The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-30
The Chinese situation.

The Chinese situation.
While on Saturday all question concern
ing the fate of the diplomats and other
foreigners in Pekin seemed to have been
settled by the reports brought to Shang
hal by a Chinese banker and a native
employee of a Russian financial house,
yesterday seemed to be the day for re-
action, and a glimmer of hope in some
quarters that perhaps all of the legation
people had not persisted. Just why the
Chinese authorities should be thus given
the benefit of the lingering doubt is in
comprehensive TO us. Their every act
and utterance would appear to be a con-
fession that they have been and are con-
cealing guilty secret, and their conduct
is solely explainable upon the ground that
they are fighting for time in which to Sc
cure the retreat Of the Empress Dowager
from Pekin into the interior. with the
enormous treasure she is believed 10 have
accumulated
Meanwhile each fresh story Of the mas
sacre detailed by alleged eyewitnesses
corroborates those preceding. There is
substantial identity in all of them which
1AuNc NOAlc " our ears llOLu July uOhu
to the present time; while pretended news
TO the contrary is contradictory and bears
the earmarks of official desire to furnish
whatever kind OF mendacity may best suit
the exigencies Of the moment 1t is
pity that the world cannot yet obtain
actual and convincing evidence of q horror
which everybody believes in his heart has
hammered perhouS ha
until the arrival of the international
army in Pekin. But the fact will be as
sumed today if tire test message from Mr.
Conger is not forthcoming, and some of
the legationers are not produced alive at
Tientsin by the Chinese. All faith in Ii
Hung Chang has vanished. Sheng is found
10 be chronic and hopeless liar The
Viceroy of Shantung is no better The Of
ficials in question positively know what
has occurred in Pekin as well as II they
had been there all the time The infer
enee is unacceptable that they will not put
the Ministers in communication with their
Governments for the simple reason that
they have all been murdered.
Patience is exhausted and probably the
week will not be far gone before the Eu-
Topean Governments declare war. Such a
step will force the United States to show its
hand If Great Britain and Germany accept
the situation, as 1t will almost certainly
stand tomorrow, and dismiss the Chinese
representatives accredited to them, this
country will be forced to take similar ac-
ton. and that viii mean, of course, the
summoHing Of Congress. We are unwilling
10 think that Mr.. Mckinley would venture
10 go to war with China without asking the
authority Of our sole war-making power |
War viii render it necessary to increase
our standing army probably by fifty thou
sand men Congress alone can authorize /
such an expansion Of the military es.abIi h
me1t. And there will be some trouble over
the proposition, should conditions compel I
the Administration to offer 1t. But, after
ALL the country will back the Government
in inficting eondign punishment upon
China and in exacting a, heavy penalty
from her for the massacre of our people
Once the powers decide to take the
plunge, there bids fair to be a struggle the /
like OF which has not been seen in the
whole course of the century China is not
the helpless creature that Japan found her
in 1895. If she were, her ponderosity
would make the task of defeating and sub
during her hordes a hard one. But China
has gained possession of nearly If not quite
a million modern rifles. and hundreds of
siege. field, and rapid fire guns Moreover.
tie Chinese army is by no means an unor-
gaEized mob The operations at Tieutsin
have developed that fact. Even before the
natives condeseended to learn Western tao
ties, General Gordon. who knew them
thoroughly. declased that at ten TO one tLey
were able to cope with European troons.
poorly armed as they were in his day. with
bows and arrows and spears. Now. with
their at least partial military training and
their numhers, 1t is not to be expected that
they viii be easily disposed Of The war is
bound to be serious business. and Ipevi-
tably will necessitate the employment Of a
large force OF civilized troops: Just how
many it would be impossible for us 10 s.ue-s
at this time. but it may be predicted that
IL IL takes more than two hundred thourand
British soldiers to conquer thirty thousand
Beers in South Africa, it will require quite
as strong an army TO smash an Empire
which car put twenty million fighting men
in the field on short notice.
II there were any honora Die way to avoid
the struggle the United States would do
well TO keep its hands of: but that can
not be done. We are as greatly Interested
in Furnishing China as any other nation
can be, and II We are to have any COM
Inercial future in the Far East, we must
act as strongly and determinedIy as airy
other power. 1t is possible that we NAV
not need 10 carry on the war as long as
some Of our neighbors probably Will We
do not wish and would not accept single
square foot of Chinese territory. When
Pekin has been destroyed, the to1nbs of the
Ming dynasty ob'iterated. and our butchers
bill collected. we shall have done. There
is no reasonable ground that we can see
for doubling THAI China will be carved up
and divided among our allies: but that
is matter which does not concern us
We shall probably view the partition with |