Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-07-30

ers in China has spread and many
more lives and much more property
have been destroyed. The situation in
the celestial empire, as China is called,
is much like that in India at the time
of tile great mutiny in 1857 when
many Europeans were killed by ma
J tives and their property destroyed,
explains the Little Chronicle of Chi
cago in a very clear fashion. The
only one nation. Great Britain, while
the Chinese uprising affects all the
great powers Of Europe, Great Britain,
Russia, France. Germany and Italy;
one Asiatic power, Japan, and one
American power, the United States.
On account of it's commercial i'm
portance. European nations have been
trying for long time to establish
what are called spheres of influence
in China. A sphere of influence is a
section of country which, although it
remains under native government, is
largely Influenced in trade and friendly
| relations by some one foreign power.
Hence in China there are Russian,
British, German, French, Japanese and
/ Italian spheres of influence" The
| United States has never set up any
specie sphere but always has
claimed the right to trade with all sec
tions of the country on the same terms
as all other nations.
In spheres of influence" in China,
Russia has a great advantage over
other foreign countries. Under a
treaty she holds a ninety-nine years
lease of immense possessions in the
Liao-Tung peninsula which gives her
Port Arthur strong naval base-and
the entire district of Manchuria in
Guiding Kisin and Shen Kiang. Rus
STA can bring troops into this district
overland from Siberia, and with her
navy in control of Port Arthur she
could hold possibly all the territory
north of the great Hoang-Ho River.
From the Yang-ste- Kiang river to
the West river on the south, the coun
| try would fall under the control Of
| Great Drirain which owns the island of
Hong Kong and is strongly intrenched
on the Kow Lung peninsula just OPP
posite. She also has naval base at
Wei-Hai-Wei, opposite Port Arthur.
where she can watch Russia whose in
fuence with the Chinese government
is greater than that of any other
| foreign power. In addition to these
points of vantage Great Britain, I'M
/ i IL;
the Yang-tse-Kiang valley as belong
/ ing to her sphere.
! Frances sphere of influence is in
southern China. She holds the island
of Hainan and controls the port of
KWang- Chan Wan Germany has the
province of Shan Tung, except the
point of the peninsula Wei-Hai- Wei,
where the British are located Japan
has the island of Formosa, won in her
late war with China, and she looks
with longing eyes at the province of
Fu-Kien, just opposite. Italy makes
! claim to San Nun Bay on the coast of
/ Che-Kiang province, but her claim has
never been allowed
The Christian missionaries have
done great deal to help establish
these spheres of influence by creating
better feeling between China people
and foreigners. A very large number
of the Chinese, however, have always
| opposed any concessions to foreigners
and have always hated the mission
aries for trying to convert the people
| to Christianity This is the class of
Chinese of which the boxer society is
! formed.
! The outbreak on the part of the
I boxers has made it necessary for the
! foreign nations to send warships and
| troops to China to protect foreigners,
and those already there and on the
way number about fifty ships and
80, 900 soldiers. In the meantime many
foreigners have been killed and much
foreign property has been burned. In
what way the foreign governments
will make China pay for these lives
and this property cannot now be
stated. Some of them are anxious to
own the land in their spheres of in
fuence," and more, too, and it may
| be that when foreign troops take
possession of the country where the
boxers are now, and have restored or
der, that they will be kept there to
hold the country for their respective
governments.
| Or, the foreign nations may decide
to divide the entire country among
| themselves and carry out their deci-
sion with their armies and navies.
There is one reason why this may not
be done, and that is the probability
| that they cannot agree what share
each shall have The United States
also stands in the way of division
Of the Chinese empire. At the pres
ent this country, has the same trade
privileges as other nations. If the
country were divided among the other
nations, Russia, Germany and
/ France would want their home coun-