Evening star., 1901-02-02

ent the most of our business is done by for
cigncrs. One of the chief iron works of the
United States has a German agent here. "A
large part of our cottons are sold by the
English and this IS true of coal oil and
other articles. These foreign agents in
most cases. also sell English German
goods. and they naturally put in their home
goods when they can. Many Of these men
know nothing about the United s. ates or
its products One of the head statesmen of
a Shanghai establishment handling Amert-
oan cotton, for instance, recently told Con-
sui General GoodnOw that We uld maze
none but the cOarSCSt prints. and that II
was necessary to go to England for tine
cotton goods.
The German will say that German hard
ware is just as good and cheaper than
American hardware. He tells the truth as
to cheapness. but not as to quality, and
the result is that the Chinese buy the
cheap stuff of the Germans. Our exporters
are beginning to realize this. and they are
now sending out their own men. y lumber
h~use. which has the chief trade of the
western Pacific. keeps 1t because it has
wideawake New York man watching out
for it. The most Of our tobacco lmporta-
tions come here through firm which has
an American drummer on the spot, and it is
so with other thlngS.
Big Money in Spccialties.
/ wish some shrewd business American,
with a good eye to the main chance would
come here. He would find many things to
invest in In the way of manufacturing for
the Chinese. There are scores of articles in
common use now made by hand which
could be turned out in quantities by Amer
lean machinery and shipped here so as 20 be
sold al q great profit.
Take raZorS. for instance. There Is
big opening for them. The Chinese snave
their heads, well as their faces, and
every man and boy has to have his heal
shaved. The shaving must be done sew
ral
shaved every day. There tens or
thousands of BARRIERS in China. There Is a
BARRIERS union, which covers the whole en-
pire, and there are thousands of men who
do nothing but make razors by hand. Many
of the razors are pounded out of old horse
shoes, the horseshues being brought by the
ship load from Europe for this purpose.
The raZors are small. and they could be
made by machinery at a low price. Ger
many IS already manufacturing them and
is quietly introducing them into different
parts of the country.
The Germans have built up a big bust
ness in analine dyes. They have the mo-
uopoly of such sales all over China. Five
great factories in Germany are kept busy
supplying the trade, according to the or
ders sent in from here by the Germans.
They have studied the colors which are
most used in each lOca ity, and they give
the people just what they want.
There IS big opening here for American
patent medicines The Chinese have a great
respect for foreign medical skill. They are
lovers of drugs and our medicines, properly
advertised. would have a large sale. In
chatting with one of the doctors who Is now
connected with the university at Pekin he
told me he thought he could make for
tune if he cared to go about the country
selling drugs especially If he had lot Of
pictures labeled Before and After Taking
adapted TO the Chinese.
WheeibnrrOyvs and Bicycles.
l am surprised that some American has
not thought of making wheelbarrows for
the Chinese trade. The wheelbarrow is the
farm wagon, the freight wagon and the
passenger train for the greater part of
China 1t Is used by the hundreds of thou
sands in every Chinese state. You find 1t
near the Chinese wall. and you have to step
a : de for IL in the crowded streets of Can
ton. You meet long lines of wheelbarroWs
pushed by men, carrying freight from town
10 town WheelbarrOws are the drays of
every Chinese city. The streets are too
narrow for carts, and the same Is true 'or
most of the roads throughout the country.
There are 5000 licensed wheelbarroWs In
Shanghai, and almost every town has its
wheelbarrow union. These barrows are all
made by hand. They are heavy and clumsy.
They cannot be oiled and they screech as
they move. A far better Wheelbarrow could
be made by machinery, and IL sent In
pieces. knocked down, the freight would be
low.
| am told a big demand might be created
for cheap bicycles. There arc American