The Washington weekly post., 1900-10-02

l ah-AF 'fftit- 70 Rf Atp itti-'A Nt18-
| that most II Lot all Of the allied troops
are destined 10 pass the winter in China,
| but whether IN active campaigning or
comfortably snugglod in coy quarters re-
| mains TO be seen. Through all the obfus-
cation OF diplomatic ,naneuvering this one
| fact appears-that. so long as one great
European power remains on guard AT Pc
Kin or TientsiB, no other great European
power will dare withdraw It's soldiers
from Chinese territory. international
comfy Is one thing: international Jealousy
! is quite another. The dogs OF war. says
one well Yersed in the Wiles OF diplomacy
have dug up the Chinese bone OF conten-
| tion. and unless they can manage TO d.
vide II they will all hold on and mol, allow
any one OF the pack to have il to himself.
The policy of the United States as 10
China, declares a government official,
should, In my opinion, be this: IL must
rescue its citizens: IL must exact indem-
| nifty for all injuries TO their person or
property; IL will insist that China shall
observe all treaty stipulatiOns. and that
| Under any and all conditions of sover-
eighty possession. or foreign ascendency
the open door shall remain.
We coyet no Chinese territory. and we
shall acquire none We desire no terrific
| rial sphere of influence We will give no
approval or support, physical. moral, or
sentimental, TO the dismemberment of
China or the extinction of her sovereignty
oy the acquisition of spheres of influence
by any European power"
Assuming this to be statement ex ca
| thedra. the United States troops will have
TO share the fortunes of their foreign COL
leagues, for, though our government has
thus far kept Itself clear of international
complications and has treated China as If
entitled to the highest consideration, that
bone" will need watching.
Bases of the Powers
Russia has declared in favor of with
| drawing the allied commands from Pekin
| and even from China; but, then, she has
only to retire 10 the near ports of Port
Arthur and Talien-Wan, where her watch
dogs will sleep, if at all. with one eve
open for chance to pounce upon the de-
sired object the moment IL is left un-
guarded. The British can retire to Wei
Hai-Wei and the Germans to Klao-Chau:
but Manila. 10 which the Americans must
retreat as base, is rather far away in
case of another uprising. which is sure to
| occur, those best acquainted with the Chi
nese declare, the moment the legations
are abandoned and the foreign residents
left unprotected. To exact reparatjon and
lndemnities, TO set up the Emperor. ban
lsh the Empress Dowager and punish
Prince Tuan will necessitate the reten-
ton OF strong force at Pekin as well as
at Ilentsin and Taku. Russia knows this.
ana IL Is presumed that her secret ally, Iii
Hung Chang knows II also. at least that
Is sale as a working proposition, and IT
VIII hardly be well TO depend upon the
WHY viceroys fmpudent assurance that ne
VIII De responsible for the safety of the
NE and property of all foreigners.
III VIII be safe, therefore, to assume
that Gen Chaffee will occupy the same
relation to China next winter that Gen
washington according to a negro his
| toIlah' olo 10 certain battle-he will be
thar or tharabouts. If all reports are
| true, however. we need not waste cur
sympathles in lamenting the lot of Chat
lee ana MS men, for. according TO the
pest authorities, a winter sojourn in
China has at least its redeemng features
Leaving out the question of a possible
| scrimmage now and then with the NAL
| contents, the considerations affecting a
winters tarry are chiefly climatic, and
| as contrasted with the sweltering atmos-
phere OF the Philippines. or even the
! bracing temperature of the Northern
United States, the climate Of North China
| possesses many advantages
| According to Notes on China" an ex-
| cellent work in an invaluable series is
sued from the adjutant generals Office Of
| the United States War Department, "the
main characteristics of the climate de-
| pend, first, upon its situation on the east
| side of the greatest land masses in the
temperate zone of the northern hemi-
| sphere, and, second. upon its situation
| within the region subject to monsoon
| winds. The climate of China, owing to
| the vast extent and the numerous yaria-
uons in elevation OF her territory, could
not well present a universal character. Ii
| Is country of extremes throughout. or
at least OF high range of temperature,
hot summers alternating with cold win
| ters, though, of course, the extremes are
much greater in the north than In the
! south, where part of the surface lies
within the torrid zone.
The Area of snow and lee.
'The area comprised between the twen-
| tieth and fOrty-seeond degrees of north
latitude is naturally divided by the thirty
| fifth degree of north latitude into two
zones-the northern one. that of variable
temperature, and the southern, that of
| rains. These two zones. however. pre-
sent the greatest imaginable differences
| of climate, since in both of them are
| found mountainous regions where the
| peaks reach beyond the limit of perpetual
| snow.
"The zone Of variable temperature COM
| prises the valley situated to the north of
| the Hoang-Ho and the mountainous re-
| gion of Northern China There are four
seasons there. The water freezes in No
| vsmber and remains frozen until March.
| FOgs, snow in ineonsiderable quantities.
and the aurora borealis accompany the
| winter which is comparatively severe for
! the latitude, having an average temper
| ature Of . degrees F. at Pekin. A very
| short spring is followed by a hot sum-
mer. during which the influence of the
ocean causes abundant rains The au-
tumn is short.
''The zone OF rains is divided into two
regions. The northern one, comprising
the most beautiful and temperate coun-
| tries, extends as far as Nanling, in about
% degrees north latitude. There in the
southern valley and In the less elevated
mountain regions the regular succession
| OF Two Wet and two dry seasons, corre-
! spending TO the four seasons in the north.
] announces a climate approaching that of
| the tropics. but on the south and south
east coasts are exhibited all the climatic
! characteristies of tropical regions"
The two seasons there depend upon the
mOnsoons. The Wet season comes with
the monsoon from the southwest and
| lasts from April 10 October The dry
| season. arriving with the northeast mon
soon, continues from October 10 April. At
J Canton the average yearly temperature Is
| about q degrees L. In January IL is
about IS degrees and only % at Pekin In
July the average for the southern city of
Canton is s. degrees and for the northern
1 capital. Pekin. 72 degrees.
Ii is in the northern or most attractive
region that Pekin lies. in latitude Il de-
grees north. and while the summers are
long and hot and the temperature ranges
as high as 10 degrees, IL falls In the win