The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-19
oUR COTTON IN CHINA
,.,srFR WI TING FANG's SPEECH
"'' AT CHARLOTTE.
CHINESE NEVER WEAR WOOL,
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR
SOUTHERN MILLS.

ms
smnII Portion of China Which
:. xo,v BlocISnded by War-Seven-
other POpuIOus Provinces
,,,.orc our Goods Should Find n
,,.,I-et-He Describes the Kind of
cath that is in demand.
c,,rotte. N. c., April 1S.-Mr. WI
- rang. Chinese minister, was the
.e+ of honor at a dinner given tonight
..o Southern Manufacturers Club, of
,,,. Mr. d. A. Tompkins, a member of
IN, United states Industrial Commission,
is president
Mr. wa spoke on the cotton goods trade
in China.
o.nator John L. McLaurin of South Car
Limo was also a guest of the club, and
a,a q paper on Our Present Conditions
- the south and our Duty for the Flu
ture"
Mr. Ellison A. Smythe, president of the
p.izsr Manufacturing Company, spoke on
..rba Question Of the Hour, or the Need
of an Early and Peaceful Settlement of
che oriental Question from the Stand
ooirt of a Southern Manufacturer"
Dr Charles w. Dabney, president of
+be University of Tennessee, spoke on
.The Possibilities in Cotton"
Among other prominent guests was Sen
etor Pritchard of North Carolina.
IN his arrival this morning, Minister
vu was met at the depot by commit
oil rrh
breakfast was served. After that he was
Owen tour of the cotton mills of the
citv In the afternoon he held a recep-
tion in the parlors of the club.
China and the South.
In his address at the dinner tonight,
Mr. Wa gave a general review of the
trade conditions between the South and
the Orient and of China's Importance as
a market for Southern goods. After quot
ing from advance sheets of the consular
reports for February, 1901, he said:
Large as is the amount OF American
cotton goods which China imports every
wear it forms only one-siXth of the guam
titv she buys from abroad. Indeed, only
the outskirts of the country have been
of the American goods is shipped to Man
churia and the province of Chi Ii. Now,
Manchuria has population of 100000
and Chi Ii a population of 1S,00O000. These
are By no means the most thickly popr-
lated parts of the empire. There are sew
enteen other provinces of China proper,
many of which have a denser population
than either Chi Ii or Manchuria. There
is no reason why American cotton goods
cannot ind as ready a market in the
provinces of Central and South China as
in the North.
1T is manifest" he said, that the cot
Ton growers and manufacturers of these
Southern states have not only gained a
foothod in Manchuria and North China
but can, with a little effort, easily find
a large market for their goods through
out the whole Of Central and South China.
The only thing the American manufac-
turer has to keep in mind is that he
should make goods suitable for the Chi
nese markets.
Chinese Never Wear Wool.
If properly placed before the Chinese,
American cotton goods will obtain the
same foothold in Southern China that
they have in Northern. The present i'm
portations are not nearly sufficient to
meet the requirements. 1t must be borne
in mind that the Chinese never wear wool
not even in the depth of winter; that,
generally speaking, the entire population
clothes themselves in cotton all the year
round Their bedclothes, umbrellas and,
ii Few instances, boatsails are made Of
cotton, and the consumption is practical
unlimited if they are made in accord
ance with native requiremets. The cloths
should be strong, coarse, unbleached
CLOTH y inches wide, retailable at about
cents gold a yard or Sc cents gold per
piece OF nine yards. There is also vir-
gin market for a cotton cloth which,
canned or otherwise treated, would prove
Ialnproof All cotton goods would have
10 De put up in lengths to suit the pecu-
Aar requirements of the trade for which
they are designed. and such details could
pest De learned after having made a trial
shipment
\ Loss to Southern Mills.
The recent troubles in North China
nave undoubtedly injured the American
couon trade in that country, for the
market for such goods has become vast
camp Tor armed hosts. In the midst of
NdfnKe operations trade and commerce
gannot continue 20 flourish. The restora-
uou OIL peace and order to that distracted
ieeloh VIII be a boon not only to the in
naouants OF North China, who have al
-tauS suffered untold losses and hard
sHpS' out also 10 Southern planters, man.
Uiao'uIers and laboring men of all class
- III TINS country. who depend upon the
s'ufn OF the normal trade conditions in
sue Ohlnese Empire for their continued
tLospeillS' and l sincerely hope and trust
'''' THIS Will not be long delayed"