The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-01
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
". GERMANS IN THE ORIENT
B Frederic J. Haskin.

considers the best plan. and Is not consciously overlooking chances 10 in- crease business. He believes with the Duke of Wellington that Waterloo was won on the cricket fields of Eng land. and believes as firmly that stren- uousness in the tropics is fatal. That one must. by proper exercise and rest, Keep physically fit. is a maxim he does not violate. That the rule of modera- ton in work is good one for the in- dividual all physicians and philoso- phers agree. That the violation of the rule nets business to the German na- ton. possibly at the expense of the bodily welfare of the individual. is plain. and the difference between the German and English outlook upon the commercial future is that one is op-
 imistic and the other somewhat ap- prehensive.
 Aside from his determination to win by "stickytoitiveness."s the German makes m energetic effort to find out lust what Is wanted by the buyers in the market he invades. And he man ufacfures goods to meet these require ments. It makes no difference to him that something else. possibly some- thing better from the European stand point. or superior from the point of view of anyone who is capable of sound judgment. Is sold in the German cities. The important point is to make the article that most readily sells where the effort is being made to sell H Tne British error Is to hold that what Is good enough for the purchase CT Fat home" should find favor win the heather. and that the heatben should not be catered to but educated to know what he should desire.
 Not the smallest part of the German campaign of aggression in the Orient IS the efort-decfdedly expensive at present--to win the passenger traf1c between European and Far Eastern ports and between Europe and Ans traiia. It was half century ago that a iamous American traveller and writer or books. voyaging from Europe to India and the further East in an Eng lish steamer, put down in his Journal the statement that a certain steam navigation company, being a monop- oly Is, like all monopoiies, a model of meanness." There Is still complaint upon the part of the travelling public that the English ships, which until re- gently enjoyed a virtual monopoly of the passenger traffic to the East, have followed the rIan of making dividends rather than making friends of their patrons Finding in this situation an opportunity for advancing their inter- ests, the Germans have left nothing m
 done in an effort to court favor with those who go down to the sea in shius.
 The custom of serving tea at { o'clock in the afternoon Is a fixture in England and long established custom on English ships. Upon the large Brit ish liners in Eastern waters, the pas- senger may go to the dining saloon for tea or go without it. The German lin . CTS not only serve tea on deck, but also serve at the tea hour foods and beverages aimed at the taste of the largo part of the travelling public that does not like tea. In more important things there Is the same effort to meet the demands of the patron rather than educate the public to satisfy itself with customs that reflect a national Idea of what should be expected. The result Is that the German steamers are growing in popularity With the gen eral public, and by comparison their ri- vals are suffering in the estimation of many travellers. While the proportion of German name plates upon the doors of Singapore business houses is tn- creasing, the liners and cargo boats flying the Kaiser's flag are coming out from the European ports with goods in their holds and passengers in their cab ins that formerly belonged to the Eng lish as a matter of course.
 The facts in the case having become plain to many thinking EngIishmen, discussion of the outlook is rife in the East and in certain quarters "at home" The English Oriental press, and some don newspapers, comment freely upon