Willard Straight eBook

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In abandoning a year or two later the consular service in order to interest American capital in the development of China, he again gave up a safe, regular occupation and re sponded to the call of a doubtful but seductive enterprise. This new affair was the outstanding project of his life. It was the culmination of his seven years of exploration, of study, of experience and of experiment in China. It was the kind of enterprise which was bound to tempt a man who was by nature a pioneer. The development of China was no longer a matter of opening up ports and extending commerce. It had become a matter of building railroads, tapping natural resources, founding industries and of seek ing those changes in Chinese political and social organiza tion which would equip it to stand the strain of modern industrialism. Willard Straight saw this transformation coming and the concrete Opportunities which would come with it. Only he saw it not merely as a business man would see it in terms of a profitable investment, but as a statesman would see it in terms of its effect on the lives of a people and in its relationship to the general political and economic movements of the world.