The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-02-03

M
terested in the talk, now and then tapped
the board with his nails. AS he did so ]
could not keep my eyes off his hand. The
nails on the last three angers-that is. on
all OF the fingers except the index finger
were at least three inches long, and the
thumb nail stood out like a spoon. When
not tapping his excellency's hand, resting
on the nails, had the tips OF the fingers
raised above the table itself to the height
OF an ordinary glass tumbler. and the
wrist was we'll up off the table. The
finger nails were as white as ivory, ar
it struck me that It must be a trouble
some matter to keep them SO clean.
The conversation opened with the DIS
cussion OF the Hanyang steel works, which
l told his excellency 1 had just visited.
l asked him how they were doing. He
replied that they were steadily increasing
in efficiency and in their ability to turn
out modern rails, structural steel and 9TH
er such materials. He said that the COM
pany had already exported pig iron to
America, and that 1t could. il 1t would.
now sell iron there in competition with the
United States steel trust at a profit. He
said that the day would come when China
would produces all Its owE steel, and that,
every province would eventually have its
own factories and foundries. Sheng ex-
poets much from Japan as a purchaser
OF Chinese iron and steel, and he considers
our Pacific coast a legitimate tributary Of
the industrial China of the future.
1 asked him as to his iron mines. He
replied that the supply of iron ore is al
most inexhaustible, and lie finer than that
Of most parts OF the world. 1t is as pure
as the famed iron of Sweden, and is
much more easily won. AS to the Goa
he Is now using, this makes fine coke.
and China has been exporting coke to
Japan. His excellency believes hat
China has all the materials to make It a
great manufacturing country, and that its
people are naturally fitted to be the chief
industrial nation OF Asia.
1 here referred to the new railroads
which China has projected, and asked him
II their construction would be pushed. He
replied: we intend to build new rail-
roads just as fast as we can. We need.
them, and the imperial governments real
ICES that fact, and will do all It can to
aid in the construction. The first roads
to be built will be runk lines, connecting
the chief centers Of population. We must
have them on political grounds, as well as
for business development. Railroads are
a military necessity to the new civiliza-
ton, and to China's holding the place she
should nave In the far east and the world
W. ~ ~
and to. that end must be able to send
troops from one part Of the empire to an
other by rail, on Geographic notice. After
we have once built our trunk lines, branch
lines and feeders will rapidly follow. The
traffic will be large, and the roads will
soon become profitable. AS soon as our
people realize that none can be made
from railroad enterprises, there will be
no trouble in raising the capital necessary
to carry them on. So far they are a new
thing to us, and as we are conservative
people, We are cautious about embarking
In them"
.ss s~4sA e
to advise the government that it should
secure foreign capital for building its
railroads, were you not?"
Yes. But that policy became unpopu-
lar. The cry OF China for the Chinese,
and for the Chinese alone was raised,
and for awhile our people were inclined to
build everything with their own money
and to accept no help from outside. The
cost Of railroad building, however, is SO
great. and our people understand 1t SO lit
tie, that they hesitate to invest, and are
now coming to favor foreign loans.
"And, indeed, I still believe In foreign
loans for railroad building" continued
Sheng kung Pao. II think it will pay us
to borrow the money and let the roads
earn Tie interest. lie SlludllOH III I0SdEU
to such loans has changed during recent
years. Ii the past the roads were mort
gagged as security for the bonds; but the
government is now guaranteeing them,
and the roads, to a certain extent, are
free from such membranes. A guaran-
tee by the Chinese government is better
than that of any railroad. 1t has all
China back OF it, and the interest is alb
solutely secure
But, I understand you want to bor-
row some millions of dollars to extent
Your steel works at Hal1yang, and that
you are asking the Chinese to put up the
money. Why do YOU not go abroad for
a loan of that kind?"
w do not think it advisable. Similar
obligations which we have entered into
during recent years have caused inter-
national trouble. The men who borrow
the money, in case of a dispute as to the
settlement, are likely-to call in the gov
eminent to which they belong to enable
them to bring things their way, and that
without regard TO justice or tight. The
~mortgaging of private enterprises and
public works has, in certain cases, given
the control OF such works over to the for
eigners who made the loan, and that we
cannot permit. We feel that we Chinese
should control our own mines. and that
in the present condition of affairs it is
not safe for US to go outside for capital
SO secured"
Your eNcellency is connected with the
Imperial Bank of China? Is that a gov
%erlnent bank?"
enc 1t Is a commercial ips>jf,,t{or,