ciaiisrA and the united states. 573 



by sea. They regard any necessity for it as an unmitigated evil. 

 They do not often visit neighboring towns, much less adjoining prov- 

 inces or foreign countries. So pronounced is their prejudiccligainst 

 travel that, until they could be educated into a different view, Chinese 

 railroads would for the first few years have to depend for their profits 

 on freight rates rather than passenger fares. To the American or 

 Englishman who proceeds to go abroad as soon as he has accumulated 

 a little money, their state of mind may seem incomprehensible, but it 

 is nevertheless a fact that must be taken into account. 



How, then, is the presence of so many Chinese in America explained? 

 By the fact that some forty years ago, when the Pacific railway was 

 building, there was great scarcity of laborers. Agents went to China 

 and induced a considerable number of Chinese to come to this country 

 and assist in the construction of the railroad. After their work was 

 done most of them returned home, taking their earnings with them. 

 They told their relatives of the exceptional opiwrtunities for making- 

 money in this country, and they in turn decided to seek their fortunes 

 here. Were it not for this circumstance, there would be no more Chi- 

 nese in this country than there are in Europe, where wages are also 

 much higher than in China. As it is, all who are in the United States 

 are from the province of Canton, and they come from two or three 

 places only of that one province. 



It has been said that the rules of international intercourse as observed 

 by Western nations among themselves are not applicable to intercourse 

 with Eastern nations. True it is that the people of the East speak dif- 

 ferent languages and have different customs, manners, religions, and 

 ways of thinking from the people of the West. But the rule of con- 

 traries is by no means a safe guide through the intricacies of social 

 observances. B3' disregarding the common civilities of life, which are 

 considered very important in China, and by assuming a lofty air of 

 superiority, foreigners frequently make themselves unpopular in China. 

 Americans have the reputation there of being abrupt, English dicta- 

 torial. In recent years competition in trade with people of other 

 nationalities has reduced their profits and forced them, for the sake of 

 o])taining custom, to be more suave in their manners. Foreigners are 

 sometimes guilty, also, of practicing all sorts of tricks upon the unsus- 

 pecting natives. It should be remembered that the Chinese standard 

 of bu5ness honesty is very high. The "yea, yea" of a Chinese mer- 

 chant is as good as gold. Not a scrap of paper is necessary to bmd 

 him to his word. Friendly feeling between the people of China and 

 those of the United States would be greatly promoted if the Ameri- 

 cans would always remember, in whatever dealings they may have with 

 the Chinese, that "Honesty is the best policy." 



I l^elieve that the Western nations want to treat the people of the 

 Orient faii-ly. It is gratifying to see that Japan has been able to 



