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.
