The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-07-14
THE WRONGS OF CHINA.
Reasons That Boxers Have for Their
Hatred of Foreigners.

Rev. Camden M. Cobern, in Christian Ad-
vocate.
1t looks now as If the world was prepar-
ing for the great battle of battles which the
ancient prohpet saw at the end OF time--the
battle of Arma geddon-in which all the ma
tons of the world should be engaged. but
in which, accordig to the ancient seer. the
lion and the bear should play the promi-
nent part. No observer can doubt that a
military crisis is approaching of greater
magnitude than the planet ever expert
enced before. 1t looks now, also, as if
America could not be a spectator merely
of this great world-battle, and as If it's
occasion, If not it's theater of operations,
would be China.
The part which the Boxers are playing
in this great national uprising / do not
think is usually clearly understood. AL
though ignorant these Boxers of China
are, in way, really patriotic; they are do
ing what they think best for the nation,
and they have had great provocation for
their savage acts. They hate Christians
because they hate foreigners. and suppose
that all these bloodthirsty and unjust for
eigners are Christians. They class them
all together, believing that every foreigner
is in the devilish plot to despoil them of
their territory. We ought not to blame
them too much for this misconception. If
any nations had insulted and outraged the
people of America as several nations have
thus treated China, we, too, might now be
appealing to the desperate redress of dag
ger and dynamite. 1t was only in 1884 that
certain French vessels steamed into a Chi
nese port, and, without even declaration
of war, blew up the entire Chinese fleet.
killing 5000 Chinese soldiers and marines,
IT IL r.
was there) the waters of the harbor were
filed with the shocking sight of these dead
bodies drifting in by the tide. Who could
have blamed. very greatly, the officials of
that city if i'm response to this atrocious
murder, its Chinese inhabitants had risen
UP and slaughtered every foreigner within
its gates.
Granted that there was some attempted
explanation made for this act. on the
ground that some little minute part of
some agreement made with the French
government by the Chinese officials had
been violated-what did the relatives of
these 5000 dead Cinnamon know about
that?
And the French are not the worst by any
means. The Russians have proved tenfold
harder hitterS Of the Chinese than the
French have.
And the Germans? Why, il is only three
years ago that private party OF Germans
sailed up Chinese river with the German
flag floating at the masthead of the vessel
and began digging up the tombs of the
Chinese Kings, hunting for treasure. APP
palled and exasperated at the sight the
Chinese gathered, and when the party re-
sisted them with arms they annihilated
these violators of the dead from off the
face of the earth. as they ought to have
done. But a few weeks later after the
German consul had inquired what had be-
come of these innocent travellers who had
disappeared so suddenly, German war
ship steamed up the same river and burned
down the villages of the patriots who had
defended the royal cemeteries.
Such scenes have been enacted over and
over again in China. and account in large
part for the uprising I'm which the Boxers
now lead