A Trip Through Siberia 



53 



OUTLOOK IN THE ORIENT FOR AMER- 

 ICAN TRADE 



No American in making this trip can 

 fail to be impressed with the wonderful 

 possibilities of Siberia in its agricultural 

 and mineral wealth, and, because of this, 

 the splendid opening which it affords 

 for the sale of American farming and 

 mining machinery. Russians are farm- 

 ers, not manufacturers, and, poor as the 

 peasants are, one family in that climate 

 will consume more of the world's manu- 

 factured products than a score of people 

 of like occupations in the Philippines, 

 India, or anywhere in the tropics, and I 

 think I might truthfully add in China, 

 Korea, or Japan. 



The well-to-do Russians are lavish in 

 their expenditure, fond of display, and 

 extravagant in the gratification of their 

 appetites and inclinations. The}' hold 

 a genuine regard for our country and 

 our people, and it is not a new develop- 

 ment. When some of the nations of 

 Europe threatened to combine against 

 us in the Civil War, the Russian fleet 

 sailed into the harbor of New York and 

 her shotted guns silently, but effectively, 

 proclaimed her sympathy. Later she 

 transferred her possessions on this con- 

 tinent to us, and in the sale of Alaska 

 for $7,200,000 put us into the greatest 

 and most profitable real-estate trans- 

 action of modern times. Her climate, 

 her soil, her geographical position on 

 the world's map is like our own. Be- 

 fore we gave four million slaves their 

 freedom and left them destitute, to fight 

 their way in life, she emancipated twenty 

 million serfs and is slowly but effectively 

 providing them with homes. 



No Monroe Doctrine disturbs our 

 mutual relations or ever can, for her 

 policy is as ours should be, to mind one's 

 own business and say hands off to those 

 nations which make war on other lands 

 for trade expansion only. 



She does not pretend to love us be- 

 cause she needs our help, for she has 



one hundred and forty million people 

 and a land that is unconquerable, and 

 even the Nihilist or revolutionist there 

 is proud of it and would give his life 

 with equal readiness either to better 

 his home conditions or to defend his 

 country from a foreign foe. Her gov- 

 ernment is despotic, I admit, but self- 

 government is not a remedy for all ills. 

 The world is moving on, and, if I am 

 not mistaken, Russia will be no laggard 

 in the race, for no abler man today con- 

 trols the destiny of any people than Mr. 

 De Witte, the Prime Minister at St. 

 Petersburg. 



We have not got to make a market 

 there; it is already made. The Russian 

 railroads are operated with American 

 air brakes, steel barges and steamers 

 from Pittsburg navigate the Amur, and 

 American locomotives are waking Man- 

 churia to new life. On the steamer 

 which brought me to Vladivostok there 

 were seven hundred tons of American 

 farm implements destined for .Siberia. 



From Seattle and San Francisco to 

 Vladivostok and Port Arthur we jointly 

 own the right of way and can hold it 

 against the world, and the distance, 

 across the Pacific is less than from the 

 ports of any European rival. 



We need have no anxiety about the 

 trade of China. In due time it will be 

 ours, if we can meet the competition of 

 the world, no matter who controls the 

 government or holds spheres of influence 

 there. 



England, France, and Germany are 

 not exploiting China for our benefit, 

 and the trade of Indian and Chinese 

 ports, though nominally open to the 

 world, has somehow been controlled by 

 the dominating power. 



In 1900 we sold to China and Hong- 

 kong $20,459,385 worth ; Great Britain 

 sold to China and Hongkong $4 1 , 806 , 033 

 worth, or twice as much as we did. 



In 1900 we sold to British India and 

 Ceylon $5,227,032 worth, while Great 

 Britain sold to British India and Ceylon 



