But one or two factors will always keep it a little way from becoming that in full, Indo-China is oppressively hot; it has no outstanding product that meets a world wide demand; the Annaniese fare a thriftless, nerveless people; and: the Chinese are slowly but surely getting the wealth and commerce of IndeChina into their hands. Perhaps the dominating Problem in Annam at the present moment is Chinese enterprise and aggression. The French do all in their, power' to keep Chinese enter-rise' and aggression in Indo-China within certain bounds, but it is not easy, and like Pharaoh of old in his dealings with the Hebrews, it is merely a question of population. It can be said of the Chinese today as it was said of the children of Israel of old that they "were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them." This in a nutshell is the problem before the French in Indo-China, The Pan-Pacific conference at Kyoto and the League of Nations and the Assembly at The Hague will never settle or determine the imperious question of population. The question around the whole Pacific Ocean simply stated is merely this: Jay out @ nice wide street with twenty houses, well lighted and supplied with: running water, and in twenty days nineteen of the twenty houses will be occupied with Chinese, There is no reason in the world why it should not be so. Chinese have as much right as anybody else re they please and carry commerce, but the French objection to their presence is such large numbers is, that Annam is first of all a French colony built up with great expense of time, energy, and money, not necessarily foreign, and when the work is done and the place made fit for habitation and safe for commerce, the Chinese pour in, multiply, become exceedingly fruit: ful, wax great, and fill the land.
"isnot merely their presence which makes the problem, but their extraordinary activity. 'And what the resuit today? China has worked herself in between the' French and the Annamese till the trade of the country is now in the hands of the Sons of Han. The Chinese are heavily and persistently taxed all over Annam and like the Standard Oil Company they simply put every oppression on the price of the oil with the result that the consumer pays the Will. Like the Genoese, the Chinese are born merchants. They have very little dignity to maintain, therefore any old house will do for a warehouse; they have practically no philanthropie institutions to maintain, therefore their public subscriptions are not very heavy; their seats at all their public places of amusement seldom exceed the sum of ten or twenty cents, therefore their soc bill inno' way disturbs their amassing of a huge fortune. The capital of a Chinese trader in any country is not pretentious. If he can get there safely with his wife and child, the chances are that in 8 very few years he will open a small store, and then buy a few fields, and in the course of time become a wealthy man. A matshed will house any poor Chinese {ill he becomes a wealthy com pradore.
The Middle Man The Annamese have very little initiative and less enterprise. Trade, commerce, merchandise, are word for to them, ai he Africans, nature is very good to them, and provides with very little labour, all they want to eat. Twas told that in and around Saigon the land yields three crops of rice every year and the French boats carry quantities of rice to France every year. Why then should the people Indo-China worry or perplex Uhomselves about International Law. or the Rights of Nations or Pacife Relations? 'They could probably country like Japan on rice and live themselves on coconuts. 'The point is this and it is one the Chinese and the French have not to see, namely, that commerce, especially in China, demands 8 "middle man" or a "go' between" or in other words a "compradore" who' will always te the Riddle of the East. French is spoken in the foreign quarter of Saigon, Annamese in the native quarter and Cantonese all over" Indo-Chi Could any bank or business hous in Shanghai be run: without its
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.