The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-24

portant confidential diplomatic service. industries had misapprehended the atti- tude of the state department toward American participation in the six-na- tion-group Chinese loan. All that the state department desired to do was to refrain from official or authoritative association in the name of the govern ment with transactions of this kind But the state department looked with favor upon the advent of American in dustry in other lands than our own | and especially in the Orient and South America. The administration regarded, with complacency at least, American undertakings by which there could be ] financed American advance in other lands.
 ] At the time this information was brought to New York there were in cir
 culation reports of the purpose of the | important American industry to under
 take large financing and the estab | lshment of large American manufac- I tured output in China. These reports were not vague gossip. There seemed to be authority behind them The rep resentative of American interests who
 visited the state department in the late winter was persuaded that the in- formation which he brought would lead to great undertakings in China. one of them possibly being the making of a considerable loan. Now that there comes by way of London information sent from Shanghai that the Bethle- hem Steel company Is to make a loan of s30,000,0 900 to China so that the great naval plant at F'uchau can be perfected the surmise is strong that 1t may have been this particular transaction with which the diplomatist was associated exclusively for the purpose of learning what tha attitude n the state dpnart- ment at Washington toward American undertakings in foreign lands really was.
 Not the Standard Oil Contract
 The information was obtained not in the interest of the Standard oil com pany. That corporation had already executed contracts with China where by it obtained concessions for develop ing oil plants and for establishing in dustries in north China and whereby som ething in the form of an indirect advance or loan was to be made to China before the attitude Of the state department was learned in an authori- tative way.
 This kind of financing Is not un- usual, although it has been conspicu- ously brought to the attention of the public in recent years by international financing in which Japan on the one hand and the United States on the OthGr were DdTIleS. DO dlSO SoIle yctti 2 l ago the United States participated In l a national loan made by Great Britain. | Japan borrowed money in the United States through the security of her na- tional credit at the time of the war with Russia. The loans made at that | time-for there were more than one were chiefly for the purpose of secur- ] ing funds with which there could be payments made for the enormous sup ! plies and materials of war which Japan bought in the United States. The es- timate. has been made that at least 1 two- thirds of the money Japan bor-
 rowed in the United States at that time was paid out by Japan TOT American commodities.
 | At the time of the war in South Af-
 rica Great Britain bought hay and
 other food commodities in enormous
 amounts of the United States and it I has always been the understanding in
 the Wall street district that payment | for these commodities was made from funds procured in the United States by the sale of the national securities of Great Britain.
 | If the dispatch from Shanghai to
 London which was made public a few
 days ago Is accurate, then presum- ably the Bethlehem Steel company is
 to undertake to finance in the United States or wherever it can get the money. Chinese bonds aggregating ESQ.,
 900, That Charles M Schwab has beer in recent years much occupied with op' portunities which he has discovered ir China is regarded by his friends as cer- tain. Presumably. therefore. the funt | which will be obtained by the sale o1 Il these Chinese bonds will be utilized 1T payment for American material adapted | for the equipment of a great naval sta. tion. The Bethlehem Steel company i' | in position to furnish commodities O. | this kind.
 The undertaking Is that by the term:
 of the contract none but American en
 gineers and nothing but American ma
 terial are to be used in perfecting thu
 naval plant at Fuchau That thi
 should be so goes without saying | When France made large loan t'
 China the stipulation was that Frencl
 scientific skill and the product of tn | French artisans should be exclusivel
 used for the undertaking on which tn Il loan was made.
 It Is the modern principle that trad : follows the loan. In that way Gree
 N