The Washington herald., 1914-01-04

PELL Street BOY
HERE AS OFFICIAL
Son Of Mayor Of Chinatown
Wins Success IN
Orient
TELLS OF TRADE NEEDS
Says The New Republic Ought to
Have Better cureney
System.
TELLS OF TRADE NEEDS

about year studying trade conditions
In this country.
Mr.. Lee was born In Pell street, New
York's Chinatown, about thirty years
ago. His mother, Tom Lees wife' Is
a German-American. The boy attended
the public schools and then was gradu-
ated from the City College. After that
he studied law in the New York Law
School, from which he was graduated,
and in the law office Of Price & Hoyer,
scross from the Criminal Courts build
ing.
He did not take the bar examination
here, but has been admitted to practice
IN Canton. When he had completed his
law course he attended the Union Theo-
logical Seminary for two years. TAX
ing what Is known as the English
course which omits Hebrew, and seven
years ago went to his fathers native
country for the first time as a teacher
in the Baptist schools in Canton
Headed Canton Academy.
Later he became the head of the Bap-
fist Academy ut Canton, which Is the
central school OF the group, and now Is
| in charge of all the Baptist educational
work in Kwang-tung and kwang-si prov
inces in which there are forty-t"o zap
tist schools. He also is secretary OF the
bureau of toreign affairs for the prov
ince of Kwang-tuns.
Mr.. Lee had learned some chinese IN
New York before he went to China, but
he admits himself that he was very def
cient in what he considers his native
| tongue 1t was the ambition OF the young
| lChinese-American to work for the land
/ of his father and to become Chinese
citizen-it was Chinese subject then
So when he went to China the first thing
he had to do was to learn the Chinese
language.
The language spoken by Pell streets
Chinese is a dialect of the lower classes
OF Canton and Southern China. With n
smattering OF this as a foundation MI
Lee studied the Cantonese OF the .sdu-
Gated class until he became proficient in
| II and he now plans to spend some time
in Pekin as soon as his work Will permit
in order to learn the language spoken in
the capital.
| Mr.. Lee has married a Chinese woman
and has three children, two sons and a
baby daughter. Mr.. Lee says that he will
educate his sons in China first and then
will send them to an American college.
| Anxious to See Father.
Tom Lee is getting pretty well along in
years and his son was anxious TO see him
again. Then, too, he wanted his father
| to see his wife and his three children.
So ne was planning TO come to New York
for a visit when he received the appoint
Inent as commercial commissioner, with
instructions to spend a year in America
making studies which would be Of service
to the Industries of Kwang-tung prov
ince. All of which fitted in very nicely
with Mr.. Lees private plans. He came
over a month or SO ahead OF time, arriv-
ing in New York on Thanksgiving Day.
One of the matters which Mr.. Lee is to
study here is the possibilities open to the
Chinese merchants in American cities.
For the most part, Mr.. Lee said yester-
day, these merchants cater only to their
own countrymen. There are a few large
concerns which carry on a large trade
with American customers, but they are
the exception.
Before returning to Canton Mr.. LIE,
will travel through the Southern States
learning the last wrinkles in cotton ant
rice growing. Some cotton Is raised il
Kwangtung, but much more could b.
raised II more modern methods wer,
known and employed. Besides the cotton
there is a great demand in China TO
cottonseed oil for use in cooking, a de
mand which could be supplied at home l
the production OF cotton were increased
, in accordance with present day ideas.
! Mr.. Lee has heard that a method o
} planting rice by machinery has been sue
cessful in our Southern States. In Chin
rice is still planted by hand in small
, patches, the shoots being transplantet
to the large fields by hand when the.
! have reached a height OF l-2 inches o
so. All this costs money and lowers tn
total production
Chinese Population Decreases.
The investigator found only about 500
!, Chinese in San Francisco. as agains
2OO00 to $1,000 who lived there ten year
ago. He explained the decrease as due I
the return to their native land of tn
Chinese when they have collected a littI
r money and to the present day difficult
encountered by a Chinese who seeks I
. enter the country.
Mr.. Lee is visiting various America
. exporting concerns and firms manufac
. turing machinery in an effort to persuad
. them to pay more attention to the Chi
, nese market. Twenty years ago, he SAID
!. there were ten American firms doing
/ good business in Canton. Today ther
are two. The bulk OF the business no,
Is done by the Germans and the English
Q with the Germans leading.
The great need in China Is machinery
; he said. The Germans and the Englis
/ are on hand with their machines read
to demonstrate them. but no such com
= mercial energy is shown by America
i concerns As a result the field is bein
v occupied by the other nations to sue
;, an extent that 1t will not be long befor
i IL will be very difficult for Americans {
o get foothold.
9 japanese machinery has been tried an
found wanting, he said. He found 1
4 Tokyo and Yokohama that the Japanes
!, themselves preferred German or Englis
= machinery to their own.
Ice Plant Big Success.
= Mr.. Lee mentioned icemaking machiner
|. as one Of the fields wide open in Canto
/. and Southern China generally. The frs
/. artificial ice plant with German machir
4 cry was opened in Canton a year ago an
, has been making money fast. Ice Is
!. great demand for ten months Of the yea
!. and to some extent the year around.
10 The currency question. Mr.. Lee sait
y is retarding the development of Chin
oi more than ary other one cause. The cour
try is practically bankrupt and need
large loans. No two provinces have tn
same currency and paper money Of tn
.. republic is ,distrusted. Business betwee
the provinces is carried on with Mexica
Or dollars or the more recently importe
J. Singapore dollars, which are usual
3 worth trife more than the Mexica
!. dollar.
Efforts arc being made to establish
,. national bank, with branches in the var
lous provinces, to issue national ban
D, notes. When this has been done III
n provincial bank notes will oe called Il
u But the DEVELOPMENT Of this project ha