The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-02-08
CHINA'S FUTURE.
Gen Wilson Says She VIII Do What
ever Is Demanded Of Her.

New York, Feb. Sat a meeting of
the chamber OF commerce, General Jas.
H Wilson. upon the invitation of the
executive committee, made an interest
ing address on the subject american
interests lin China n President Jessup
introduced General Wilson, who spoke
in part as follows.
There are many interesting prospects
in what we may look at as the crisis
in China The whole Of the progress Of
China from the time of its first vista
ton by Europeans down to the present
time has clustered around and been
promoted by trade and commerce. It
has been broken in upon by wars. but
each one OF these wars, not excepting
the Infamous opium war, had its origin
in the commercial spirit and In the de-
termination Of foreigners to force trade
upon China The present war. the late
war. the boxer revolution, In q measure,
may have been also due to the same
cause and to the same pressure. The
people of China, you must understand,
are desperately poor Their per capita
output lis. perhaps, less than that OF
any civilized nation IN the world. But
the American, the English. the French
and the German-all nationalities-hav
been pressing upon them for trade. The
poor people themselves have not known
what was the matter. why they were in
this distressed condition. why things
seemed to be so bad with them. why
they were so poor: and knowing that
they We're poor they have not appreci-
establish commercial and closer rela-
uons with them. I viii not undertake
to dwell upon the causes of that poverty
or or the changes that have been
brought about In China, but / say to
YOU con1prehensively, that the cause of
the d1n1culty in China is the distressful
condition which has surrounded the
people and In their anxiety to find some
cause or explanation OF it. they have
taken the nrst thing that presented it.
self"
liz a..
CHINA. General Wilson continued:
There IS going to be a settlement of
these d1fhculties. and that settlement is
going to be exactly what the foreign
powers agree among themselves they
are going to demand; for there is no or
ganlxaIlon, no power. no government,
no means Of resisting the foreign de-
mands, and the Chinese are going to
yield exactly what is asked Of them and
II all hands agree they will get exactly
what viii be asked. They have pretty
Wen made up their minds and the de-
mandS nave been published to the world.
and they win be yielded to not only be-
cause the Chinaman must yield, but be-
cause the next step which would be
taken II he did not yield, is 50 full of
oanger in the direction which Mr.
Hewitt lntimated while ago, of uni
versa1 war that the foreigners them
selves VIII be slow to undertake to in
nlct any other terms upon the Chinese
than those that have already been de-
manded. In my judgment the whole Of
China Is now open and will be open for
commerce because the first proposition
that the nations viii lay down, after
they have settled the indemnity for the
past viii be demand Of assurance that
there are to he no troubles in the fu-
0ure and perfect freedom Of trade and
everybody who has got a concession or
who thinks that he would like to have
q concession had better get out for it
just as soon as he can"
General Wilson then spoke somewhat
at length on China's payment OF in
IDENTITIES Continuing he said:
II 90 not take the slightest stock in
any offer to acquire territory on the
continent Of Asia. 1t Is not necessary.
We have never got any business out
there on any other principle than the
plain. simple principle on which you
gentlemen do business with each other.
If YOU can not furnish goods Of a better
quality or at an earlier delivery or at
a lower price you do not sell them We
being the closest OF all the nations to
China, with a straight route over. there
is no reason in the world why with the
open door for which our administration
is standing so strenuously-and nobody
viii dare to close it in our faces-there is
not the slightest reason in the world
why the United States should not have a
greater advantage than any other nation
viii get by the changes that will take
place in China.
'aThe Nicaragua canal will help. but
it viii not cut any figure in the case
Immediately because you will not have
a canal Immediately. and you have got
to use the boats sailing from San Fran
cisco have no doubt that the United
States will have a continuing and grow
ing trade. We can rest perfectly as
sured that while our administration will
probably not get US into a war. and
while it will maintain the dignity and
the force Of our position, we will get our
share Of business.
You must remember the Chinese en-
pire Is beginning to consume immense
quantities Of wheat and the finest wheat
area in the world circles around Puget
Sound and the shortest and best line OF
steamboats, in the world connecting
with China goes from there, and we will
get more than our share of that, for no
body else viii get anything out of that
line Of business. In timber Puget Sound /
has the finest in the world. and there |
won't be hundred feet of lumber sold /
by others where we win sell hundreds |
of millions of feet. In iron and in steam
ships and in various things that float I /