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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1900)
November 11. 1000. TITE ILLUSTUATJflD HEJS. t China's War Debt May Be a Billion Dollars (Copyright, 1900, by Frnnit G. Carpenter 1 collected. Accounts nio rendered In pleco SHANQ1IA1, Sept. 30. (Special Corrc meal, and no province furnishes n balanco spondenco of Tho llee.) Can China pay .'ta sheet of its whole expenditures and revenues. cccdlngly profitable. Some years ago n col- soldlcis. 1 saw rlcu barns at Natil.ln and brings In about Jl.lOO.OUO u year, and one lector of customs at Canton was expected elsewhere, on the reeds and rushes which grow In to send about J 1,000, 000 to l'ekln, whereas The rleo licet hlcli curries this ct up to the lowlands of the rivers. This atufT tho nnnual receipts of his olllco were known l'ekln Is of enormous extent. It If (o be belongs to the government, and those who to bo over $3,000,000. This man probably seen upon the (Iraud canal, and It has Its gather It must pay so many cash per had a salary of a couple of thousand ilol- chief depot at Tung Chow, fifteen miles bundle. There are (Uan(ltles of reeds In lnrs n year. Tho Chinese merchants of from I'd; In. The rice tribute Is handled Manchuria, and also along the lowlands of Hong Kong told Lord lleresford that man- by tho transport department, and there the Yangtse valley anil otherwheres Thoy darlns who had salaries of $1,000 were ue- are thousands of boats and Junks engaged are sold for thatch and for fuel customed to spend $20,000 to keep up their In carrying It from one place to another. n-, riwiiL-iuiirininii nf tin. xmuim win This the powers would There Is never n surplus nnd thcro nro UB eer..y uu ru- me uinmuu mo government leeenes iroui ,,,,, thl, employment of foreigners jk.iIka.I ml AAA a. .... m ll I I 1... I.. ll. . ....... 1.1. ...I..... t .. " celved but $C,000 hnd often necessary ex- It Is paid to be In the uelghhnihood of wnr debt? tltrn in lnnu I.?rwll U'lll ilnmnnil natls- nftntl dnHnttu. faction for tho expense It has lucurrod No Increase Is ever reported. No one ex. Ptn8CB M.K , , , 'w'lMU,u u'r JC,,r' no :miu n.l nU n ..nn.l rnn,l all,,, f,ir (tin Inllirv nnnlg nil llinrnnnn fur !.,, Ifnmvl Mini If Jeur. iOU UnSinmilUg HUH, SUCH OIUCia'B to Its citizens. As to the war bill, tho such a condition occurs tho surplus will go "B"ny retired from their olllces rich, average will be $100,000,000 apiece. This, into the collector's pockets. Indeed, If the Mini.- Million In oilier. Including Germany Uussln. Japan, lCng- olllclal figures of China nro correct tho MmIornto thlevlnB , government work Is land, Franco and the Unite States, will government revenues have been falling on, not C0tl8ltlcrL,(, (U8llolll,8t. ,t ,8 only whon foot up about $000,000,000 Tho damage n though In commerce, business and wealth tho stmR nro ()f onormotla ,l0 lnt loy to tho merchants a various ports, he the empire has been stead ly growing. urcnt0 commpnt 0P nro n()tl,tl ln chlnc80 wrecking of the legations at l'ekln and the I he revenues actually pnld today arc cstl- , T k , f t11H,Iim.,.. who destruct on of the tnlsslon s ntlons every- mated at ,7.000,000 tnels. Cal them even W0B on(J of () io where, Including compensation for tho $,,,000,000. Increasing thereby the estimate ,, lives of missionaries, will demand ml lions ono-th Ird, as tho taol Is not worth much Tnr ' more. In fact, tho powers will probably moro than 75 cents. In lfin the revenues ... , ... wu., km,,,, i ,. ,ii,.,i ask for about $1,000,000,000. or Just a, were estimated at $100,000,000 One hundred .JV decapitated. Ills estate wns confiscated nnd wns found to bo enormous. Ho had nioro than 200 strings of penrls and pre cious stones nnd ono of tho pearls was big ger than nny In tho Imperial crown. Ho had precious stones In the rough nnd dia monds