ECONOMIC WEALTH OF FAR EAST EXAGGERATED

"The West has for centuries looked upon the Far East as a region of untold wealth with opportunities for unbounded commercial development," said Professor G. B. Roorbach of the Business School to a CRIMSON reporter.

Professor Roorbach has just returned from a year in the Far East, where he studied economic conditions in Japan, China, the Dutch East Indies, the Malay States, Siam, India, and the Philippines. The year's work, which he has just completed, was sponsored by the Harvard Bureau of International Research, and the Business School.

"Important economic developments," continued Professor Roorbach, "will undoubtedly take place in China and the other countries of the Far East, but there are distinct limitations which must be recognized by the business world.

"We have been accustomed to look upon the more than 800,000,000 people of the Orient as a vast potential market for our products and investments. We are captivated by the fact that there are more than six times as many in these regions as there are in the United States. But we are inclined to overlook the present insignificance of their buying power, their extreme poverty, and the political, social, and economic difficulties that stand in the way of rapid progress.

"As to the potential wealth of the Far East, the national resources are limited. Iron deposits, once commonly thought to be large, have shrunk to small proportions upon examination, and are generally distant from the coal beds.

"There are few great agricultural regions and none comparable to the great interior plains of the United States and Canada. Much of the vast expanse of territory consists of rugged mountains; other large areas are arid; great stretches are subject to destructive floods. In the regions which are fertile, the population is huddled together.

"Many of the economic troubles of the Far East can be removed or moderated. Agricultural production can be much increased by better farming methods. There, will be a large commercial development in the Oriental countries ultimately, when political conditions are settled, but the possibilities of this development have been exaggerated, and business men must modify their over-optimistic views to conform to the actual facts."

Professor Roorbach encountered various dangers in the course of his trip. He told of one experience he had with the bandits who infest the waters of the great silk growing region of the delta near Canton. While the silk-cargo boat on which he was a passenger was rounding a curve in the stream, a group of some 30 bandits, armed to the teeth, was seen on the bank. The silk boat was heavily armed against such a contingency, and cleared decks for action. But the bandits had a large sign displayed which read. "We are today only attacking fishing boats."

The silk-cargo boat was allowed to past unmolested, and Professor Roorbach watched the bandits from a concealed position.