The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-09-06
OUR DIPLOMAT
WON CUT IN CHINA
Gen. Sharretts Told Other Nations
What TO Do and They
Did II.

when you want a new idea in any
special line of business go to America
you'll find it there" The Chinese had
to have tariff schedule to help them
pay off their war indemnity. They
wanted a man to frame it, and all the
nations interested in China promptly
rushed diplomats over there to get the
United States found the man that
China needed in the person Of General
T. S. Sharretts. The General went over,
ruled the roost, framed the terms and
made the other nations consent to
them, and is now quietly returning
home on the China. to tell the folks at
Washington how he did it. He fixed
everything, it is said, so that America
will now have a distinct advantage in
her favor in the Oriental trade.
General ShaIretts is a new style of
diplomat, and one that must have cut
novel figure among the gold-laced
crowd that governments usually send
out to attend to their most important
business deals with other countries. In
the first place he acts on the principle
of telling a man to his face all the un-
kind things that another man would
say when his face was turned He is
blunt. He INDUCES in no honeyed
words, but goes straight to the point.
and gives his opponents to understand
at once what he will do and what he
will not do. In addition to this he is
tariff expert, and going from a coun-
<vsry ;r,fn Sc fn1H hot "a
word tariff means before they are told
how to say papa" and mamma" the
General was certainly we'll fitted to do
his work.
He spent about nine months in
Shanghai, and during all that time was
| busy on the intricate work of prepar-
| ing a tariff schedule. This tariff sched-
Tile was made necessary through the
| various powers agreeing that duty of
/ 8 per cent could be levied by China on
| all imports with the exception of flour
| in order that she might the more easily
raise money to pay off the war indem-
nifty. To arrange the terms of the tar
/ if it was planned to have a conference,
consisting of one representative of each
power, in Shanghai. When the diplo-
mats assembled they found that Great
Britain wished them to adopt tariff
schedule that had been prepared in
favor OF Manchester anu AOIiuOA SA-
! porters This was anti-American and
gave British merchants a great advan-
| tage in the trade. Sharretts set to work
| and fixed up a tariff of his own, and
after four weeks wrangling the various
powers agreed to this without changing
single item of the schedule. Now the
General declares that the schedule is
more favorable to the United States
than to any other country, and that 1t
will be very beneficial to American
trade in China. This was finally signed
/ by Great Britain. Germany, Japan,
Austria, the Netherlands. Belgium.
Spain, and the United States, and
France, Russia, Portugal, Italy and
China agreed to sign later.
General Sharretts also secured a
promise from the viceroy of Nankin
that he would not sign the treaty with
Great Britain abolishing the likin du-
ties and substituting an import duty
Of 1919 per cent. which would be preju-
sdicial to our interests, until he secured
1 advices from the United States as to
whether the new treaty would be salts
/ factory to US.
It is considered that General Shar-
retts' work will be of great benefit to
1.-THE Chinese, as it will enable them to
pay the indemnity easily.