The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-02-02
PROBLEM OF CHINA.
,ogy RUSSELL YOUNG'S VIEWS ON
THE ORIENTAL QUESTION.

,--,.-a1 Attitude - should Wait and
Tvar.s-aard problem to Solve.
What Is written is written. Let us
.onsider the practical aspect Of the Chi
nese question.
The United States can never be III
-.nsib,a to what is taking place in the
os+ The development of our Pacific
omnire depends upon the closest com
, o relations with the east. These
LII increase tenfoId with the construc-
t;or, If the Nicaragua canal, as much
tbo dntv of the twentieth as that OF the
pacific railway was the duty OF the
nineteenth century.
We are deeply concerned IN the au-
+onomv Of China and Japan. The natu-
ra1 tendency of the oriental trade is to-
ward our Pacific commemorative, and
,n7pss this trade is safeguarded it will
mass into stage Of arrested develop
ment Whatever we may think OF Chi
ppse barbarism or western aggression,
the question is no longer one Of senti-
mpnt but Of common sense.
Can we depend upon the amenities of
the western powers should they become
paramount in the east for our CONNER
rial rights? Can our commerce grow by
snfferance? May we not be told, as Eng
lad has tcld France when Egyptian as
tendency is in debate, that as we took
no part in the civilization of the east
we should have no part i'll eastern af-
fairs? France refused to participate in
the commandment of Alexandria, and
therefore her voice is silent in Egypt.
We shall have no share in the partition
Of China, and nothing likewise remains
but silence.
Without anticipating a spirit of ad
venture and keeping shy of any policy
of entangling antagOnisms as faithfully
as in obedience to Washington precept
we avoid entangling alliances, we
should maintain i'll the east an attitude
of vigilant and active neutrality.
All we crave is success in the markets
and fields Of China. This was our poll
cy when we put upon Japan the gentle
but firm pressure which opened her
gates to the argosies Of the world I'm
der Commodore Perry it was an inter-
ventiOn, we may even cay an armed in
tervention, in the cause of commerce. If
wewere not Indifferent to the continued
sealing up of the ports of Japan against
trade, how can we be Indifferent to the
sealing up Of Chinese ports as conse-
quenc8 of the partition Of China?
no [L.t 1,,+o
ests are so bound mp with those Of the
western powers that there can be no
gain to them without a corresponding
gain TO is, that W lille Russia and Ger
many shake the tree we may stand by
with open baskets and have our share of
the falling fruit. The affairs of men are
not governed by these gentle laws, and
that nation fares best which watches
Longest. 1t would be an abrogatiOn of
our rights as a commercial people, a
neglect Of our duties to our great Paoif-
&c commemorative to remain without
logical policy III the east.
Here, in a compact form, you have
one Of the greatest empires in the world.
Even with Alaska added to our domain,
China is 100000 square miles larger
than the United States A single prov.
lnce but 0,000 square miles larger
than California and 100000 square
miles smaller than Texas, contains al
most as Large population as the Unit
ed States. The seas and rivers make it
one of the most fertile as it is among
the most salubrious Of countries. To
the advantages Of nature, the soil ripe
with rice and the waters teeming with
hsh, we owe the vast population. A
compact empire, containing every ele-
ment necessary to life, it may close it's
gates to mankind and want for nothing
that mankind can give.
For centuries it has lived, in it's own
fashion, with it's literature and art, its
laws and customs, solving the problem
OF civilization which was vital when
that OF Rome was dormant. In the course
OF events we have become drawn to it,
until our material interests are alone
surpassed by those of England and ia
pan, and grow from year to year.
IL IS wise on our part to heed such an
expression Of opinion as that of Ii Hung
Chang. If China fails under the pressure
OF western powers who can foresee the
consequences? There is no chance of ar
raging race against race, as England did
IN India There are no creeds or hatreds
that can be famed into spirit of re-
lVenge. The Chinaman in Canton may
speak another dialect from the China
man OF Picking, but he is a Chinaman
Ga4 the same.
1t would be a graver task than even
Fhe highest and most valiant cruiser
would invoke to attemnt in China the