The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-06-26
Emperor sim lives Oct us hope,. the leral

ruler 81 china.
The Boxers ara the outcome On their
present foTm) Of the reactionary measures
referred To. There has always been d
strong anti-foreiEn feeling among the OIL
Gals and lireTati Cthe scholars from whose
tanks The officials are chosen and they
nave stirred up the people whenever and
Wherever they have been able "a DO so.
hese people despise ard hate the foreign
er~ They despise Us because they esteem
~ 20 be an Inferior race. they hate us
because We VIII not submit 90 and ac-
knowledge their superior wisdom.
The Boxers 30 not renrezcnt d general
uprising q the people. They are a local
organization, collected and Organized by
The hterau. ard encouraged by the of
Gals. and SO IS an open secret that the
eaicts issued iu answer TO the appeals
for the suppression OF the Boxers have
been really political marifest0s approving
the purpose, while apparently condemnlng
the excuses OF the Boxers.
The course followed By the maudarius,
approved - the Dowa-cr. and. Until re-
Gently, aequiesced 90 by the ministers.
BIAS been the one best calculated 20 foster
aud encourage the growth OF such an or
gaHizatiou. Up 90 this tine there Is little
reason Tor believing thar the Boxers exist
outside Of Shantung and Chill provinces.
The rumOT Of Boxers near CElngkang
may indicate that there has been a party
who marched south as well as the one
that has gone 20 Pekin. bur both parties
started from one or the other q the two
provinces II a company has gone south
u has done and VIII 90 more real damage
than the one shat has been marching
against PeKin."
san FTanCisco's Contribution.
For real, genuine bIOod-cur1ling expIa-
nation, however. one must refer 10 the
san FRANCISCO Sunday Cali The Pacific
coast, being $3.50 miles nearer to China
than Washington, ought TO be better in
formed. but ii isn't. Here IS San Francis
cos contribution TO the literature on the
Boxers.
Eleven millions Of men are said 10 be
long 10 the great Chinese society Of Box
ers, against which Uncle Sam, IL conncc-
ton with the great European powers,
may soon direct armed force. This esti-
mate was made by d ChiEanan a year
ago in conversation with an American
who was then in China. The Society of
Boxers, which now stands for lawless-
ness. robbery. and murder. was once re-
9L'r' NeAb4t. - - q EbyA lNlutilSt gone
wrong. Originally 1t was organized as q
protest and a means Of defense against
the bandits with which the province OF
Shantung was infested. 1t was il fact a
law and order league.
Christians do not know just when the
Society Of the Great Sword had its ori-
sin. TIE natives refer TO it as an an
cient' gociety. but that may mean ten
gr 4 hundred - h.
ever, that at first its prime, les were Iaud-
able and its work good. but as It became
more powerful ana increased IN numbers
many dishonest and designing persons en-
tered IL for the prestige and protection It
afforded, just as dishonest and designing
persons ally themselves with influential
bodies in oihe-ASands to-day. These men
proved disturbing element, and in many
cases directed the efforts of the society
against their personal enemies, whom
they represented as bandits and lawIess
persons.
Some Of these victims, ii is said, terri
ned by the persecution of the Great
Sword Society, looked for some other
force from which they might hope for
protection, and found it in the Christian
missionaries and especially the German
Catholics. These men professed CONVEX
sion, and besought succor and the mis-
sionaTies used every endeavOr to secure
justice for them. Then, in turn, some Of
the missionaries, ii may be inferred, be-
came the victims of designing men who
prOfessec Christianity in order to obtain
aid in avoiding just punishment, and in
some cases il is probable they were able
to secure from these noble and self-sac-
riticing men and women protection
which they did not altogether deserve.
This condition intensified the feeling
which has always existed against the
missionaries.
about ten years ago the missionaries
had enjoyed peace for some time and re-
Sarded the future as full OF hope, but on
May 10. 1881, two nuns, who were going
home from a visit TO some sick people,
were maltreated by a mob, who charged
them with bewitching children. The mis-
sion houses were plundered, and this was
the signal for the renewal of the disturb
ances all through China. These became
worse and worse, exciting more and more
resentment in Europe, until at last, some
German priests were murdered and the
mission looted at Shantung. This was fol-
lowed by the seizure by the Germans of
the port of Tsin Tau.
1.-The Shantung Chinese connected these
two events and sWore vengeance on the
Germans, and incidentally upon all for
eigners and Christians. II was al this
time that the Great Sword Society began
to make itself obnoxious"
Chinese COnsuI's Views.
Ho Vow, Chinese consul general at San
Francisco, explains that the Boxer riots
are merely protests against having re
hgion forced upon them. He says:
christianity never has been introduced
in any country against any faith without
a struggle. Nay, not even one sect of
Christianity has prevailed against an
other sect without war and murder. You
do not have 70 turn to China 10 observe |
these things; only so back few pages
over European and American history and
you viii find all you want TO read on this
subject. Observe how the Puritaus per-
secuted the Quakers in the early days Of
American settlement; remark, too, the
annals of the conflict between the Catho-
hes and the Swiss mOuntaineers: consider
the persecution OF the HusuenOt Protes- |
tants and the horrors Of the Spanish In
QUESTION. All these terrible things were
but the conflicts Of religious faiths or
socts. and Yet surprise is expressed that
the experiences Of your own people, upon
your own ground should be, under like
conditions. repeated in China. There is
nothing Ia be surprised about in The sit
uatign Missionaries should know what
they are doing, and from my experience
with them. most OF them do. Tact should
go hand in hand with piety, and they
should not take too many risks Ii a Mo
hammedan should insert himself into one
OF Your Methodist churches, or into d
Catholic congregation, or should he erect
himself d stand IN front OF the door OF
such a church and preach his doctrines
while the people were passing in or out.
he would soon find himself nooted at BE-
a crowd; and if lie should persist in this
the crowd would soon begin to throw
bricks II him; and then if he should cut
and run, they would run after him, and
when they caught him they would likely
beat him II DE We're not rescued mean
while 10y the police.
The condition in China Is a repetition
of an old, old story; il presents a clash OF
beliefs and clash Of interests: and If in