The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-15
IT COSTS A MILLION
CONTINUED from Page u

which Christian missionaries nave me
most trouble, although Turkey and the
Armenian districts have always been
productive of plenty of protests. in
China and Corea the missionaries for the
most part are brave men, who know thdt
they are taking their lives in their own
hands every day; and the instances
wherein they have suffered personal
harm and discomfort have always been
thoroughly investigated by this Govern
ment. More protests have been success
ment than with any other country, but
although the DoWager Empress mas al
ways abjectly apologiZed for the mag
mites and has promised ample repara-
ton and the punishment OF the o11en1-
ers, the records show few cases or me
fulfilment of these promises All the De
partment can do, however, is formally
to protest against SUCH treatment Oh GU
liens of this country.
Japan gives little trouble to the Chris
tian missionaries. l don't suppose there
sionaries in that kingdom during the
past year, while China furnished close
on to 800 such cases. The protests from
Japan are usually based on more SUD-
stantial causes than those from CHINA,
where a few excited ChinkS in some SUI
burban community cause an attack of
Mysteries almost without knowing 1t. In
Japan the natives are not so ignorant
and hence do not make demonstrations
against the Christians. Besides, there
are not so many missionaries in Japan
there are IN emma.
''Siam recently furnished very queer
protest. 1t seems that in a little village
on the outskirts of Bangkok the Rev MT
Perley of San Francisco had established
a mission and was spreading Christian
ity. One of the water bullocks, in com
mon use in Siam, roamed into his little
mission meeting house one afternoon
there are no substantial doors to keep
QUO intruders-and while nosing around
not only overturned a number of benches
of frail character and smashed them
but also knocked small statue Of the
Madonna from stand and broke 1T into
smithereens The entire damage was not
more than $40 in American money, but
the missionary considered the loss of the
Madonna almost irreparable. Why he
should do so 1 don't pretend to know, but
he requested the United States Consul
at Singapore to report the matter to the
Estate Department, claiming that. the po-
lice protection afforded him was made
quate and that the accident would not
have happened had the district been prop
refused to make such trivial matter the
subject of correspondence half way
around the world and back again, and
so the Rev. Mr.. Perley wrote out not
only his own grievance but also charges
against the United States Consul, a very
competent official, who knows what he
is about.
1T may be news to many people to
know that there are a number of mis-
sionarieS, mostly Catholics, in Chilli, and
that they have hard times very frequent
ly. A Catholic church in Valparaiso, Of
! ficiated over by an American priest,
sent from the Catholic University in
this city, was recently robbed of three
of the stations of the cross, inclosed in
| richly ornamented fromes. The theft
was unquestionably committed by sneak
/ thieves, and the Gillian Government was
in no way responsible, yet protest was
filed with the United States Consul, John
f. Caples, who courteously forwarded it
to the Department, after reporting the
matter to the Gillian authorities. Cases
of robbery are frequently reported, both
| of churches and of missionaries, yet ii
! is of course manifestly impossible for the
| Department here at Washington to take
any action in regard to such things.
Even as it is, the State Department
! finds it's hands full in the effort to afford
! proper protection to missionaries who
venture into dangerous localities to
| spread the Gospel. There may be some
| question as to whether the Department
ought to expend money in such a pur-
pose, but whether strictly within the
law or not certainly public sentiment is
! in support of the effort to take care OF
| lives on such enterprises"