made Into buttons and nlso millions of ounces of silver nnd gold. Take Ll Hung Chang. No ono knows how rich he Is. Ho has bank stock, railroad stock and factory stock everywhere. I lm nglno ho owns foreign bonds. Ills renl es tate possessions nro largo and ho has much In Jewels. Ho wenrs n diamond button In his cap, tho stono of which Ib as big ns tho end nf your thumb, nnd ho has many dln niond rings. Sheng Is snld to be rich, nnd so In nil probability Is Kang Yl and tho other close friends of tho empress downger. The land taxes of China could pay a big Interest on three times nny Indemnity tho powers will demand. More thnn this sum Is nnnunlly collected, although nut nf It tho government gets only 25,000.000 tncls. China Is n big country nnd o vast nmnunt of It Is cultivated. If half tho cultivated land wore tnxed nt 75 cents per ncro the gross rev enue would bo more thnn 300,000.000 taels Lot us estlmnto It muchly nt $200.000 000. Set nsldo $25,000,000 Instead nf 25.000.ono (nnlfl fnr thn fnvnrnmnnr nnrl vnii hnvn at lit much ns Germany demanded of Franco nt nnd fifty years later they approximated $25,000,000 to pay tho expenses of cnlloc tho close of tho Franco-Prussian war. $200,000,000, and still later Sir (icorgo Stan- ,on ,, , nd(llt,on tho cnnrmntm mm of .llOIIOllll) . In nearly all places of trust. China cannot pay Its debts without Kuropcaus manage Its tux collections. The only honest eol The mauufactute nnd sale of sail Is u lectors In the empire today nro tho foreign government monopoly. The salt comes ers In the customs nnd the natives under from sea waier, there being evaporating them. For some years the Imperial marl ponds In the piovlnces near the i-ea. One time customs have ben n managed by Sir of the larcgst Is not far from the mouth Itebert Hart, who gets a salaiy twice as big of tho l'elho. as (hat of mir president, lie collects all After the salt Is made It Is turned over the Import duties, turning Into the Imperial to the salt commissioners. These men treasury somewhere between 20.000.000 and hand H over to those who have salt-sell- 30,000.000 tnels a venr lie has n large lug licenses, and they farm It out to corps of oilU'lats. and his foreign clerk others. nro the best paid men In sla. They get The salt llci-mes ate limited In number, big salaries and every few years are al They are perpetual and are passed down lowed to go to Ihnope for a vacation, with FIOl'UING lP THK CII1NKSU 1)13 HT HVHN WIIHULHAUHOWS I3HA. AUK TAXHI) I'ASSICVtillltS Ki:U Till': MAtilC CAM Can China pay It? .... t n unit lii n ...will illutrlnt ft thulr fiftlarlca until. The members of the ton estimated them at $330,000,000. Ily the $ir,n nno.000. or 4 per cent on a loan of license Is often worth as much as $10,000 Indoor staff can have two years' leave at Ll Hung Chang says It cannot nnd tint best Ilgurcs attainable they are now some- 7.ooo.roo. Tim nnunra mnnni nqit morn n v..nr Tim i.nvi.rninniit tw.m the nrlcn nt tho close of every hovcii, and those of the It will have to give up territory Instead, what ns follows, In tools: tlinn on(,.Iollrtn or nt tho niitntda ono- which salt Is to he sold to consumers, so outdoor ono year after every ten. Hven Ll Hung Chang, however. Is n Chinese ofll- Impcrlnl customs, J.OOO.ooo; land tax. ,,,.,, th)(, nmm,nt. Th(, rt!T,ntn of 75 that the man who gets a contract makes or tho customs department Ih managed along clnl, a cog In tho most corrupt political 20,000,000; salt tax, 10,000,000; llkln, 15,000,- cpt,tg nn ncro ,8 vory ,nw nn(1 tnf, , on ,0fl(,Si n,.corilnK , ),R F,'lecllon of a district civil service lines, nnd, although Sir Robert mnchlnc of tho world, a machine that will 000; native customs, 3,000,000; grnln tribute, nny nnc.nlif of tno 0MHlvated lond. Tt nnd the prlre nt which he gets his salt. Hart Is Its autocrat, everything goes bv shown you whnt