The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-22
CHINESE IN BUSINESS.
An Admlrer says They lead ths Wagla
m fnu,u.nN.a,l Hmen..aaw

With due respect for othara. In
ChinAmAn h perhaps the most honorable
and upright business man In ths wuIh
to-day This statement viii surpViRa
folks who estimate all Chinese Aocoud-
Ing 10 Bret Hartes spscimon. whose
ways were peculiar. It b made BY
Monroe wOOlley. who has more 10 say ~
tho same eject. The ChinAmah' . -prin-
oiplos are founded entirely upon honesty
and he adheros 10 his policy with the
lnsistsnco Of q lOech.' continues hF.
WOollsy In the BOokksspsr. 'Of colKsa
a little thing like telling q falsahOOd
occasionally docs not bother him 20 much.
but when IL comes 70 plotting and schsm-
ing to deiraud some one thu task bso0mas
distastsfaJ. ..
Tia equal Of the japanese In initiative
and foresight. hs Il much their superior
when integrity II concerned. A Japanass a
does not think twice before deciding -
got the best Of you.
Not long ago the United States Govern
ment asked for bids for big piece. o.
work. Among them was that OF q lone
Chinese contractor. His bid was ths.s
lowest received; but the Governments
found that he had no previous eEperienca
In his line and that he also had ittla
capital behind him. still. the Chinaman,
who spoke good English. pressed his
case He had little trouble m getting
his own countrymen N bend him. and
be got the contract ..sE
The bid was so low that tho Govern
- -
NO low that the Celestial bidder In the end.
lost thousands Of dollars. a fate he wuS
able 20 ioresee after a months work.
Did he shirk his responsibility and cry ,
20 crawl out Of had undertaking a. had
his American predeceaaOrsg
mo; 70 do that was strictly aGAinst
Chinese business ethics, Not only dta
he follow the specifications and plans %
the very letter but he had tho WORK
despite a disastrous storm and much
inclement weather The sob made him a
poor man. leaving him badly in deba,
but Chinese integrity had been main.
tanned, and other contracts would follow
with profits 10 cover present Losers.
This spirit has been encountered
thousands Of times among Chinese buai-
ness men in this and other countries.
for the Chinaman does business all yesr
the world.
Out in the Orient corporations formed
by white men are only too glad 70 have
one or more Of the better class progressive
Cinnamon on their boards of directors.
They cannot we'll prosper without the
Chinese, and difference IN oolor does not
deter the broad minded Anglo Saxons
out there on the edge Of thing IRON
associating commercially. and very fro
quently socially a. well. with the Mon
Rolian. In his own land. besides ranking
among tho foremost business men. the
Chinaman " also an ideal host. 49,.
Since Americans and Engliahmen aa
well a. other white men have IN tho lagt
century invaded the commercial field IN
Asia the Chinaman has found Il expegii-
ent 20 employ white managers to look
after HE foreign tongued trade. Naturally
they mistrust the average white man.
knowing a. they do that our ideas of fair
dealing and personal loyalty ara not 90
perfect as their own. But In every in
stance where a white employees has been
tried and found true his reward in salary
and other things hiss been enormously
abundant. To really worthy man their
lNNllNlAN hNlUWA no NIMANNNMs
In Gale Rosario. Nanilas Chinatown,
are a number Of Americans employed
with Chinese firms % look after the Eng.
lah speaking trade and the Governments
demands. Where these men have proved
faithful, az most ~ them have they have
been accorded as much responsibility
and privilege 40 the head OF the house.
being allowed sometimes a salary much
greater.
I'm one case the American representa-
tive has been taken in AZ a partner at no
cost 90 himself and a fms apartment a.
signed 90 him IN the mansion % the com
pany. In still another case an automobile
was presented 10 the employee a. a token
Of the ESTEEM In which be was held by thu
firm
Seldom Il ever does Chinaman work
for a wage under his fellow countrymen.
Il II a rule that oil employees must ha
stockholders Ia the concern In which they
work. sharing Of course in tho profta.
The good results are obvious. All tho
members work in harmony and do all in
their power to promote the Business Il
the house.
Another rule Of the Chinese il never
to antagonize each other Prics cutting
aEainAl one another ~ unknown. Il =
quite true that they may have a iiuctuAi-
ing scale Of prices 10 suit the purse &c the
prospective purchaser yet they never 10
below the minimum price agreed upOn by
all similar dealers.
IL they can get a few cents more than
the real worth Of am article that IL con-
nidered q clever trick and h possibly the
one shady habit the race has IN business
dealings. Competitors rarely feeA any III
effect from this. because all dealers IN tho
same line are generally one and the same
company or corporation. Zach estab-
lishment may have IT. own firm name.
hut the chances are that the profits from
all are consolidated and divided amongtha
lot
IAN organization Of this kind has other
than the one Of selling 70 4
customer at any prics above actual cost
that he h willing 10 pay. For instance.
in one far Eastern city where a big brewery
n located the Chinese Rrocerymen wifi
sell you a case Of beer. malt or stout all the
way from 50 cents 20 81 50 cheaper than the
brewery viii sell It,
-AH grocerymen. big az little. are afili-
ated with one another. buying together
and selling at low figures. When they de-
sire % replenish their stock n Hhrewdbuyer
is sent out He buys for all OF them, the
quantities Of course being much larger
than those Of any other one house or per-
hapa OF any other half dozen houses con-
Quoted by foreigners. Naturally he geta
d big discount.
The same method h employed in ORDER
ing goods from other oountFies Ii n No
uncommon thing 20 buy American onnned
goods from Chinese groceries. particularly
abroad. all the way from 10 70 20 per cent.
cheaper than the American dealer charges
Tor the same article.
sBut the Ons admirable trait Of the