The sun., 1900-07-17
THE WORLD AT WAR.


By fiction OF international usage it is
assumed that there is no war in China.
AS matter of fact the civilized world is
in arms and at war with China, il not
with the Chinese government, with the
Chinese people. Battles far more bloody,
and possibly more serious in their in.
huence upon the world history than the
greatest of the British .Boer battles in
South Africa, have been fought all the
nations of the world participating.
In this new war Americas position is
very much the same as it was two years
ago in the beginnings of the war with
Spain-protesting against it, but being
dragged into it by force OF circumstances.
Circumstances made it impossible to
avoid war with Spain, and the circum-
stances OF the war, not those leading to
it, dictated its consequences. What
the immediate consequences OF the
Spanish-American war are in Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippines, no man
could foretell, much less could any one
have foretold the consequent situation
relative to the great conflict that has be-
gun in China. 1t put America in Asia
not merely as spectator but party of
interest in all that goes on there. To
make Americas interest akin to that of
all the world in this Chinese horror, a
worse thing has occurred, if that is pos
! eikla fLot, h1 e . ~, ln2
ship Maine. In both cases official repre-
sentatives OF the United States have been
brutally murdered, AMI the murder must
be avenged Thus, as we pointed out
some time ago when calling attention to
the signs Of the approaching worlds war,
the unavoidable thing to entangle this
country in that war has occurred.
1t is useless to repeat the horrors of
the Chinese story. The victims OF the
indescribable atrocities Of the yellow
fiends are dead. 1t is hardly possible
now TO save others who are threatened
with like terrible martyrdom. Hope ior
them has been abandoned. Henceforth
the war must be one of vengeance and
reparation. China must be whipped
and Europe and America must do it.
Another thing is that China must be
whipped go that she will stay
whipped. Anything less than this
would leave her standing
menace to the peace of the world. This
war is going to teach China the modern
art of war. She will be an apt scholar.
The iercer the fighting the quicker and
the more she will learn. What she
learned in the war with Japan is now
apparent. The nation that Japan
i. whipped is now defying the world and
its soldiers are holding the worlds
armies back Notwithstanding their
frantic endeavors to reach Pekin and
rescue the Americans and Europeans inn
prisoned there. This is only a slight in
dication of what the future will show, if
after whipping China into subjection the
: world takes its hands off and allows the
leaven Of war experience to work out to
its legitimate end.
This suggests what seems to be inevit-
able, the dismembering of the empire
and the practical destruction of its gov
ernment. The safety of Europe, and
perhaps of the civilized world, will de-
mand that and the demand will doubt
less be recognized soon, when it is recog-
nized the carving will begin. No one
can determine now exactly what the cir
cumstauces will be, but America will be
there, just as surely as she is there now.
That we must help fight this war through
is certain, and we predict that it will he
as impossible to back out of the settle
ment when it comes as it is to avoid our
share in the war now. Theorists fand
fanatics may plead and howl; and con-
servatives may talk about Washington's
advice, and Jefferson's policies, but they
will amount to nothing against stubborn
facts, like those that dictated the treaty
OF Paris. Events, and circumstances will
dictate what will occur, at the end of the
worlds war.