Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1900-09-27

Up of China" Considering the many.
many centuries that the Chinese nation
has gone on, I do not think it requires
much faith on our part to expect that it
will so on for a considerable time more.
On the contrary, We are On the eve of
a great development in China. We on
ly want to have that vast country in
tersected with railways, as this great
continent is. We want it's rivers and
waterways opened up. Then it will
show a development that will astonish
the nations.
China IS a country to which railroads
are particularly applicable. A great
part of it is very fiat and all of it is
densely populated.
Lately when travelling over the Ca
madam Pacific L saw that they had
first to make the Ilne n trust to it
to create its own tlalTic. In China the
reverse is the case. They have the
traffic there already waiting for the
railroads.
China also has magnificent water
ways It is intersected by canals from
one end of the country to the other,
but unfortunately these canals have
been allowed to get iato d~isrepair.
AS to roads, thsre are practically
none at all that are worthy of the
name.
The introduction of railroads into
China will break down the system Of
impositions or ttsqueezes'' on the part
of the petty m~andarins. It is easy to
stop a river boat manned by a dozen
coolies, but it is not so easy to stop
a train. The piracy which is so com
mon OF the rivers IL the interior would
soon be stopped if steamers came into
use.
The Chinese Government has been
most liberal in granting concessions for
railways and mining rights, but I re-
gret to say that the con~cessionaries
have not been equal to the opportuni-
ties that have been offered to them.
They have been jumping over each
other to get the concessions, but they
have run behind in carrying them out.
All things considered, I really fail to
set bounds to the magnitude of the
China trade. I am equally convinced
that there will be tremendous compe-
tition for it, and I will give a reason of
my own which I have never before seen
in print-the vast augmentation of the
budgets of the world.
One after another the nations of Eu-
rope have doubled their budgets for
n army, navy and civil service. How
are they to pay for these budgets?
Very few nations can like the United
States, make immense shipments Of
cotton, grain and natural products. No
nation, with the possible exception of
America, whose look upon
as unlimited, can ever be in the front
rank of commerce by selling raw ma
te~rials&Only. They must manufacture.
They must sell not the produce of the
ground but the produce of the brain.
This means a coming struggle for
commercial supremacy. It means a
strife for existence among the great ma
tons. National greatness shall hence
forth be based upon commerce.
In the future nearly all the trouble
that viii arise will be caused by the
struggle for a larger market. / believe
that dynastic and religious wars have
come to an end. But people must be
fed and clothed, and markets must be
kept open.
In this connection can anything be
more in keeping with the common in
terssts of Great Britain and America
than that we should stand shoulder to
shoulder and keep the market of thu
world open to US?
Every treaty with China and other
Eastern nations must be equitable il
it would be lasting. In every bargain
there must be boots on both legs, no
on ono only.