The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-09-10
4 Bridgeport Boy In China
American Consul
NUMB

ana opportunity LOT AI1SilSdh pAoA-
ness to get into China. Both the
! mass of the Chinese people and the
! intellectual classes are favorably dis
posed toward Americans. There are
several reasons for this. The Ameri-
can missionaries have exerted a
strong influence on the people and
made them somewhat acquainted
with American ideals. The Chinese
have seen that the Americans show
ed no tendency ito take his country
baway from him and that he was less
selfish than other naHonalities. In
| addition to this every Intelligent
Chinese knows of the voluntary re-
turn of the Boxer money and this
creates a favorable impression.
"But even with these things in his
favor The American business man
must meet competition, and this can
not be done quickly. He must study
con dMions and meet them. The Chi
inese is conservative and if the goods
he is buying suit him it is no use
trying to make him change to yours,
but once you have convinced him
OF the superiority Of your goods and
made a customer of him he Is yours
for life IL you treat him well. and he
will keep his bargain with the for
eigner. Taken altogether think the
Chinese as a race in their business
! foreigners are on as high an ethical
plane as any other
Poor packing is a thing which
stands in the way of American
/, business success in China Few
realize what goods have to with
stand in journey to the interior Of
China. Suppose shipment is going
Ito Chungkdng. After IT has made the
| Journey from America to Shanghai 1t
has to be taken off the steamer and
into the city on a lighter. 1t is then
put on another steamer and carried
sas Tar as Hanisow where It is again
+, transferred TO a small steamer and
iyyoes to Ichang. Transferred again
to a native boat # fs shaken and
sprayed going through the rapids.
Finally unloaded at ChunSl<ing IT fs
carried up long flights of steps into
the town. Possibly the goods do not
stop there but go on for miles and
miles into the vast country on
ifhe backs OF coolies. It can easily
'ybe seen that II a case is not strong
and well packed It ts going to be-
come broken with so much handling.
That IL it is not waterproof things
isare going to get nofstened and
rust, and IL the goods are going
far inland they should be packed in
>contafners each OF which is just
about the right size and weight for
one cooaie to carry.
Another mistake which Americans
make In dealing with the Chinese fs
not having goods MP to sample. A
great part Of the trade with China
Is baraaIned for on the basis OF
samples. Suppose for Instance 1t is
O. case OF watches. A watch has been
shown to the Chinese merchant and
; he has given his order, The sample
may have had n certain style Of
numerais on tho dial and when the
factory comes to I'LL the order IL may
tbe more convenient to put in watches
which have slightly different nu-
xneram. The WATCH may be every bit
as good, possibly better, than tho
sample but 1t LIS not eHactfy the same
and tho Chinese doss not want it
Just what pleased him in the
!aamp1e is tnpoasibio 30 teu but no
wants tho shipment to be exactly the
Same, He may have seen some little
peculiarly which ha know would
spleasD his trads at any rate IL
,AnnxsrMuB nrs to hold him as a Gus
ituznsr they have got to DE particular
to have deliveries exactly like
ieaznpIes.
AFvzry mistake which one Ameri-
ean makes in ais business dealings
with the Chinese reacts against every
-D6ner American trying to do business
I'm China All the Chinese business
man demands is a square deal His
iancainafions are all in the right direc-
.tion, Satisfy him and he is your
customer forever
Another handicap to American
business dealings with China and the
Numbering of friendly relations rs the
fact that Americans know 80 little
about Chinese government externai
loan bonds and are SO afraid of them
fwnIa, as a fact, they are as good as
any in the world The general Ameri-
can attitude toward them is well illus
,trated by a remark which a banker
made to me the etlasr day in speaking
Iof Chinese bonds, Z would not said
he, touch them with a ten-foot pole
AFTER j had talked with him he chang
ed his mind, The Chinese bond is
good because of the fact that 1t Is
eecured by the foreign revenue Gus
toms and the foreign customs are all
IN the hands of foreigners In every
treaty port theirs, is q. commissioner OF
customs who collects the revenue and
turns it oyer to the Hong Kong
SHANGHAI Banking Corporation, an
English concern, which makes what
ever payments are due on the bonds
or interest and then if there is any
Balance left turns it over to the Chi
pese government, Since 1913, when
Sir Richard Dane Feorganized the salt
revenues, they have also been pledged
to secure the bonds. There is no salt
allowed to be imported into China
and the revenues derived from the
monopoly amount to $76,O00,006 per
wear, Bonds secured by either Gus
toms Or salt revenues are absolutely
safe and if Americans bought more
they could do more business with
China, for in that country trade fol-
lows the loan
Now that America has become a
lending nation American loans and
American business ought to increase
rapidly in China. China is in bet
ter position to develop rapidly thar
this country was, for the United States
had to secure both labor and capital
Chine has an abundance of labor and
much raw material and needs only
capital,
"Since the war new method OF
doing business with the Chinese which
pr0mises great results is being tried