n surpltiH China might Romo wbolesale dealers make as much ns promotion nnd general einciency. havo to bo rebuilt If tho emplro Is io 3,000.000, and miscellaneous sources, 4,000,- contlnuc. Ho knows that a big national uuo, inauing n grand toini or h.uuh.uuu mom hnvo w)tnmit tno nrt,ntnn 0f n tenth of 1 2,1 per cent. Indeed. It Is believed Mint the snlt revenues could be greatly In creased without Increasing the cost of tho debt means the tearing of himself nnd his actually received. class from tho machinery nnd the modern izing of tho Chinese government. Mow Tiixvm Arc Collcelcil. The taxes of the emplro nro collected by Tlin IimiOi la Mm Pl.lnncrt nnlll.1 nnv tlin - n...... . , i. . ....... ln ... . ......... luo uoani or revenue, inia is ouu ui inu . oniy niimii & eenis a immumi hi duuhhuu Interest on a $1,000,000,000 debt nnd not scvon ront .icpartments of tho government. , Jhp Inn1a of hlnn ""mlnn"? be long o n , a n( an i tt. mi. . i ' ' Inn nmnnrnr nnrl nil Invnn enmr. illrnptlv . . .. iv. iuu )resciii. uixi-n nn- eiiiniKii i", jt corresponds to our Treasury department . 1 1 in i frntn Ifin prnwn. per cent to Its tax rate for government Im provements If Its offlclnls were honest. I, hihI Im llelil. Kit ANK (1 CAHIMCNTHH IIAZLKWOOI) "World'H llinst butter' lion- salt to the people. At present salt costs fnil plln, pasteurized ruini only nbout 2 cents a pound nt Shanghai My & c l Couri kow. The total government revenue from It, nil lecltlmnto envernment exnenses nnd 0 ,. ... ...m, n nn-ir,i .nminrs from the crown. Tho lands aro chiefly hold ' ., , ii.iiv latinnnnnnn it ' . " . tlHU IIMO III Ml 111.11 li.l .t....... . --- .... l,..l.ll ..n .1. V M,.. ... in I' J. ..- 1 per cent on n del.t tlireo times mat size. u wl prolmll- havo charge of tho national " " v - ...v..,.-....,. They havo now n smaller debt than nny ,jcut nnil all nl,,ttcrs of Indemnity will be or mo great powers. it noes not equni a(j ucforo it, $1 n head nnd amounts to less than $300.- Tno I)oar,i of 10venuo Is known as tho IIu 000,000. There aro no local debts to speak Pu u i,ns tv,n presidents, ono a Mnnchu of. Tho provinces nro unincumbered and aml ono n Chinese It has four vlco presl- tho cities nnd villages are unbonded; In- (cntH nna ,rom Bx (0 eBi,t directors. It deed, thero Is no country In a better llnnn- nns lts Huperlntendcnts, secretaries, ns- clal condition. slstnnt secretaries, comptrollers nnd clerks. As compared with tho great powers. u nominally levies all taxes and duties nnd China Is rich. Hm-lnnd has cne-tenth the u ....i.,.i, .,,. nlimrannna Tim people nnd carries u debt ten times ns mnis are under It. and It has charge of tho "her sons having eerlnln rlchts which great; tho debt of France Is twenty times lmpernl motorics which nro situated In (lit- m,mt e satisfied before tho ownership can that of China nnd the debts of the other ,,.... -,, f ,i. n,nim n,m f u P". Tho dauchters never Inherit. powers nro proportionately large Hero i,urclu,B (i,t 0f tho three treasuries, Is Is what thev are In round numbers: Rncr- ,i0V(,teil to the storing of tho motnls, land owes $3.300 000 000: France. $0,250,000.- stationery, silks and dye stuffs of tho Itn- uoo; Germany. Vi. mn.oon.noo, wtiiio itussin pcrni mmlly Into Rmall tracts or fnrms, many of which nro less than an acre In size. Thcro Is n thorough system of government records, rtenl estnto Is bought nnd snld nnd tho transfers nro registered. Tho taxes aro levied upon lands ns described In the gov ernment records, but tho expense of trans ferring Is so greot that thn ownership "ften passes without n government deed. Thn estates descend to tho oldest son, the Is estimated that the actual receipts are nbout $r.0.flno.000. and of this the merchants nnd middlemen mnl,e a profit of mure than $30,000,000. Tho Chinese salt Is not so Duo ns that sold In tho United States. It