Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-07-02

Japan is not only none Christian and
Asiatic nation, imbued with
the hatred for the white man common
to all yellow races, but is also pos
sessed by the most aggressive ambi-
tons only to be satisfied at the ex-
pense of the western powers. The idea
of Japan is to obtain a preponderant
influence in China, to secure d1fferen-
tial duties in her favor in such way as
to close the Chinese market to all other
foreign nations, and to drill the Chi
nese army SO as to become a weapon for
the furtherance of her dreams Of gran
deur. In one word, there is no positive
assurance Of the fact that if Japan were
to obtain control of China at the pres
ent moment, she would not use that
control against all western and Chris
tian powers, thus intensifying the So
called yellow peril.
Don't Trust Russia.
Equally reluctant are the powers to
trust Russia, who has to her record a
terribly long list of broken treaties and
violated engagements. 1t was but the
other day that she obtained from Korea
the harbor of Masampho, the finest on
the entire coast of China, n spite Of
her most solemn pledges of England, as
well as to Japan not to take any such
step. It is in keeping with her conduct
in connection with Batoum, in the
Black sea. She bound herself by the
treaty of Berlin that Batoum should be
a free port and unfortif1ed, yet DELHI
erately closed it eight years later and
converted it into naval stronghold, on
which occasion Lord Rosebery, rs
English foreign secretary, complained
bitterly in a memorable dispatch Of
Russia's failure to recognize the bind
ing force and sanctity of international
engag ements,' adding that it "tends to
make future conventions and treaties
difficult, if not impossible, and to cast
doubt at least upon the, worth of the
treaties already in existence" This is
only one of scores of other instances
where treaties and conventions signed
by Russia have been violated in the
most impudent manner by that power
either on the strength of some quibhle
or else without any pretext at ALL The
powers concerned have no guarantee or
assurance that if Russia marches her
troops into China and seizes the capital
she will consent to march out again,
and if she remains there and obtains
control Of the Chinese government, i
will be equivalent to the closure of the
ocsf ON cS0I oY,ir In 40 trod 10 nd
industry Of all other nations Even
France appears to doubt the good faith
of Russia in spite of the much-vaunted
alliance, for the french envoy at Pc
kin, NJ. Gerard, is giving no support to
M. de Giers, the Russian minister, and
French fnanciers have repeatedly de-
clined of late to loan the Russian gov
eminent any more money. England,
the United States, Germany, France,
and to a certain degree Italy have iii :
terests that are Identical in China,
namely, the open-door policy and tn :
retention of China as a market to the
trade and industry of all the world.
danger, and in all likelihood to be de-
stroyed, if the five powers in question
side either with Russia or with japan
i'm allowing one Or the other to inter
vene alone.
No Immediate Solution.
Meanwhile the instruction proceeds
apace, missionaries and merchants are
being massacred, and European and
American property is being devastated
Nor does there appear any immediate
solution Of the problem, for it is by no
means certain that either Russian or
Japanese invasion of China would
suffice to quell the anti-foreigner move
ment. The forces that would confront
an invading army are too great, the
empire is too vast in extent, the popu-
lation too colossal. That there may
have been sympathy on the part of the
doWager empress for Russia in the past
is quite probable, for she must have ob.
served that the Muscovite empire is the
only foreign power whose policy never
wavers and always pursues the same
aim until it attains it, sometimes only
after the lapse of many years. But she
has now, according to all appearances,
cut herself adrift from her Muscovi1e
entanglements, realizing that Russia Is
more ravenOus than any other foreign
power for Chinese territory and consri-
tutes more serious peril to the integ-
rity and independence Of the empire
than any other nation The empress
is resolved to rely on the Chinese alone,
and by cleverly appealing to their love
for their native land. and above all to
their fierce and fanatic adherence of
the foreigner, may be said to have
welded her 400,O00000 countrymen into
a colossal force that no longer consti-
tutes the danger, but support to the
throne, with the watchword of China
for the Chinese
A BIT OF FELLOW FEELING.