New-York tribune., 1906-06-16

c5aTies u Dyce- l2no PIP. 23S. London: Chap
mar & Hail
~ Dvce's "reminiscences are largely those
:, the earlier years OF his residence in China
ussn impressions Of the strange life into which
=. u-ss suddenly projected had all the freshness
,,s vtvidness Of novelty. Now and then he cor
&c these youthful impressions by the expe-
s.,ce Of later years. but the whole. his book
=. vrtten rather from the point OF view of the
..uiv arrived griffin" Of generation ago than
.-o-n that q the sophisticated oidtirner of to-
Gay.
NJ. pyce touches lightly on his apprenticeship
MO china house in London learning silk"
.o-e TRANSPORTING his readers with himself to
=. hong or commercial esta ablishment, where
:. began his long career in the model settle
-,sr- Young men abounded in the foreign
,ya-ter Of Shanghai in those days. His tai
sns" or chiefs. were barely turned thirty, and
.ta heads Of their many rival concerns were
.us-cely older Arriving there in his twenty
so,--h vear six years later he had risen TO be
,e,-nan himself. Scotchmen he found to be
-,ost in evidence, II not most numerous, among
,hs commercial population, but the Americans
exercised far more influence on the community
-, ,beir numbers warranted" OF a total
.-sen population at that time OF fewer than
,-oo there were only go Americans to 900
a
e.-ssf the author naturally is loath TO ascribe
-. nrevail,ng American spirit TO any special
.-t or force Of character Of the Arneri-
-" though he does not deny their ability.
-ha china trade was then considered such
.,rr,, that only picked men came out;
an5 -be standard of merit was quite as high,
.-hars higher in the British community thah
= the American Shanghai was young so were
,,s men OF business Both were expanding
-ogreqs was IN the air" Conditions were such
,ha. no house could do an absolutely safe busl-
,0ss The foreign trade Of China in those days
vas something like the game of poker. Ihe
,sutiols players had little chance 10 win al
- srd he holder stood the chance of being
mined outright The bold players, however
seemed 10 fare best provided, Of course they
had Ialr supply Of brains. This state OF al
fairs entirely suited the American genius. and
ne American ideas entirely suited the place"
Torson conservation could make no headway in
sr,b beadv atmosphere Englishmen quickly
abandoned English commercial notions and be
osn5a more thoroughgoing republicans than the
Americans themselves"
The Chinese merchants appear 10 have offered
an admirable foil TO the speculative tendencies
Of the foreigners Mr.. Dyce cites two interest
ing examples Of how the astute Cinnamon saved
or one occasion falling. on the other rising
market from disaster The former instance was
when the news Of the Franco-Prussian War,
coming after enormous shipments At high prices.
threatened untold Joss TO the silk exporters.
II was then that the Chinamen. showed. as they
generally do show, what splendid merchants they
are OF receipt of news OF the war tneE i wefe no. ~
he SIX Guild. and decided their course Of
action IL an hour two; and next morning sent
ii the muster bales thus signfyng that they We're
sellers Of silk at all for the present LelE @
market all over the WOriQ ana
s7s--e5 what might have been a disastrous pane.
AIMS and when business resumed IL was at
Z The waT
Six years later the failure of the French SILK
.rrop precipitated d period Of wild speculation
n silk in London. at time when the cable TO
China went out Of commission for two weeks
Suddenly The delayed messages began 10 come
70 Shanghai by the handful: Buy silk Buy
sIk.~' Buy siIk,,"' IF the London market had
lost its head the Shanghai market did not
Il was steadied in q great measure by the atti-
tade o1 the Chinese merchants. who as usual re-
Prees Of course vent steadily up but the Shina-
Tner sold all the time. They fed the market IN
s atH S"1 to- q tSer produce 70 holding on what
might be some day unstable article
There is something finely dramatic in the con-
trast, shown in these two scenes, between me
trantioaily plunging outside barbarians' ana
The calmly rational procedure OF the shre"u'
,npene-rable heather" judiciously corner
ing" q falling and feeding rising market com
caentalls- saving their customers from loss ana
lining their own pockets. But il must De re-
nenbered that the Chinese are no new hanaS
a. The silk business 1t is recorded that the
Empress Se-Iing-she wife Of famous Emperor
HEangte f2G,4O 2. c., encouraged the cuItlVa-
ton OF the mulberry trees, the rearing OF lle
worms and -he reeIing OF silk writes MI.
Dyce How long before the period when tElS
Empress Aourished il was that sericuIture eH-
isted~ he adds 1t is impossible TO say 'U'
t,7e co,,--s for little in China, and il may very
vel have been five or ten thousand years
The Noble Article is The chapter heading
under which the author writes OF the YlcIssi-
iudes " The silk trade. while his remarks Oh
tea culture and traffic are considered uIluSi
the title The Blasted Vegetable phrase III
vented hy an operator who had come on second
best In . contest with its nuctuating values
The cLa-see. or tea buyer. is busy man from
lie time This crop comes in until II Is soiu'
wor1;rg often III, N fourteen hours a day in the
hottest ae summer weather; but the rest OF
the year he enjoys what is known as a snap.
r. the seventies the tea was carried TO Eng
land AID America in splendid clipper ships
built for fast sailing in order 20 place the ne"
seasou's teas on the market at the earnest PoS
sibie date and 70 catch the high prices MI
Dyce tells Of tyo OF these beautiful craft that
he saw racing down the Yangtse under iui-
sal, making magnificent" spectacle 10 the
lan1sr2ar and one TO doubt. quite as thrIiiihg
n TIE Eeafarer. Parting company al me Inou'4
q the river these rival packets never sighteo
Zach other until ninety days later they p@SSeo
6raveseud on the same day, and almost at the
sane hour"
ar7crl
Violently as commerce. As Mr.. Dyce expresses
Il ..r.-sa7,. t.,-1 o,e ,,a5 .- t1,fs time q raw