Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-29


cepted the trust, and then asked China
what she wanted us to do with the Japan
csc In China. do as you will with Them"
was wa, the reply; try them, and dispose Of
them as justice dictates. We waive our
jurisdiction In such cases." But when ia
pan was asked what we were to do in the
cases or the Chinese in her country, she
said: I'VE will try them ourselves. We
grant no extra territorial rights to any
one II they offend our laws no courts but
ours shall deal with them" Naturally,
upon being made acquainted with this de-
cisfon by her enemy, China demanded the
same right Most Americans in Asia be-
lieve that we should then have declined tho
empty honor and bootless task that was
offered to us. However, we assumed the
protectorat, in both countries, and when
these two Japanese were arrested our con-
sui general here believed that by delay and
time for study Of the case our govern.
ment could order an inquiry In the mixed
Tor Chinese and Anglo-Saxon) court In
Shanghai, or could arrange some tribunal
that should be satisfactory for the recep-
ton OF evidence to Justify the surrender
or protection OF the accused men. A higher
influence than law-that Of common hu-
manity-seemed to demand that o country
which We officially characterize as semi-
civilized should not be allowed to wreak
Its anger upon our wards until we were
satisfied that they had offended that ma
tons laws. But we missed that fine point
OF humanity and surrendered the men.
The Chinese Had First Information.
Very mysteriously, the Chinese knew Mr..
Gresham's decision before it was known by
the Japanese, or by our officials at Picking.
Shanghai or Tokyo. They came to the
consul general at Shanghai, clamoring for
the prisoners. He had not heard the news,
and could not believe 1t. When the order
came from Washington, the Chinese de-
manded the surrender of the men at the
American consulate, but Mr.. Jernigan said:
Il will not surrender them here or any
where in the European settlement. / will
send them In the gate IN the walls of the
Chinese city, and there deliver them to
you" From first to last, therefore, We
who were on Asiatic ground shared what
dignity remained to us. and made the most
Of 1t. We were strengthened by the kind
ness of the French consul, who said: You
have nobody out here to back you up. IL
you need help, will send you the marines
from my warship, now in the harbor." As
our best warships are so often in France.
this was only fair. He knew that we pos
sess q navy, and he did not despise u.s. as
the Asiatics do.
Gratuitous Insults.
Now note how the Chinese instantly toks
advantage Of our condition cut here. and
Of their contempt for our miscalled power
Of protection to the Japanese They is
sued warrants for the arrest of about two
hundred Of the most respectable Japanese
who were here. They took them, rs Is
customary, to the doycn of the consulate
body, the Portuguese consul. to be Va!t-
ated. He held them and notified our con-
sui general, who in turn said to the JAPAN
csc: Il advise you to go home, without
considering the order CT your going You
are in danger. If charges are lodged
against you there is no American court
competent to investigate the charges. You
must be tried by the Chinese. Cor They
all escaped in the week that the Portl-
guese consul took to consider the Chinese
demand that he sign the warrants for their
arrest. Our consul general was justified
because Chinese 1aOu-
tai had asked him, before the case of the
spies came up, to see that all Japan
csc who wanted to get away should be by
him escorted out of the country. Yet when
Mr.. Childs, our consul at Han -kow, six
hundred miles up the Yang-tse river, sent
his marshal aboard an outgoing steamer
with a japanese who wanted to go homo
The Taou-tai at that place, who had told
Mr.. Childs to do that very thing, tele-
graphed to Picking that Mr.. Childs had
acted as accessory to the escape of a
Japanese spy. As there had been no charge
or suspicion against that Japanese this
insult was gratuitous. At Nng-Po, in this
province, the Chinese caught native of
Japan and when our consul at that place,
formed OF what occurred at his trial. the
Chinese replied that the matter was none
of his business.
The Danger I'm Case of War.
But these are trifies beside the main fact.
That fact is that the case Of the two ex-
ecuted spies assures the Chinese officials
that in case of war or trouble with us
they can seize any and all Americans in
China and do with them whatever they
please. Our failure to arrange a tribunal
for an inquiry into the guilt of those
japanese is a precedent upon which the
Chinese will insist that We have no power
to protect our citizens, and that IL they
offend Chinese law they must be tried by
Chinese courts. This is not my definition
Of this precedent-it is the view that is
held here by all of US. II this publication
result in the sending of some war ships
here to enable US to command the respect
that is now denied us 1 feel that nothing
1 have ever written In my life has been
of such value to my country as this.
European Life Worthless.
Shanghai is now the Mecca of Europeans
and Americans from all over northern and
central China. They have come here from
Picking, where the European ministers
fear immediate rioting, and perhaps a rev.
olution that viii overthrow the present
dynasty. They have come here from Nan.
king, where the torture Of the two Japa-
nese-parts of IL being such as 1 cannot
state in decency-has excited the people
and made European life worthless. They
have come here from all along the great
Yang-tse-Kiang valley, where the Chinese
millions are bubbling with excitement, fear
OF conquest, and anti-foreign animosity.
We have no houses TO be let; We have no
spare rooms IN the hotels. Shanghai Is
full. / have recently made a journey into
the interior, which was safely and pleas
antly accomplished, but which would not
care to repeat. Even during our journey
We met thousands of recruits for the Chi
nese army coming down to the seaboard
In junks, ununiformed and motley in garb,
but full of enthusiasm that might easily
infiame the people against us-for most,
nearly all, Cinnamon see no difference be-
tween Europeans and Japanese. They
know only that they are at war with for-
eigners, and all foreigners are alike to
them.
We Caucasians are three thousand strong
here, and have, in this peculiar little AM
glo-American republic, an armed force Of
$50 men to face the 1900 Mongolians
who are on our land and in the walled city
beside 1t. We do not anticipate trouble or
danger, but We cannot say that IL may
not come. Great Britain has about two
dozen warships here and near by, and Is
about to send a number of powerful ves-
sells here to protect the English in China
in case of revolution or anti-foreign upris-
ings. Russia has a large fleet in these va
tiers, and Germany and France have a
splendid naval force at hand. Therefore
we Americans, who still manage some Of
the greatest businesses at this port, are
warranted in feeling that safety which
the guns of other nations will insure us.
Reception to n Pastor.
Last Friday evening" at the residence Of