3 8 Minnie Throop England 



of the idealistic policy. The real quest was tropical produce and 

 in order to obtain a supply from a source she can absolutely con- 

 trol, she looks now upon Persia, Arabia and southern Asia much 

 further east, as possible future possessions." 133 



But even after the tropical territory is secured it requires 

 time to develop it. In German textile manufacturing circles, for 

 example, it is greatly desired that a larger quantity of cotton be 

 raised in the German colonies and the manufacturers of musical 

 instruments express the wish that instead of being dependent 

 upon foreign woods the German- African colonies which are 

 known to contain woods of the desired varieties might be more 

 thoroughly exploited. 134 



Although giving clue recognition to the importance of the 

 tropics as a source of supply for raw materials and food products 

 the question still remains as to whether this interzonal trade will, 

 from the economic standpoint, justify the acquisition of tropical 

 colonies. The London Economist says: 135 



"The Economist has never been able to believe entirely in 

 what may be called the plantation theory of colonization. ... It 

 is very doubtful whether the trade of any uncivilized region in 

 the tropics, especially if inhabited by naked negroes, is worth 

 the expense involved in its conquest, garrison and gradual reduc- 

 tion to industrial order, and quite certain that the trade will not 

 be valuable for many years after settlement. All the articles 

 which such negroes export can be obtained by dealers without 

 conquering them and in most cases they fail to buy sufficient of 

 our goods to pay the expenses which their subjugation entails. 

 Uganda, for example, will not pay for itself in twenty years, and 

 it is questionable whether the whole of East Africa will not be 

 for at least a generation a losing concern." 



There are certainly many obstacles to be overcome before trop- 

 ical trade can be developed to any extent. In the first place, the 

 products of a tropical region often are confined almost exclu- 



133 Gerrare, Greater Russia, 308. 



134 Cf. Consul C. B. Hurst in U. S. Consular Reports, January, 1008, 

 p. 156. 



135 1898, p. 306. 



214 