Is dark, porous and full of lumps. It Is stored In salt warehouses, and you often see great bills of It near tho large cities. It Is piled np thcro nnd covered with matting until needed for uso. Suiii'i'lnu: (lie McreliimlN. Ono of tho greatest squeezes In China Is the llkln tnx. This Is n tnx nn goods In A part of tho lnnd tnx Is paid In kind and transit. It Is collected nlong nil tho wntor- a part In money. Tho tnx Is estimated wnys of tho Chlneso emplro nnd fills the somewhnt according to tho nmnunt under rlvr-rfl and cannls with llttlo revenue boats, crops nnd tho farmers brlhn thn collectors Pnrji pnnlnpcd with soldiers and ennnon hns a debt nf $1700.000.000. Austrla-IIun- The iionrd of revenue sends out onco n to report less crops than they actually havo Tjlft officials thus guard thn waterways gary and Itnly each owe eight times ns ycnr (0 r u,,, provincial governments In order to escape tnxatlnn. nn,i mkn their toll from every bit nf mer- much ns tho present rational debt of a statement of the amount It Is expected to All money taxes nro In sliver. 98 per cent chnndlso that passes through them. The China nnd poor little Spain Is paying In- furnish tho genetnl government. To this flno. Thero nro bankers connected with thn tnxes nro supposed to he llxed ones, but the torest on loans six times as great, mURt m ,,ii,i,Mi tho local taxes, tho civil and treasury department nt Pekln who pass offlclnls mnko them n rnntter of bargain Wlint li Chinese Delil in. mllltnry tnxes and then tho rnto Is fixed, upon tho purity of tho tnx money ns It between themselves nnd the morchnnts Tho Chlneso have a horror of debt. With After receiving tho estlmato tho viceroy or comes In nnd who nro responsible for It. Some of thn merchants unions pny lump thom bankruptcy Is a disgrace. Thoy pny governor gives his directions to tho different A curious tnx levied upon lands In Chlnn sums to have their goods escapo llkln their bills, settling nil nccounts at Now offlclals. In many cases tho taxes nro Is thn rlco tribute This comes chiefly taxes. Thn Shanghai Pleco floods guild, Yenrs. Thoy especially dlsllko dobts to for- farmed out successively by tho higher from certain provinces In thn valley of fnr Instanco, hnd all of Its duties on foreign olgners. nnd It Is thn national policy to olllclals to those beneath them, and so tho Yangtso. It was originally Intended coeds so commuted for n number of yeors. keep out of them. on, until they reach tho men who nctually for tho support of tho Manchu soldiers In Tho llttlo gunboats often blnckmall tho Their first foreign loan wns In 1871, when get the money from tho people. tho capital, but a part of It now goes to merchants, nnd they make nil sorts of thoy borrowed $3,000,000 at 8 per cent it Is from this collection of taxes that other funds. Tho tribute ninounts to soueezes. thronch tho Hong Kong nnd Shnnglml bnnk. tho Chlneso officials nro ablo to pay such about 104,000 tons of rlco nnnually. This No ono knows how much money Is cnl- Tho loan wns secured by tho customs, high prices for their offices. Tho real sal- docs not ropresont half tho nmnunt col- lerted under thn plen nf llkln tnxes. Mr Their chief debt was Incurred after 1891, In nrles nro practically nothing, but tho per- lectcd. In all tho largo cities there nre tamlesnn. n former Rnullsh consul nt order to pny tho Japaneso Indemnity. I)ur- centages which thoy can hold back from Imperial granaries built to store rlco for shnnchnl, estlmntes thnt about $10,000,000 Ing that year they borrowed 10,000,000 tnels their collections make tho high places ox- times of famine nnd for the use of the nf llkln tnxes annually goes Into thn public revenues. The nmnunt actually collected probably la Reveral times that which comes from the Imperial maritime customs, or several times 22.000.000 taels annunlly Sonic Oflii'r fuiHr 'I'll