Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-07-31

An old Richmond boy and mem
per of tho Blues, writes 81 CON-
n"rcc in China.
SHANGHAI. June 2S-'rhe Cham
b"r OF Commerce in Shanghai is
awakening chinese public interest TO
modern methods by the use OF movies
ana lecture work. which radiatc on
roads towards Mukden. Picking and
ifahchow. Shanghai is. OF course the
premier port Of China. while Ticn-
tsin ranke as the third in import
ance among treaty ports. Picking.
as the capital. resembles philadel-
phta, IN the sense that iIong Kong
may be !ikcncd TO New York. Ever
since the Boxer uprising, the lcga-
irons have been securely protected
~ the strong walls Of their com
pounds. yet in considering the com
hcrcc OF China. no article would he
c"mriet" that did not emphasize the
Importance az iankow which
through the Yangtze River. taps the
h"hrt Of all that vast central china.
"' which the American knows vir-
'""liy nothing. Nearly 500 ocean
GOING vessels. however. stop every
year AZ iianko". and through this
port America distributes over %. 900
Goo gallons Of oil
Yet statistics show that here Amer
la ranks but fourth. as shown hy
the clearance figures In the grand
Total az tonnage. Great Britain comes
hrst Japan second. while China with
her huge river traffic. holds the third
place.
England First In Cotton.
u ~ also "a fact that here again
Nmcrlca does not compete with Eng
Idud IN tho cotton trade. which seems
strange, since cotton is largely the
product OF the Gult States yet the
United states has the advantage in
oil The National Foreign Trades
Council maintains Il bureau in Shang-
hal. with vast nics for references TO
trade, which reveal figures astound-
ing In bulk
The feasibility OF "lar Eastern avi-
alton transportation" companies for
carrying. ,nail will also add a won
dcriG. !-5rulsc to the QuiclSncss OF
tho delivery Of orders FOR goods which
heretofore have Md To travel often
1000 miles hv steamer T. is csti-
mated that av!ators can ny from Lon
don 10 Shanghai. via Egypt. Bombay
and Calcutta. and on 10 peklng in
four days and eigh; hours.
The fact that China's capital Is so
Tar north has always. In measure.
seemed 10 hinder the general efficacy
OF fcderalizcd Govcrnmcnt-or so it
seemed to critics like Chinese Cor
don" though the same may be said
of ashincton. H. g. or London in
It's rcmo,cmcss from Mclbournc-yct
the political influence OF Picking
seems lost before IT reaches the con-
trai regions. China in many ways
is a country absolutely free Of any
government rules and regulations.
Money system Of China.
The money system in China. like
everything else. is n vcritablc Chi
nesc puzzle to the foreigner. The
Mexican dollar IS tho standard Of cx-
change. but American money is the
gold basis OF all business with which
tho United states is concerned The
Chinese "taei' represents China S
standard OF values, like the British
pound but. though basis for cur
rency. IL represents only silver bull
lion in the shane Of bars that vary
from ono To two pounds in weight.
which arc kcp, deposited in vaults of
hanks as security for printed bank
notes Of Mexican money value. since
the Mexican dollar is tho recognized
Unit Of value for interchange Of cur
rcncy. The purchasing value OF Il
Shanghai taci is usually about sc
cents in American money.
The United states IS familiar with
WashinGton's selling to England dur
ing the war nearly our entire supply
ot american silver dollars at the ac-
tual cost of silver and copper CON
tanned therein. due TO tho famine Of
silver in India, which now results
in the mining OF new United states
dollars Of the coinage OF 1921 But
the decline in silver has dcmoralizcd
the markets OF the East from Yoke
hama to Bombay. so that America n
commerce overseas is passing through
crisis which may be likencd to "thc
morning after" with Jewellers. Com
pradorc" as the Intermediates are
called. conduct the bargaining and