Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1898 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

Secretary Bliss reported to the House that $258,538 worth of the Creek Indian nation warrants were regularly issued and would be paid, but that warrants amounting to $11,150 of the general fund and $74,580 of the school fund were fraudulent, and that $2,534 of the general fund and $1,784 of the school fund are doubtful. Hugh O’Beirne, second secretary of the. British embassy at Washington, has made a report to the British foreign office on the extent of commerce between the United States and China. The report shows that the present volume of United States trade in China represents more than oneseventh of the entire trade of the empires It is 50 per cent greater than the trade of Germany with China, and comes next to the trade of Great Britain, that being the first in commercial importance. The increase in American trade has been going on rapidly within the last ten years, and this increase has been entirely on the side of American goods, our exports increasing while Chinese imports were decreasing. By far the most valuable branch of the trade is that in cotton goods. Mr. O’Beirne showed the importance of the Chinese market for United States cotton cloth by stating that last year China took $7,480,000 out of a total export of $17,281,000, or about half of all American cotton cloths shipped abroad. He says the Chinese, especially those of Manchuria, prefer die American drills and sheetings, as they are heavier. The great bulk of these cottons are shipped from the New England mills to New York, and then via the Sues canal. But there has been quite recently a remarkable increase of shipment from the west by way of San Francisco and Puget sound. The export of American kerosene oil to China now ranks second in importance to that of cotton goods. Mr. O’Beirne says the Russian oil is the only serious foreign competitor with which the American product has to reckon. In 1896 China took 82,000,000 gallons of American oil, as against 28,000,000 of the Russian oil. Mr. O’Beirne also shows the increasing value of American trade in wheat, flour; iron and steel tfnd railroad material. He says the Chinese show a full recognition of the superiority of the American flour over their own product He says the increas-

ing industrial activity of China, and thd building of railroads; will secure to Amer* lean makers a large proportion of the contracts for steel rails, locomotives, ete. He remarks that the iron and steel industry is one in which the United States have recently shown their ability to. compete with all rivals.