Evening star., 1901-05-17
Minister Conger In New York.

The speech delivered by Minister Conger
I'm New York last night at the dinner of the
American Asiatic Association contains mat
ter worthy of attention throughout the
United States and is likely to receive IT. His
vein was optimistic. and his reasoning per-
suasive- The great eastern question, as he
explains it. instead of being dark with dis
couragement. is bright with hope. There
may be, as he believes. If the proper means
are taken. quick recovery even from the
unparalleled barbarisms" which marked
the course of China last year AS he puts
1t. the present situation has most allurIng
promises for commercial and philanthropic
work in the orient. Great trade possibilities
are still existent in the middle kingdom,
and II properly. industriousiy and 1udicious-
ly taken advantage of. both by government
and by individuals. great profits are in
store"
But there is lesson for Americans to
learn before they may hope to reap the har-
vest. and this Mr.. Conger very plainly
points out:
"One great trouble with our foreign trade
Is that our merchants and manufacturers
have never taken hold of 1t as serious and
permanent business. whenever they have
found themselves with a surplus of prod
ucts. and only then. they have gone abroad
to sell them, and have sold them, If pos
SiDte. TeSaEulSSS OF pToIlt or future tfanSaC-
tiOns. and then abandoned the field until
the accumulation OF another surplus has
driven them forth again.
"In the meantime their European COM
petitors have been on the ground all the
time, studying the wants of the people, ia
miiariZing themselves with the conditions
and methods of trade. acquiring the lam
guage of the country. accommodating them
selves to the situations and establishing
intelligent and permanent agencies-plants
which may not be at once profitable, but
from which bountiful harvests may be rea-
sonably expected In the future. Americans
must. If they hope for success, go and do
likewise. The present is a most auspicious
time for general expansion of American
trade"
In all of this we read the very opposite of
what so many of US at a distance have
feared would follow the Boxer outbreak
and its suppression. 1t has seemed that
both the religious and the business move
ments in China must inevitably be set back
many years by last years appalling trag-
edy. But Mr.. Conger thinks not. and his
opinion is based upon the closest possible
observation of the new conditions that eX
ist there There is something like chaos,
OF course. Business for the moment Is par
alyzed. and the people are stunned. Put
the agencies for building up trade are now
so complete, and the purpose of the pow
ers to apply them Is 50 manifest, that the
success predicted by Mr.. Conger would ap-
pear to be certain.
In entering the contest however. Ameri-
cans must realize both its importance and
its requirements. The slipshOd. spasmodicai
effort will not count. The field is not for
the peddler who makes occasional visits
with a full pack. no matter how choice or
how cheap his wares may be. His day mas
gone by. The field is for the merchant.
properly so called-the man who has "a
local habitation and name;' who studies
the local market and what it calls for; who
keeps his place and keeps it open the whole
year round, and his shelves we'll stocked
with goods that are in season. He is the
man whose efforts are to be crowned with
success. and by whose energies the Chinese
empire is TO be introduced to permanent
progress and prosperity.
This is entirely reasonable, and should
be widely assuring. And it AIDES another
strong reason why the powers should hurry
up with their egotiations-already unduly
protracted-and withdraw the great bulk of
their armed forces from the country.