El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-08-26


great Japanese monopoly. compared
with which our steel and other trusts
are mere infants in armS-iS taking
steps to prevent our tea buyers from
purchasing Fermosan Oolong. except
through it's own agencies, and TO Sc
cure control of the tea output of the
Orient, outside of India and Ceylon-
The situation is quite interesting
from an American standpoint, mas
much as about half the tea imported
into the United States comes from
Japan and the island offFormosa, and
in 1910 we bought no less than TO-
8O7,344 pounds of Formosan Oolong.
To Push Sales In America.
The Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, which
might he said to be commercial Japan
incorporated, or the next thing to it.
has decided to spend 100000 during
the next ten years in pushing the sale
of japanese and Formosan teas in this
country. One expedient to be adopted
| with this end in view is to distribute
| hundreds of thousands of tins of a
| superior quality of tea among the mer-
chants, hotels and restaurants of the
United States. There is also to be
much advertising by pictorial placards
| and illustrated pamphlets. Such is the
plan of campaign
Meanwhile, in order to make the sit
uatfon clear, it should be explained
| that up to 1893, when there was a war
between Japan and China. Formosa
was the property of the latter coun-
| try But, as a result of that conflict,
so disastrous to the middle kingdom,
| the island passed into the possession
of Japan. Up to that time the great
tea output of FOrmosa was handled at
Amooy, giving much prosperity to
| that city, but the Japanese have
| taken this, trade away from
Amooy, which in consequence has fall
len upon evil days, commercially
spea king. and has lost all of its old
time Importance as a seaport
Now, China is at present producing
about one-half Of the total tea grown
in the world, or more than twice the
| output of India (not counting Ceylon-)
But this is merely a matter of quanti-
| ty, the Chinese teas being recognized
| everywhere in the worlds markets as
| inferior. They are prepared by the
most primitive. methods, mostly in the
huts Of poor peasants, and are COM
monty dirty. Naturally. 1t follows
| that, as a rule. they fetch low prices.
| Are Fighting the Chinese.
| What the Japanese are trying to do
| is to run the Chinese teas out OF the
| grades are concerneds and TO compete
much more formidably than hitherto
with the product of India and CeylOn-
| They deprive an enormous strategic
advantage from the possession Of For
mosa Can island about as big as Sar-
DINA and Corsica put together), which
| is one of the garden spots of the world
and by nature extraordinarily well
adapted for tea-growing-
| From what has already been said it
| will be inferred that Formosa's output
! of tea was immense in quantity when
| the island was owned by China But
| the japanese are steadily augmentins
! it by extending the area of produc-
| ton; and, incidentally, they are taking
| every possible means to improve the
\ quality of the leaf An experimental
| tea garden has been established at
an expense Of $4,000, for the practice
| OF scientific methods of culture and
| treatment the object in view being not
/ only to evolve superior varieties, but
also to develop improved processes for
/ preparing the teas for market
| Is Formidable Organization.
| AS for the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha,
which is behind this tea movement
| (and which. by the way, employs rep
resentatives all over the United States,
as well as in other countries), one may
| Judge of its formidable character as a
commercial organization from the fact
| that it is the only concern that ever
| beat Standard Oil. 1t has literally
| driven the Rockefeller trust out Of
| Japanl 1t controls not only the oil
wells of the japanese empire, but also
the cotton and other textile mills all
| the important banks, and ever so many
| other industries, even including the
merchant marine of that country. If
/ there is necessity, as in some parts OF
Manchuria, it will even sell goods at
retail. There is nothing in the way
of trade too small from its viewpoint
to be worth handling.
| Pursuing this policy, the Mitsui Bus
/ san Kaisha has recently become an en-
| ormous buyer of Formosan teas Tt
| is already the sole selling agent of the
Formosan camphor monopolys (Which
pretty nearly controls the camphor
output of the world). and apparently
| it means to obtain the same sort of
| control over the tea output OF that re-
markable island. It's activities in this
direction, however, also cover Japan, in
many parts of which, under its aus
pieces, model tea farms, model tea pre-
pairing factories, and tea manufactur-
ing schools have recently been estab-
lished for the education of the people.
To give the devil his due Gas the
saying goes), the Formosan tea grow
er's send to market a product which Is
at least relatively pure. and free from
the adulterants so commonly character
istic of Chinese teas. In particular
there is no artificial co1oring, or FAC
ing" For this reason the new tea
standards for 1911 esta blished by the
United States government have had no
unfavorable effect upon importations
of teas from Formosa. At the same
time, the India and Ceylon teas in
view Of their excellent quality, are
fully holding their own with Ameri-
can consumers.
Fine Teas Come High.
When Chinese teas are spoken OF
as inferior. it should be realized that
this term does by no means apply to
the finer grades produced in the
middle kingdom and which are prac-
tically withheld from export, finding
a market at high prices at home.
What is considered in the United
States a good grade of tea is pur-
chasable for 70 cents a pound. But