The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-06

this could not last Beginning with the Treaty of
Tentsin (1842) the British opened up one centre
after another, set up their shops and did their
trading in defiance of the Chinese merchants and
their traditional monopoly.
The British went further They not only took
troll of the Chinese CUSTOMS in conjunction with the
other Powers, but they limited the amount of Gus
toms duties that the Chinese could charge to per
cent. Under these circumstances the British
facturer could make and dump goods the Chinese
market below the cost of handmade native Chinese
goods.
This line of action, on the part of British i'm
perialists, placed the Chinese merchants and manu-
facturers in direct economic competition with the
British interests Add the fact that the British bust
ness men refused to pay taxes to the Chinese gov
eminent, and that the British bankers dominated
the world of credit, and picture is painted of
Chinese business class quite at the mercy of the i'm
perialists.
But" urges some objector, "did not the other
lmperialists do the same thng?"
Of course. The British were no more inherently
imperialistic than the others. They merely got to
the scene earlier and had more at stake. The prac-
tees were those of mperialists the world The
leaders, in this instance, happened to be British.
For years Chinese bushes men were forced to put
up with this position of inferiority. In the
time, they were adapting themselves to the bust
ness system Many went to foreign countries, such
Britain and the United States, and established
prosperous businesses. The Chinese business
continued to exercise great influence in centres like
Singapore Manila and other Asiatic ports. And in
China itself they were accepting the methods
of trade and industry, investing their capital
and competing actively with their western rivals.
The textile industry had been put on a factory
basis faster than any other in China. The Chinese
control 70 modern cotton mills with 2112154 spin
dies against British mills with 250516 spindes
and As Japanese nils with 1218,544 spindles In
other industrial lines, the Chinese do not occupy so
strong position but it is evident enough that the
Chinese business classes like those of Japan, can
operate under the western methods
Here is a new rivalry for British Imperialism in
China. Chinese business desire to exploit the
Chinese workers and the Chinese markets and
sources. On every hand however, they find them
selves surrounded by the special privileges and
monopolies of the foreign imperiasts 1t was this
group in China that financed and in the main pushed
through the Chinese Revolution of 1911
To be sure there other elements in the situa-
ton than the opposition to the foreign economic in
terests. The new Chinese business classes wanted
to free themselves from the semi-feudalism of the
Manchu dynasty. But the slogan around which they
most easily united was common opposition to for
eign domination of economic opportunities in China
5-Facing the Chinese Workers.
British Imperialism in China had another bill to
meet-a bill presented by the workers of China Chi
nese coolies had sweated ON the docks while Chinese
women and children had toiled in the mills working
for less than bare living, and helping to swell the
dividend roll of British investors. The conditions