Show I TRADE INTHE ORIENT Th 1i ates qf the western slope are particularly interested In the Philippine Philip-pine question Whether or not annexation annexa-tion would stimulate Pacific commerce Is a mdtter that western congressmen should consider There Is no desire to hamper the business Interests of the Atlantic coast In the least but the nation na-tion as awhole Is sure to be benefited as the different sections ame built up Into the countries adjacent to the Philippines more than a billion dollars worth of 50odJ arc sent every year M With Manila 3S an eptrep an immense im-mense tradd might be built up within a few yehrs and Pacific ports In this country would come In for a lions share of the trade It vouldnt hurt the Atlantic coast cities for European shipping ports are now getting what Seattle Portland San Francisco Los Angeles and San D1lo should have Relative dIstances would influence this trade to a certain extent From lIIanlla to Hongkong and Canton the gateway to southern China is but half the distance from New York to Havana Hava-na and from Manila to Yokohama Port Arthur Shanghai Bangkok or the Strait settlements is in each case a distance but little if any greater than that from New York to Havana And while the British India ports and the cities of Australia are a little farther away they are nearer to Manila than to any other distributing point for the class of produce we have to offer Already as has been stated the Importations Im-portations Into these four countries Japan Ja-pan China British India Australia the Straits scttlements and the thousands of isles that await only a touch of civilization civ-ilization to make them productive and I commercially important amount to a I billion dollars I Those of Japan which have increased 100 per cent In the last ten years are now more than 100000000 and steadily stead-ily increasing Those of China have In eased 20 per cent in the last decade lnd now amount to nearly OOOOOOoo I Those of British Australasia are about 300000000 a year and those of British India and the Strait settlements which show an Increase of about 10 per cent In the decade are 300000000 annually More than half this sum is represented represent-ed by articles produced in the United States and which with tariff restrictions restric-tions on fair exchange removed this nation ought to be supplying right now With Manna as a base of operations the farmers the manufacturers and the tradesmen of the United States ought to capture the business anyhow Of cotton and cotton goods alone the Imports Into these four countries amount in round numbers to 30000 000 per annum and of this amount but little over 10000000 worth Is from the United States the great cottonpro ducing country of the world We ought to have it nearly all Imports of iron and steel into the four countries in question amount to over 30000000 and of this 7000000 worth comes from the United States Owing to the fact that we have better workmen and more extensive factories and foundries than any other nation the United States Is entitled to a monopoly mo-nopoly of this which merit and equal opportunities will Insure The imports of leather and manufactures manufac-tures amount to 7010000 and less than 1000000 of that sum from the United States Wood and manufactures thereof there-of amount to about 8000000 annually and less than 2000000 of It from the I Unit d States By openIng up the channels of commercial intercourse in the Pacific the shoe factorIes of the east as well as the cattlemen of the west should be able to reap the rewards re-wards of this market Machinery not included under the head of Iron and steel manufactures to 20000000 of which less than 2000000 were from the United States Still we are competing with implement and ma chlnem3kera of the world In Egypt and wherever our limited shipping fa dUties carry the goods In variou other 1Ines this country is getting left for the want of a better system of commerce on the Pacific I Chemicals drugs etc amounted to I more than 12000000 with less than 1000000 of it coming from this country Of the 17000000 worth of mineral oils Imported into the four countries in question we furnished over onehalf last year Of the 1000 000 worth of breadstuffs furnIshed to those countries our share was less than 5000000 worth and of the 6 000000 worth of coal we furnished less than 1 per cent Of the 3000000 worth of provisions we ftfrnished but Httle more than 250000 worth Among the statistics of the treasury department many other interesting figures may be found although not arranged ar-ranged for the purpose of showing the possibilities dnd advantages of establishing estab-lishing a distributing point In the far east I But here are eleven leading articles produced for barter or exchange In this country manufactures of cotton iron and steel leather wood machinery chemicals mineral oils breadstuffs provisions coal and raw cotton of I which the United States Is furnishing a meagre supply of which China imported im-ported in 1897 90000000 worth and of that sum only 11000000 worth came from the United States Japan Imported Im-ported In1891 58000000 worth and of I that sum 1200000 worth came from the Unite States British Australasia imported 64000000 worth In the same yeav of which 12000000 worth came from the United States and British India In-dia 10000000 worth of which 3500000 worth was furnished by the United States These figures are worth considering This trade Is worth having It has not been obtained In the absence of an en trepot and distrIbuting point In the Orient Such an establishment it seems would go a long way towards bringing the trade this way |