Nov. 5.
Returning recently from a visit to Shanghai and Canton, Mr, Uyehara, Secretary of the Central Yarn Association in Jaan, expressed opinions in Tokyo tending to the view that there is every reason for optimism where the Chinese silk industry is cor cerned. His opinion was in th first place based on the well-known fact that consumers of silk in the United States have a distinct preference for the Chinese article as compared with the Japanese, and this for a very, excellent reason. The silk yarn produced in China is more elastic than that from Japan, and it la also less brittle, and obviously those qualities will make it the more popular with manu fi turers. So far Mr. Uyehara's views will find general endorse ment, but he has also expressed the opinion that silk cultivation in China is improving so emo ably that it is threatening the industry in Japan, and that is a matter about which a considerable amount of doubt must be expressed, Were the industry cally progressive in China there is no doubt that a very much larger and more profitable export trade could be built up, but the fact of the matter is that in measure of production it has stood still for practically the last generation, and in spite of the efforts of foreign merchants engaged in the trade, there are no signs of the expansion which would constitute the threat to the Japanese industry which Mr. Uyehara sees.
The export of silk from China is roughly 180,000 or 160,000 bales a year, of which about 80,000 goes to America, the romainder being taken by Europe. 'As showing the increasing popularity of Chinese silk in the United States Mr. Uyehara has perfectly correctly pointed out that in former times Europe got the bulk of the output, and that the position is: to-day' reversed. Of this total about 50,000 bales come from Shanghai. In normal times America's consumption of silk comes to about 45,000 bales 'a month, and when it is mentioned. that Japan produces 650,000 bales a year it will be seen how little can China menace the Japanese industry at the presen! moment, yet how: great are the possibilities, Then there {8 the further striking fact that thirty years ago Japan's export of silk amounted to only about 25,000
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.