从慈善到商业——试论美国红十字会与导淮借款(1911—1914)

From Charity to Commerce: American Red Cross’s Huai River Conservancy Project and Its Dilemma in 1911-1914

20世纪初,淮河流域遭受连续性水患。为救济沿淮灾民,美国红十字会两次向沿淮受灾地区捐助钱款。但钱款赈济仅为治标之策,实施导淮方能治本。于是,美国红十字会向中国政府提交导淮计划,并允诺为导淮工程筹措资金,由此在淮河水灾救济问题上该会的策略从救灾转为防灾。向美国政府筹集资金无果之后,美国红十字会转而谋求商业资本的协助。为达成借款,美国红十字会在导淮方案的选择上并未坚持以防灾为首要目标,而是屈从于商业利益,并进而舍弃灾患深重的淮河,接受优先治理运河的折中方案。因而,此次导淮借款是始于慈善而终于商业的投资行为。

In the late Qing Dynasty, the floods in the Huai river basin were frequent. The American Red Cross Society, which has been paying attention to the floods of the Huai river since 1906, submitted a plan to the Chinese government and assumed responsibility for raising funds for the Huai project. After seeking the US government to provide funds, the American Red Cross turned to commercial capital for help, which made the business attributes of the Huai conservancy prominent. There is a paradox between the non-profit nature of the American Red Cross and the commercial attributes of the Huai project. When the Red Cross raised funds, it raised questions about its business activities. The association had to adjust its role and become a “middleman” between the Chinese government and American bankers. In order to reach a loan, the Red Cross, as a middleman, supported the banker’s selection of the “Full into sea” project, which was based on the maximization of interests, and then abandoned the Huai river, which suffered from the disaster, and accepted the compromise scheme of preferential treatment of the canal. Therefore, this Huai conservancy load is an investment behavior that began with charity and finally commercial.