a peculiar manner, say in blue paper, according to the form in which the native merchant had been accustomed to buy them. Was the order filled? Not at all. The company cabled back that their goods were always wrapped in brown paper and that no change could be made. The order then went to Germany. To the American concern an order for $5,000 was of small moment, perhaps; but they overlooked entirely the fact that this was the thin edge of the wedge, opening a trade that could be developed into tremendous proportions. This instance is not isolated, for, unfortunately, the reports of all our consuls are filled with parallel ones.
A study must also be made of the grade and quality of the article shipped. It is no use to send to China, to be sold in the interior, tools, for instance, of the same high finish and quality that our mechanics exact in their own. A Chinaman's tools are hand-made, of rough finish and low cost. In the interior cities one sees a tool-maker take a piece of steel, draw all the temper, hammer it approximately to the shape of the knife or axe, chisel or razor, or whatever other article he may be about to make; then, with a sort of drawing-knife pare it down to the exact shape required, retemper it, grind it to an edge and fix it in a rough wooden handle. This work is done by a man at a wage of about ten cents a day, and this is the competition that our manufacturer must meet. In spite of the difference in cost of labor he can do so, because his tools are machine-made and are better; but he must waste no money on unnecessary finish.
As an example, the case of lamps is directly to the point. The Chinaman fairly revels in illumination; he hates the dark, and everywhere, even in the smallest country towns wholly removed from foreign influence, it is possible to buy Standard oil or its competitors in the Chinese market, the Russian and Sumatra brands. The importation of illuminating oils is increasing tremendously. In 1892 it was 17,370,600 gallons, and in 1898 it was 44,324,344 gallons. But what of the lamps in which this oil is burned? In 1892 the United States sent to China lamps to the value of $10,813, and in 1898 to the value of $4,690. That is to say, lamps are one of the few articles which show a decrease. While the consumption of oil had increased more than two and one-half times, the importation of American lamps had decreased in almost the same ratio. This was not due to the manufacture of lamps in China, but to the German and Japanese manufacturers making a study of the trade and turning out a special article. These lamps—and I saw them for sale everywhere, even in unexplored Hu-nan—have a metal stand, generally of brass, stamped out from thin sheets, with Chinese characters and decorations; and were it not for a small imprint of the manufacturer's name on the base, they would be considered of Chinese make. They are inexpensive, of the kind desired by the China-
