Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-04
in MODERN CHINA
XV-Needs of Modern China
By Frederic j. Haskin

they must work just as hard as they
would at home.
One American manufacturer, in a
mt of nervous energy, wrote to all the
American consuls stationed in China
asking them to inform him of the
state of business opportunities in his
line. A consul cannot act as an agent,
he can only advise business men. One
consul hustled around and found a
good opening for this particular line.
He wrote to the manufacturer that il
an agent would come out with samples
| it was reasonably certain that large
business would be- started. The manu-
facturer replied that if the consul
would guarantee the agents expenses
at the rate of $40 a day from the time
of leaving Boston until his return, then
the firm might consider the advisability
of sending a man to China. And this
in a country where European and
Japanese agents literally swarm, bid
ing their time and waiting months and
years on eXpenses-waiting for just
such openings as the American consul
found for the Boston man.
An agent for American machinery of
a certain variety came to China to in
troduce his line. He was aided by the
consulg and by the minister at Peking.
He was advised earnestly to appoint
an agent of his own, or else to leave
his goods in the hands of an American
firm. Failure after failure of this line
and that was pointed out to him, to-
gether with the reason why. Yet in
spite of that advice the agent left his
goods in the hands of an European
firm. That concern Immediately looked
over his machinery, made some trifiing
change to avoid the patent laws, and
the machinery of that type now used
in China is all made in Europe.
The cotton piece goods business is
the biggest thing in China. England
has the great bulk of the business,
States-the chief cotton growing coun-
try of the world-trails along as third.
Business men here believe that if the
cotton goods men of the United States
changed their methods of sales, and
established American houses to deal
directly with the Chinese, the order of
precedence might be reversed.
That the chief obstacles in the way
Of American trade expansion in China
are faults of the Americans themselves
is proved by the example of the two
greatest business successes IN China.
Both of them are American concerns,
conducted by Americans along Amer
ican lines. Neither has paid the slight
est attention to the conservative rules
of business etiquette established in the
east by British houses for the beneft
of British trade. Both of these con-
Germs came to China with product
which China did not know, which
China had never asked for or desired.
and each of them succeeded in creating
a demand which is increasing by leaps
and bounds.
One is the Standard OIL company and
the other is the Tobacco trust. The
oil company has an enormous business
in China, practically all of which it
+oJ 5xya ta 90 nf rOnd
appealed to the Chinese naturally. The
oil company carefully secured the aid
Of the native guilds and merchant COM
panies and sold millions Of small lamps
through the country lamps made to
sell for a ridiculously low price. once
a lamp was established in a household
it meant that the family would re-
quire the habit Of using artificial light
at night, and would more and more de-
pend upon the luxury until 1t would
develop into necessity. To keep the
| lamp going, the family must needs buy
oil Now the business is to be meas
ured only in terms Of millions of dol
lars.
| The Anglo-American Tobacco COM
pany Is a British corporation, chartered
under the laws of Hongkong for con-
venience. 1t is, however, branch OF
the American Tobacco company, and
its business in China is managed by
has introduced the cigarette into China.
where everybody already smoked
"doped" tobacco in pipes, and has
built I'D a business which is still rap
idly growing. AS 1t uses much Chinese
grown tobacco and manufactures much
of its goods in the country, it has re-
suited in Industrial benefit to the Chi
nese. Wherever one goes in China, be
1t a thousand miles inland, he cannot
escape the fiaring poster advertise
ments of this American-controlled con-
Germ.
The result is the attraction of COM
petition. The Standard Oil is being
attacked by Dutch rivals with Borneo
oil. and the Japanese cigarette makers
are out after the tobacco concern. But
in all other lines the Americans them
selves are feebly trailing along be-
hind.
Now is the time to take advantage
Of waiting opportunities and lay
foundation for American trade in
awakening China. The government at
washington is keenly alive to the sit
uation and is prepared to help push
American interests in every legitimate
way. The times call loudly for con-
certed and intelligent effort on the part
of merchants and manufacturers OF
the United States to conserve our share
of the growing Chinese business.
Tomorrow-In Modern China: xVI-Queer
Japanese Diplomacy.