x i-h. Chlnn hns nil Bnrts of queer tnxes. The , Jlnrlkshn men In Shonghnl nro taxed. The wheelbarrow coolies pay licenses. And thero nre licenses for pnwnbrnklng, bank ing nnd goods selling. Thero nro pawn shops ln overy town, which hnvn to pnv not only for tho privilege nf engaging In business, but nn annual tnx therenftnr. In snmn cities tho license costs ns much ns $5,000 nnd tho yearly taxes aro from $50 to $100. Thcro nro taxes on nil lnnd sales. The legal chnrgo Is 3 per cent on tho money vrIuo of tho transfer. Less thnn this Is usually pnld, because thn parties to the contract put n less consideration In thn deed thnn Is received. Thero Is n legal tnx on mines, now nmountlng to nothing, but which mnv yield n lnrgo rovenuo when thn country Is opened up, Thero nro export tnxes nnd Import taxes, Thnrn nro taxes on silk cocoons, and, In fact, llttlo taxes on tneny thing. Thnr ! tax on opium Import which 4 No time to pull the cor&n Emergencies calf for action. Judgment calls lor ILERS PURE N ALT Purity above suspicion. of the English on n twenty-year lnnn. In 1895 they negotiated nnnther English loan of nbout $15,000,000 at G per cent, to run for twenty yenrs, nnd nt tho samo tlmo ono of about $80,000,000 of tho Itusslans nnd French, to run thirty-six yenrs, at 4 per cent. In 1800 nnd 1898 thoy mndo two other lonns of $80,000,000 ench of tho Anglo-Germans, ono nt 5 nnd tho other nt 4V6 per cent. Tho first lonn wns to run thirty-six yenrs nnd tho second forty-five. Theso nnd a few other very smnll lonns, some of which nro to pny thn gnurantocd Interest on rnll rond undertnklncs. comprise the total dobt of this nntlnn of 400,000. 000 peoplo, owning somo of thn richest agricultural nnd mln ernl lands upon enrth. No ono knows whnt tho revenues of China aro. Tho tnxes collected aro enormous, hut 70 per cent nf them never gets to Pekln, tho balance Is either swallowed up ln tho form of costs or presents to nfflclnl superi ors, or remnlns In tho hands of tho tnx collectors. Thero Is no country so ofilce-rlddon Thero Is n class of men known ns ynmen runners connected with all government places, who nro paid out of taxes and nque?.M. Tt Is ImpoMlbU to toll what la " " IIB!'? HPFiE&KiBil WHISKEY andDealerJ. fM 1 ll I WUXOW5PHINGS015TIIIERY, L I CANAL STREET IN CANTON. fl$l2Bai GablneUn.,;$5.00 efy Our iit'H I1MIU ntjh Njtiuri (Junker 7f unit runt fin I of nil I'lilthiHln at anv XiSl ,lV l""''" ",,M r,,,' ''''r I'l'IKMH, KllMll ITT".""! iwm 1 1 fruiuM. ImhI iimicriui-. rttr HiimI. in nn Mori m hmmkim hi i ho hi nit of tin ItlitiHl. Umhih yiiu cliHin huh llHIl 1'iy, lllMillt III1H CIHIIh1iI I'll) i-iit m r ctiniiiM'Mii u i tr 4 itlUI. I.U 'Jrlinif, itiii'uiiHilUiit'MrHiiln.niM'- i 'IIJl IIIIMIt' Hll I1IIMMI, kl( i.NiTvtMir Kttlnt'V Iruiili1(. .Mdiih riv. fumlti uiiiii .dj iIuvh iimi, if not a ihwmmmiIimI I'ricn with litmtyr, iliim'tixiiM, fitrinula, .'U). I'ium Si'anir 11 HlHitru Orlrr toil- Wrkit-iu. Vitluuhlo lloaU rUt'.K. IHir H Huvn. N.li-iitllil Keller. AOEN TS WANTED. Vnrl.rnV. (ih, U? WurM ll'M'tf. I'IiiiIimmiII, O. WIV MiumMftiti above it in as e aabtt.- ia tt V CEiriT Ijy r "'in mnil, lull ilt-sc -- iitc.-rtrntt iiii.ii.,rs.,t .ii, i,i'i ? tftr-W proved Tiilliir bl,' ' (J-fWl)!1' i ii nil i;n i iiieni Cm '.K li. . IM I) to n V ii..li. ll HI k' aullH J (.irilirnl till l a.p i.iii;iii hit tu in nim Jim v. rmm, Irsrrlpnvr 1 1 II - in ill Mini. 'I he fouhdalmn si ly li.it nay laily of oidin.ii v ii i 't-i. t ui t'.'iMlvainl iua k . IV it ti i lt i il anil in. M (ill)' 14 it nt ut nny fci lc, to any nie.is uc tor LiMiir-, Cliiltli'i'iit t MCII II 11(1 UoH, C.irinriil o iitvtd Ui lit perfectly with tiur ttv mi A k' wlet;;o ot tin MithU sk n iswnrtli a fnituiie t ti nn v l.aly I l hi' nil f t it rt ilrrvm.tl.trt i we tin i " - t i'io ;Minniy nysiuin A,;tnihwuauil ,1OOIV tV CO,, r.O.Un 3t0( Claolnnall.O.