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Show CHINESE GROWING LESS DEPENDENT. To secure the rich trade of the Orient has always been the dream of the western world. It was to find a channel for this trade, as we know, that Columbus struck out across the unknown Atlantic, and the same thing is still the talk of our people of today, over four centuries cen-turies later. Yet it begins to look as if the trade of the Orient was a myth. We have waked up Japan and China, it is true, and they have bought a few of our goods, but not many, and they have managed to sell us a lot more than they have bought in return. China, for instance, according to a report just issued, took less than $20,000,000 worth of our goods last year, which is less than poor old Spain buys from us. And China is buying less than she used to for she is learning to make her own wares and is also buying moro from her neighbor Japan. It is expected, however, that as the wants of the Chinese are multiplied and they begin to hanker for chewing-gum, chewing-gum, phonographs, revolvers, yellow shoes, corsets, and other articles of civilization they will want to buy more. China now has about! 2.500 miles of railway and the mileage is being steadily increased, so that new markets are all the time being opened up. |