The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-02
Discusses in Detail the Injurious Effect of UnwiSe Exclu-
 sion Acts
HURTS SOUTHERN
 COTTON GROWERS
Millions of Dollars Worth of Trade Will Be Lost to the South Annually In Case China Boycotts
 America.

ing held yesterday afternoon at o'clock by the Commercial club was the ad- dress made by R. A. Mitchell of Ala hama City regarding the reciprocal trade relations between China and the United States.
 MT. MitehelPs address awakened keen interest. presenting as 1t did informa- ton highly important to the American people and especially to the cotton grow ing and cotton manufacturing states. The speech was listened to attentively by large attendance of the club and was applauded frequently and heartily.
 Resolutions Adopted.
 At it's close, Maj. r. Y. Anderson. vice. president of the club, introduced this resolution which was unanimously adopted;
 Resolved by the Commercial club of Birmingham, Ala. in view of the fact that our treaty with China expired last December, and no other treaty has as yet been entered into between the Uni- ted States government and China, and oi the further fact that it Is of the ut- most importance that the i'll feeling, which has been aroused in this country cn account of our congressional enact ments and especially the manner of the execution of same, should be removed in the interest of both governments so that both governments may be put upon a cordial and satisfactory basis to the end that the immense trade which should exist between these countries be devel- oped and expanded to the utmost; and be 1t further
 Resolved That our senators and rep resentatives in Congress be and are here by urgently requested to use their in- fluence to secure a treaty which shall tend to remove all cause of friction and be promotive of increasing commerce be- tween these nations, provided nothing in these resolutions shall be construed as advocating the removal of salutary re- strictions upon immigration.
 Resolved further, That in the event such treaty cannot be entered into dur Ing the coming session of Congress, our senators and representatives are request ed to endeavor to secure such con- gressional legislation as will promote good feeling between these two countries and augment their mutual trade; be it fur- ther
 Resolved That copy of these reso- lutions be formally signed by the of ficers of the club and sent to each of the United States senators and repre- sentatives of this state in the federal Congress.
 'Resolved further, That this body wishes here and now to tender It's ap- preciation of Chinese trade and will use It's every effort to promote the best in- terest in trade between the United States and China"
 MT. Mltchells Address.
 MT. Mitchell, in the course of his ad- dress said:
 First of all we should acquaint our selves with the country with which we are to deal, and the essential characteris- ties, which make 1t of interest to us to seek commercial intercourse with China. The subject Is such a vast one 1t must necessarily be treated briefly. China proper Is composed of nineteen provinces, counting Shenglxing fin southern Man churla; in addition to this the Chinese empire embraces the dependencies of Turkestan Thibet, Mongolia and Man churia; its area is about one-twelfth of the landed surface of the earth, or about 100000 square miles, and It's pop ulation is about one-fourth that of the earth Think of it, if all mankind stood fin a row every fourth man would be Chinaman. One province in western China, Szechuan, has about 70.000,000 inhabitants, or nearly as many as the United States
 
 in It's fields that the United States grows. and with climate embracing that of the tropic and the temperate zones; It's fauna and flora are rich and varied It's min aral resources have been known to the chl- nese for centuries and mining Of sor1, silver copper coal and iron has been carried on In a primitive way for many years: it Is said that iron ore of good grade is abundant in western and north- western China. In the province or Snan- si which lies to the west Of Chile, the bltumnous coal fields are said to cover 12,Oo0 square miles. with deposits of pc troleum still further west The anthracite coal fields in this same section are said to be unbroken, covering 13500 square miles, and to be from 20 feet to 40 feet thick How such deposits should excite the interest of a Birmingham man. We or Alabama must look to our laurels when adequate transportation to these rich fields is provided, and modern machinery and methods are employed In the develop ment of tissse great store houses Of wealth.
 Population and Religion.
 "china has many large cities, Canton. the largest having over 100000 inhabi- tants; the people are industrious, frugal, patient and peace loving people. The re- ligions prevailing are Confucianism, Bud dhism and Taoism; the ruling classes are followers of the great Confucius Many or the precepts of this illustrious man who lived about 300 years before Christ arc almost Identical with the teachings of the Savior; he expounded principles which might be termed those of inherent right or conscious right. Mencius, the most noted of the early exemplars of Con fucian philosophy. holds high place in the Chinese classics. and his works are held in the highest esteem.
 "The government is an absolute mon archy, morally supported and somewhat paternalstic. If there Is anything in the dictrine of the survival of the Attest, which I believe is generally accepted as correct, then certainly the forty centuries of national life of the great Chinese em- pires should at least challenge our att tention and our investigation of her laws and methods, as well as study of her peo- pie there could not be such continuity of government without excellence in the peo- pie; their methods must have some merit. The government of the state Is based on the government of the family, and there Is no law of hereditary succession to the throne; the ruler being required to select his successor from some younger member of his family not necessarily the eldest. but rather that son or member most con- spicuous for his ability; all offices are filled from lists of eligibles who have heretofore stood the several necessary cornneffffve on y,1inations. so the Chinese