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Show MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN SIBERIA, SAYS MR. COOKE I -! Vincent S. Cooke, a former veil-known veil-known Xew Tork newspaper man, was at the Kenyon hotel yesterday In transit tran-sit from the Orient, where he has spent t six months in Siberia, principally In the study of trade conditions there. "Siberia has long been looked upon as a wild waste land, fit only for penal colonies," Mr. Cooke said .yesterday, "It. Is row becoming known 'as a land of unlimited possibilities. In the first rlace, Siberia Is almost as fertile as the American prairies; there are thousands thou-sands of miles of primeval forests, filled not only with useful and valuable woods, but with vast deposits of fossil Ivory, the world's richest and rarest furbearing animals and minetal deposits de-posits ranging from coal to gold. Other Resources Opening Up. "Other agricultural, grazing, mineral and foretal resources are just being opened up. and the tools that have so ably assisted tMs country during the ot hundred vesrs to h"fcme the fore- most manufacturing and agricultural "nation of the world will be wanted In all parts of Russinn Siberia. American Ameri-can capital and manufacturers can make no better Investment than to send bright and observant representatives to Siberia to make a close study of the conditions ,and wants of the people. There are no reliable statistics of the Imports and exports of that section. "German, Danish and American houses have established themselves at the business centers, which are readily readi-ly reached by means of railroads recently re-cently built. Siberia Is the most promising prom-ising field for salable goods in Asia. Sweden and Denmark are supplying creamery apparatus; France, fancy goods and toilet articles: Belgium Is capturing the market for firearms; Austria-Hungary Is doing a large business busi-ness In scythes and sickles. Articles of English manufacture are imported, but the prices are too high to create permanent demand. Big Agricultural Country. "Western Siberia contains vast stretches of land adapted to agriculture; agricul-ture; the Danes have developed a large dairy interest there and have a flourishing flourish-ing export trade with Great Britain. The rapid growth of the dairy and agricultural agri-cultural interests has created a growing grow-ing demand for American machinery and in time It will exceed all other demands. de-mands. Here are a few authentic figures fig-ures showing the value of imports In this class and creamery apparatus: In 1898 the imports were $667,008; in 1901. $1,930,000: in 1902. $3.T92.0fi4; In 1903. $4,709,200. The principal cities of the farming district are Tscheliabinsk. Kurgan, Petropaulovsk and Omsk, all railroad towns South of the railroad are half a dozen other thriving agricultural agricul-tural cities. American Machines Used. "I noted especially in all the large warehouses of those towns that machines ma-chines of American make are to be found; Russian-made machines are found In only a few of the depots. Farming Implements, either automatic or otherwise are In great demand, such as self-binders, horserakes, steam engines en-gines and ploughs. Competition between be-tween American and other makes is impossible for the reason that the farmers recognize the superiority of the American machines and demand them. Competition may arise over steam threshers and engines, but these are not well known yet. "A -demand can be created for steamboats, steam-boats, motor boats, water wheels, cheap filters, printing presses, mineral water apparatus, car wheels, rails, sawing machines, spades, shovels, forks, locks, guns and revolvers. I also noted that the farmers have a growing desire to apply steam to their husbandry operations. opera-tions. It would be no trick for an energetic ener-getic American salesman to get a number num-ber of these farmers to combine and purchase portable engines. Once introduced intro-duced they would never be relinquished. relin-quished. Little Progress in Mining. "There has been very little progress made in mining. Machinery or chemical chemi-cal processes are rare. Siberia is a great field for future operations in mining mi-ning machinery. Tomsk, Krasnojarsk. Irkutsk are the centers of the mining trade. Tools of all kinds for all trades find a ready market and the best American makes would readily supersede super-sede some of the1 English products now offered. Especially is this true of saws which must be able to stand 30 degrees or 40 degrees b?low zero without breaking. break-ing. "I predict a great trade with that country In the near future." |