loaded with the same fibrous wealth will
sail westwardly for the far East. The
opening of the Orient and the construc-
ton OF the Isthmian canal will not only
promote larger expectations of cotton,
Dat also create demands for hundreds of
commodies which now constitute no part
Of our Asiatic trade. China needs great
quantities of lumber, which it's own wood
lands cannot supply, but which the for
ests of Oregon and Washington can
easily furnish. Another American prod
uct which ought to be one of our chief
exports to the Orient is maize. Twenty
five years ago the small amount of this
grain that was shipped abroad was ex-
clusfvely used as the fodder of animals;
now large proportion of the 200, 600 900
countries serve rs the food of human be-
ings. Rice is the main aliment of Ash
attic nations. But corn meal Is said to
be cheaper food than rice. 1t is useless,
however, to attempt to introduce the use
of maize into the Orient merely by oral
OF printed recommendations. The same
plan which has been so signally success
| full at worlds fairs must be employed.
| Kitchens must be established in the prin-
| cipal cities and the delicious dishes which
| skillful cooks have prepared must be
| freely given to the populace. When the
masses have tasted this cheap, palatable
and nutritious food they will be more
willing to adopt 1t as an article of ma
| tional diet. The universal use Of maize
would not only advance the interests of
American agriculture but also supply the
| poorer classes OF Europe, as well as of
! the Orient, with an inexpensive and
| wholesome food. Our present yearly pro-
| duction of 2,000,000,000 bushels of corn
| can readily be increased to whatever
| quantity the wants of mankind may re-
quire.
Our supremacy in manufactures is due
| to the matchless ingenuity of our coun-
| trymen. Their genius has devised ma
| chimes whose productive ability has de-
| feated the cheap labor of Europe. The
| Orient, quickened by the impulses of
! modern civilization, will soon need all
| the mechanical appliances which have so
| effectively promoted the progress Of
Western nations.
An extensive system of railroads and
| telegraph lines has been projected in
| China. Even a partial equipment of that
| country with foreign machinery and
| transportation facilities would involve an
| outlay of millions. 1t will indeed be
| strange if American enterprise and con-
structive skill from European rivals
ioIo1 Tou cot, CHI ~
| profitable contracts that will enable our
| countrymen to furnish the mechanical,
| railroad and electric supplies of China,
and to superintend the building of its
| public works.
The United States now spends about
| 100000 a year for tropical products.
| or this aggregate the annual value of
| the chief imports is as follows:
Sugar .$95 COG 600
Coffee ........ Observation-Disclosures. So 1000 600
RAW SILK ...s'......'...'.......... 53OOO,OOO
Rubber ...,.... .................... 80 COZ, 600
Gums, drugs dyestuffs ............ 10000, 600
Fibers ....... NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 20 900, eco
Fruits and nuts OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. IS 600 0G0
Tobacco, raw and manufactured. 100000
Its chocolate, spices, cork and cabinet
woods cost the United States 81, 100000 a
| year. The quantities of some of these
| imports are as impressive as their values.
| In 1899 this country consumed 74,0C0, 600
pounds of tea, 900, 200, 600 pounds of coffe,
and about 95O0,000,000 pounds of sugar
Last year Americans bought upwards of
! 100, 900, GOO pounds of gums and spices, and
| seasoned their food with more than 49,
| 100000 pounds of pepper. The statistics
have been given for the special purpose
| of showing what immense sums the United
| States is now paying to foreign countries
| for products which its own lands ought
| to produce. 1t is economic sense to raise
within our own borders every staple that
| can be proftably grown. But many
commodities OF the foregoing list are
| distinctiVely tropical productions The
soil of the United States will not yield
them. Porto Rico and the Hawaiian ISL
and can supply limited quantities of such
| produce; but my theme, which restricts
| this address to a discussion of Oriental
trade, will not permit me to treat of he
commercial capabilities Of these islands.
But all of these products can be raised
, in the Philippines. My remarks upon
| these islands will strictly observe the
| prophecies of convention that considers
! only industrial questions. This body
| would justly resent the intrusion of poll
! tics into its deliberations. Upon the as
| sumption, then, that the Philippines be-
| come permanent possessions of the United
| States, what economic use can be made
Of them? These islands, more than LOO
in number, and upwards of 100000 square
! miles in extent, contain a population of
perhaps 100000. They will yield all the
! productions of the equatorial zone.
| Probably the bulk of our tea and raw
silk Will contiue to be imported from
! China and Japan. But rice, sugar. to-
! bacco, spices and fbers are staples
which the Philippines are especially fitted
! to produce. The best hemp in the
world is grown in this group of islands,
| and the supply can be increased to meet
the enlarged demands Of mankind. The
| farmers of the United States annually
consume 100 100000 pounds of binding
Irvine, and as sisal will probably grow
! as luxuriously in the Philippines as it
| will in Yucatan, there is no good reason
/ why every pound of the hemp and sisal
| so useful in sheafing American grains
! should not be raised on our own lands.
! 1t has long been my belief that ramies.
one of the finest and best fibers the earth
! produces, can be profitably grown in
| Texas and the other Gulf states, but, if
, this belief proves to be baseless, the rich
| soil of the Philippines will beyond all
| doubt yield an abundance of this valuable
/ textile. So far as it is practicable, the
! tropical products which the United States
! is now importing at an annual cost of
| hundreds of millions ought to be raised
in our own lands.
The Oriental industries stimulated and
| guided by the intelligent enterpr Sc of
| Americans, ought not only to augment
the commerce and supply the wants of
/ the United States, but also to promote
| the material welfare and ameliorate the
! social condition of the Philippine peo-
| pie.
The impulse which the opening of the
II rip Mt will give the worlds trade ram