THE REAL CHINA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 195, 26 November 1910, Page 9

THE REAL CHINA.

RAILWAY MATTERS. j HOW IT IS DONE. (Written for the Taranaki Daily News by James Thorpe, C.E.). No. 4. The Chinese managers' attitude towards the railway shareholders is: The shareholders provide the money and. should be highly honored for being allowed to do so. After providing the money they should next show their gratitude by saying no more about it, and certainly entertain no such absurd notion as returns on their outlay or dividends or rise in the value of shares. They should ever bear in mind the old saying, and this they should quote every morning and every evening or whenever the temptation seizes them to ask questions, '•Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he will not be disappointed." The manager, directors, and friends will see to that. As my friend the chief engineer (a Chinese gentleman) puts it: "If a man holding only 100 shares at 1 dollar each loses them, why he does not lose much, doeß he?" Evidently he has never read of the widow's mite, which was her all and which was to her more than the 100,00 dollar bill to the rich man. And then my friend, continuing, said: "This company !s held in the main by rich, wealthy Canton merchants, who hold very large parcels of shares and who do not look to the railway for dividends at all, as their businesses in Canton provide them with all the incomes they want. PROVIDING FOR POSTERITY. They take up these shares not for themselves but for their children 30 years hence! I have found out for myself that these rich Chinese merchants are not quite the disinterested parties my friend would have me believe. They take up these large parcels for immediate business operations. In this way: Say I take up a commanding block and just hold it. You, my friends, are a contractor. I say unto you (sub rosa): Tenders are being called for such ana such a contract, worth, say, 300,000 dollars. You put in your tender for so much, and with my influence, I shall see that you get it. It does not matter whether other tenders are lower, as the lodging of tenders is but a form to throw dust in the eyes of those petty and inquisitive mosquito subscribers and also to give foreign inquirers the impression that we keep to their methods. Now all this I will do for you provideo. you give me my "squeeze" of 20 per cent. or so. MANUFACTURING A TENDER. The contractor thereupon makes up his tender somewhat as follows: Labor, so much; plant, so much; houses, so much; my percentage, so much; my friends', percentage, so much; a present, to the chief engineer on his birthday and New Year's day, so much; a tonic to the president, so much; soothing pills to the directors, so much; flower boat entertainments, prior to acceptance of tender, to the railway committee, so much; a try-on squeeze for that stiffbacked local foreign engineer, so much (wish it were a Chinese engineer!); a. suitable quantity of palm-oil for the local magistrate, and an "insult" or two for the local captain of police and Yamen doorkeeper, so much. Total so much! That's all, only so much! Welly, Welly cheap! I make welly little plofit. This is really how things are managed in Chinese undertakings, and because there are such nice, sweet pickings in railway construction works, the Canton-Hankow railway north section is hung up. "THE FOREIGN DEVIL." The Government wish to obtain the money from the foreign- banks, and practically conclude with them. But the Chinese of Honan, especially of Hankow, protested; and declared the line should be built with Chinese capital, and consequently with Chinese engineers, and control or lack of control, and the Chinese of Honan, in other words of Hankow, would find the money. The Government I said alright. How much can you subscribe? And the list went around, and in next to no time there was on paper enough money to buy a navy. Then the Government said, produce it! But that was another matter altogether! So the Government is still inclined to close with the foreign banks and their engineering management, and there is no more economical way, and let the paper subscribers of Honan go. But they won't go. They know the mice, sweet pickings, for the shares would be held by but a few, no matter how many thousands subscribe. And those few know that if the control ■is in foreign hands they can do nothing whatever, while in Chinese hands, in other words in their own hands, they may do any-1 thing. I SCARCITY OF RICE. j Glorious prospects! Worth agitating' for and bluffing for and lying for! Keep I out the foreign devils. Stir the people) against them. Say that the foreigners are the cause of the scarcity of rice and | consequent hunger of the people. Say' that the foreigners have taken the rice] away in their ships, although we actually sold it to them and made huge' profits or consigned it purposely on foreign boats. But not a word of the last. Then the people will surely rise and force the Government to recognise the very important factor of local and widespread provincial hatred of the foreigner and consequently it were unwise to treat any further with them on railway loans or anything else. Hence ai the Government urgently needs the railway, the Chinese capitalists of Han-' kow must score at last. Then, what glorious squeezes! CHINESE "PATRIOTISM." A Chinaman does not care a scrap for his country's interests, or if he does give it a thought, or more correctly speaking, if such thought ever happens! to stray into his mind, it is at once\ relegated to a position out of sight, j No. 1 is everything to a Chinaman (No, I 1 is himself). China, his country, he I would sell for profit any day, and' sleep. sweetly after the transaction.