New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-03
THE PIIGH1 OF CHINA.

The way of the Chnaman Is hard. He Is IN
49,. ucht ~ the man to whom il was said,
you'll be damned II you do you'll be damned
~ YOU don't" II he yields to the demands OF
the Powers he will have to give up all ne holds
most precious. n he refuses all will be taken
from him just the same. and in addition ne
uu have to nav for the trouble Of taking 1t.
The other day. for example, Russia demahdeu
a concession not only for parallelng the lien
Tsin-Moukden Railroad, which Is beng Dulit
with British capital but actually for running
her line straight into the Forbidden CITY OF re-
king Itself Hitherto no such demand hao
been made The Powers had respected inc
taboo" which China has immemorially placed
upon the imperial capital. They had done so
nartly out of regard for Chinese susceptlp'i-
ties and partly because Of mutual Jeaiousies
For the Power that ran railroad OF us own
into Picking would have an incalculable adVah
tage over all others In control or the Chlhese
Government and so, by sort or taclt agree
ment. all kept their hands Off. But the other
day. as we have said. Russia made this I'M
precedpnted demand. China refused. Where
upOn Russia calmly announces that she cannon
for moment think Of respecting Chlnas re-
fusal. but will certainly go on and build the
road. concession or no concession. And as
Russia has the physical power to do as she
pleases In that quarter, we suppose the ROAD
will be built and a Cossack garrison VIII DE
placed within the walls of Picking.
Announcement is made also Of the grant
ing Of n concession to Germany for the con-
structIon of railroad from Tien-Tsin to Chin
Kiang That will be most important line,
running through the richest and most densely
Of no and
tho northern provinces and the Yellow River
with the rich central provinces, Shanghai and
tho yangtse River China did not want TO
grant that concession but was prevailed upon
70 do 60 chiefly. no doubt, by the assurance
that the road would be built anyway, and that
she would be merely adding to her own troubles
IN refusing assent. No doubt the road will be
q good thing for her. So will all Of these roads.
They will open up the empire to commerce ana
to civilization. and make the standard Of life
bicber for her teeming millions 1t would be
we'll If the Picking Government would realize
that fact and act accordingly. Or, rather. 1t
would have been well had it done so long ago.
Then the opening of China might nave peeh
comnarable with the opening Of Japan In its
effects upon the country opened. But u Is 100
late for that now. The opening has come, but
destruction
The question now Is how much longer it Will
he desirable to keep up the transparent fiction
Of "the integrity Of China" 1t is nothing but
fiction. Integrity of territory is being VIC
lated daily by Russia by Germany, by Great
Britain. by every Power that is so inclined.
Integrity Of authority over what remains Is no
more sacred. as this Russian assault upon Pc
king indicates AS long the fiction Is MAIN
tanned there will be Incessant rivalries and IN
trIgues and possibilities Of all sorts OF COM
plcations Triple control In Samoa does not
work we'll. and there is no reason TO expect
noultInle control In China to work any better
II would simplify matters greatly TO parnuon
the empire at once, without further ado. Ana
we do not know that there Is much moral
difference between wholesale and retail par
tition,na. Indeed. the former is probably the
more merciful as decapitation Is preferable TO
death nv slow torture. But what n lamentaole
ending of the age-long processes OF bolsterlng-
IN and coddling which the Powers nave so as
siduously applied!