The morning call., 1894-08-02
TALL CHINA TALK.
She Will Demolish Japan
When Aroused.
so SAY CHINATOWN GOSSIPS
Slow to Wrath, but Supplied
With Sinews of War.
CURIOUS CELESTIAL FATALISM.
Interviews With Well Informed
Mongols-An Incident of the
French Invasion.
so SAY CHINATOWN GOSSIPS
CURIOUS CELESTIAL FATALISM.

They are trying 20 find takers at any
odds on the result of the war between
China and Japan-if there Is a war-up in
Chinatown.
With the full declarations Of war printed
in daily paper, the Chinaman still re-
fuses to believe. OF course large doubts
are forming in his mind. but he will not
have faith until he has facts, which means
an utterance from the Consul himself, or.
perhaps, some member of the Six Com
panies.
The Consul had received no word last
night and was as smilingly unconcerned as
great diplomat has right to be.
Fook Woh. Dupont-street merchant,
had a telegram yesterday saying that war
had net yet been declared, but that the
Chinese were leaving Japan in great num-
ers.
News of this had spread about China
town considerably, and was the occasion
of the growing doubt in the absolute Sc
renity of things at home that the China
man has hitherto prOtessed to believe. In
stanty they began to think of gambling
on the result
Joe Gal is one of the keenest of Orien-
tals, and his whisky shop on Sacramento
street is rendezvous of the cleverest of
his people.
Joe put it this way: IF there is war l
will gamble my life or one thousand dolla
dat China will win. | say not tomorrow
or mont, or year, but China will win
in the end.
"Cnina cannot lose. China have plenty
men, plenty money. plenty time. She will
win, sure. See. CHINA has hundred
thousand men in lis county lat come out
of one little county of China. When ali
China is fighting it will wipe japan from
face earth" This with the calmness of
absolute conviction.
j. Horns is Chinese interpreter who
talks English remarkably well and who is
very we'll informed. His view of the
situation was just as thoroughly and
Realistically Monaghan, however, as
though be could not speak English at ALL
He was at Jos's place last night. He said ::
"lf there is really war between China
aud Japan it will last for ten years. 1t
may be trus that some ships have been
sunk and lives lost. 1t is nothing. China
may lose battle after battle, day after day,
ana probably will for six months. Then
China will wake up. She is asleep now
like a man who might lie there on the floor
and we would pile boxes and chairs
around him TO the ceiling, and we would
think we had him Gagged In. Then he
would awake and with blow knock it all
down.
"After many defeats China will get tired
of it and the Emperor will rouse up and
give the order TO fight. He will say; Here
are men and money. now 60 over there and
whip these people,
"China is OF prepared for war so far as
an army or navy is concerned. But for
nearly 800 years she has been putting
L . I, L
could put 3, 000, 600 men in the field. China is
composed of eighteen grand provinces
and these into seventy-two smaller states.
There has been war tax levied for these
300 years and the money has been laid by
in the treasury year after year waiting for
the war to come. They will not believe
that it is here and will make no effort uD til
in the face Of many defeats they lose pa
tience. From each OF these states an
Emperor may call 10000 troops whenever
1t suits him. They can lose few million
men without feeling il"
Then Ham told a very pretty story of
the Fran CO. Chinese war of eleven years
ago. France had been smashing things
for a long time in her dramatic fashion
and China had watched the wreck of her
ships and her towns in a drOwsy, dsin-
terested way. probably figuring the cost
all the while that might be levied
upon France for her sport after a while
when she got tired of the game. But
finally China began to realZe that she had
no defensive works and that France might
find more fun in 1t than was reasonab BILE
and after while do some real damage to
the country. So the Empress put on her
travelling gown one day and made q tour of
the provinces. asking the question here
and there.
"Who is there here who is willing to die
for his country?"
AS might be expected such PROPOSE
tl0n did not meet with wonderful favor
among the lay patriots of the empire. but
the Empress was as dlligent and patient
with this as with her knitting or any other
business she might undertake and kept
travelling about and putting the question /:
"Who is there here who Is willing to die
for his country?"
Here aud there some poor devil of a
cody who was in arrears for rent would
step out of the tOiling ranks and kneel
before the Empress and say: Here am l :;
| will die for my country"
And the Empress would take his name
and send him to the sea coast. As re-
suit of her expedition she had forty men
on the fatal list
She said to them: 81 will provide for
your families that they shall never again
want. The name of every one of you
shall be em blazoned upon the high rolls of
nonor OIL tne Othte. 10 De nanueu uoWu W
glory forever. | shall have prayers Of
fered TO the gods that insomuch as you
lived unhappily in this " orld. but died for
your country, you may live in happiness
in the next world"
With that she told them to go aboard
ship in the harbor that. she explained.
had been heavily loaded with powder,
dynamite and projectiles. and directed
that they steer it straight into the center
of the French fleet aud there touch match.
Now TO let Ham finish it in his own way.
"The French saw that the ship was not
a war vessel and watched its approach In
silent amaZement waiting probably to eat
it up at their leisure. The little vessel
stole into their very midst and allowed
them 10 gather about. and then the ocean
was shaken with terrific explosion. Five
OF the French fleet went down with lt.
Two out of the forty escaped.