The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-17

exasperating, it is nevertheless true
that the Englishmen were as much to
blame for not understanding Chinese
as the Chinks We're for not under
standing English. The greatest ex-
ception the English take to the Amer
lean policy is the idea of education.
They claim that learning will spoil
any Asiatic and destroy his usefulness.
1t has certainly benefited the Japanese,
and time will soon prove what it will
do for the F'ilipinos- In any event
Uncle Sam is going to give his wards
a chance, and that is more than John
Bull has done in Hongkong. The
coolie in this great center of trade is
treated so harshly and misery that he
could hardly be worse off if he were
slave. The English idea of colonial
ton here plainly means dividends,
with little or no consideration for the
people of the land which yields the
profit. If Uncle Sam has too much
concern for the native. John Bull has
not enough and it is better to err on
the side of humanity than to commit
the opposite fault.
In regard to the manner of doing
business, it seems that the American
has little 10 learn from his neighbor.
The Englishman is out of date. I met
the manager Of a New York house
that had an English firm in Hongkong
as their agents. 1t was necessary to
send several cable messag each day
the cost of which was something like
two dollars a word. The code the
English house used had been in use
for forty years and was both mac
curate and expensive. The New York
firm had repeatedly insisted on the use
of a simpler code, both for safety ana
economy, but the English house had
replied to all requests that their sys-
tenn had served them for years and
they did not see the necessity for
changing. Although the American
went to the trouble to figure out his
messages. showing that the new
method would save thousands of doll
lars in a year. his English agents were
obdurate, and as a result the New
York house will soon establish a
branch of it's own.
ENGLISHMANI Is OUT-OF-DATE.
The Englishman was on the ground
first and in the beginning he had his
own way. He took life easy. He left
his office at three or four o'clock in
the afternoon and devoted the rest of
the day to some sort of congenial
sport. But now there is competition
in the Orient. The German may be
seen at his desk until a late hour, and
the American has a knack of simpli-
flying processes and saving expenses.
The Englishman scorns any greater
effort than he has ever made to get
business. He has almost the Chinese
aversion to any commercial innova-
Ia Will !, ic o1,
old-fashioned methods, and keeps up
his sports because it is English and
because he has always done so. I'M
less he mends his way the plodding
German and the ingenious Yankee |
will take his business away from him. |
This is not said in spite nor in spirit |
of instrumentation Everybody in |
the Orient knows it except the English |
man, but he seems to be too hard |
headed and self-centred to take the |
hint.
The social customs of the English |
are of course radically opposed to
the democratic ideas of the American
The present governor of Hongkong il
a Jew who was sent out to look after |
the Rothschild interests When he came
TO Hongkong he gave it out that mas
much as he was the personal repre-
sentative OF the KING OF England, that |
when he approached a group of ladies
they must get up and give him the
choice of seats If some social leader |
is giving a dinner and His ExceIlency
decides that it will suit his convenience
TO entertain on that some date, the
lady is commanded in the name of the
King to withdraw her invitations At
first the people of Hongkong We're in
clined to sqUirm a little at such high
handed proceedings. but the new gov
arnor was obdurate and now the smart
set is ready to dance when he whistles
ALICE WOULDN'T kOWTOW
Another royal prerogative which the |
Jewish governor of Hongkong eX-
ercises is to keep his audience waiting |
or an hour or so beyond the appointed |
lime at which he is expected to appear. |
When Miss Alice Roosevelt was in
1ongkong she was entertained by His
txcellency, and she shocked the whole |
English East by refusing to kowtow to
he exacting representative of the
House of Rothschild, even in the name
# the King. Instead of calling him
His Excellency'' she took her leave by
aging TIA ia Gov and went her !
way with a merry laugh and scorn-