Evening star., 1916-06-30
hesitated between two policies in their
= 1900 -.s<e treatment of
How Great Powers. China. The
Treated With China. 1e q. p peasss aeorssts

J0uW- uIedL 1OWEISe - 8 e-e.-@ =, ;
Treated With China. 's's ~s, ,s seasss '.rss,s
spheres of influence. Each nation
fenced Off a section of the empire, and
proceeded to exploit that section COM
mercially without interference. The
agreement between Germany and China
concerning the rich province of Shan
tung is a good example. The agree
ment specifics that any trade or in
dustrial project in shantung must be
submitted to Germans first. Only in
die the proposition is China in the ex-
act words of the agreement, 'at lib
erty to act as she pleases." Russia,
Germany. France and England each
have spheres of influence. Japan to-
day leans toward the same policy-ex-
her fence around the whole empire.
In 1898 the United States took hand
in the game. Fencing off sections of the
territory of other nations for prefer
entail treatment Of American trade is
contrary to American policy. The
United States put forward. and put
through. the open door policy. The gist
of the open door is that China is to be
left alone. She is to retain all her ter
ritory and an her sovereignty No ma,
all nations are free to compete at will
for Chinese trade.
John Hay as Secretary of State Sc
cured the agreement of all the powers
America stands for in China. This com
mercial arrangement Is all she has
wanted in the past and all she wants
today
Given an equal chance, the legitimate
business that we might do in China is
staggering in its proportions. There is
enough of it to make all the difference
in crucial periods between national
hard times and national prosperity.
China's chief need today is for rail-
roads. At a conservative estimate
there is room for the
Room to Invest investment of s5.ooo.-
100000 in Chinese
IN hallroads. railways. China can
by no possibility supply the capital.
the materials or the technical skill nee
essary to their construction. Yet they
are as badly needed for the develop
ment of the country as were our own
transcontinental lines that opened up
the west. or as the Canadian Pacific
was needed by Canada. China knows II.
She is anxious to have them built.
There are only four nations on earth
which have the capital to build any
portion of those lines,
which can supply the engineers to see
to their building and turn out the rails
operation. Those nations are France.
Germany. England and the United
States. Allowing for the share of the
smaller industrial nations. it is put
IN1uy "a hfyc
acumen to say that with our capital.
our trained technical men and our steel
plants we would secure only one-fifth
of the business.
would proceed somewhat in this fash
ion. The Chinese government would
issue railway bonds to raise the neces-
sary capital. Those bonds would be Of
fered for sale in the United States. Any
man with $500 or $1,000 to invest could
put it into a Chinese railway bond
guaranteed by stable Chinese gov
If China fioated billion dol
lars worth of railway bonds in the
United States, it would mean first that
this country would draw an annual
fifty millions in interest alone, to be
added. to the wealth of the nation at
large.
the United States. however, a large |
would be spent in the United |
States at once. All the necessary
of construction. all the rails |
and cars and locomotives. would be |
purchased in American mills and car !
shops. Whole industries would receive |
A big impetus. that would be reflected \
not only in those industries but |
the nation. exactly as the /
munition prosperity is being reflected |
Today. Not only would employment be
given to thousands Of workers in the |
United States. but many of our young |
men would find. opportunity in the
Chinese. construction work itself.
IT, - .- .4,s- X - ,- - i.
The business thus started would be a I
steady one. not a boom to flourish and
die The rail-
steadv Rnsiness roads would
Would Re Started. ~