Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-12-06

last ditch by the Powers that are
jealous of American prestige and only
awaiting the opportunity to carve the
Chinese Empire and divide It among
the thieves.
Greed is at the bottom of the oppo-
sition ordinarily designated by more
polite names. Some idea of the form
that objections take when made for
publication may be obtained from an
editorial article in the Oriental Eco
nomic Review" little magazine pub
lished by Japanese in New York city.
This publication makes the COM
ment that Americans generally do
not seem to realize what prize their
financiers have gained, also that the
details of the loan thus far given the
public are very meager. Then ii con-
tinues, I'VE are told, for instance,
that the principal object of the loan
is to enable China to carry out the
much-discussed and long-delayed re-
form of her impossible currency. In
the same breath, it is also stated that
a portion of the proceeds of the loan
will be diverted to Industrial pur-
poses in Manchuria and other parts of
China, and that large part of the
money will be invested here In the
form OF purchases from American
steel works and possibly also dock
yards. Exactly what proportion of
the loan Is to be devoted to the So
called industrial purposes, no indica-
ton is given, although II is believed
1t may possibly be as much as fifty
or sixty per cent. How a paltry sum
OF twenty-five or thirty million dol
lars would suffice for the reforming
OF the currency system of an empire
of 4O0,000,O00 souls, is beyond our
comprehension. Even the whole
amount of the loan 1850, 900 ,OOO)
would fall far short of the need. Can
1t possibly be that the present loan Is
only a small instalment of great
sum which is to be advanced to China
In the near future? Otherwise, we
are at loss to understand how even
a beginning could be made in the task
OF placing the Chinese monetary sys-
TEN on sound and enduring basis.
Unless some such large and compre-
hensiye scheme has been matured, no.
body at all conversant with the finan-
cial situation of the Chinese Govern
ment can resist the suspicion that the
greater part of the funds realized by
this loan will be absorbed in making
good the fast-augmenting deficits i'm
the central and provincial treasures.
Everybody knows that China is badly
In need of money. She wants money
to rehabilitate her army and navy, to
carry out her scheme of buying back
the railway concessions to foreign
companies, and to build more rail-
ways; but above all she most urgent
ly needs money to keep her machin-
cry of government going Her pub
lie expenditures are increasing at a
rate altogether out of proportion OF
her revenue, which is almost station
AIRY.
1--WE would not be understood as In
any way criticising the present finan-
cial transaction. AS China needs
money, 1t is well that she should get
what she requires from whatever
quarter she likes, and personally, we
are pleased that that quarter should
be Wall Street Our only concern is
is to whether or not the question OF
currency reform has been taken up
In earnest at Pekin. If 1t has been
1t is certainly good news to all inter-
ested In China's development. I'm
! fortunately nothing has yet trans
pired to justify such optimistic view
One OF the greatest obstacles, to the
successful carrying out of compre-
hensive scheme of currency reform, is
the apparent absence in China of any
statesman strong enough to shoulder
the great responsibility for change
almost revolutionary and certainly
more serious than the Inauguration
Of parliamentary regime. There is
no evidence that man of that virile
type is coming to the front under the
present regency at Pekin."