Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-23

| ply were not irse X and the rest of the
| speeches fell rather fiat IN consequence.
to say 1t in thexmost perfect form. and
| primate and premier leaned back In their
| chairs and laughed delightedly at this I'M
expected outbu'fst' Of American forensic
| power
| Shall China BE Russianizeds
To the Editor of The Evening STAR
In The Star of Jane 20 appeared an arti-
| c,e by Alexarfferh Hume Ford, reprinted
from Golfers Weekly in which We're some
very interesting statements bearing on the
! results that may be expected should Rus
] STA succeed in Calming a dominant position
in China. Mr.. Ford points out that In a
| single decade Russia has planted a colony
of more than million souls in her Pacific
provinces besides spending hundreds of mil
| lions of rubles in preparing the country Tor
| their habitation; that railroads, cities and
manufacturing towns have sprung up there
| like magic, and that hundreds of steamers
have been built to ply in the newly opened
Chinese waters. He remarks that at any
| time the war party at St Petersburg may
predominant, in which case China would be
| invaded and its military forces organized
into Russian army, rifles and modern ord
nance taking the place of bows and arrows,
that notwithstanding the easy victory of
Japan over China in the late war, military
| commanders of all nations still affirm that
| the Chinese. under competent officers, make
| that the supply Of food for cannon in China
| is almost inexhaustible. and that with
| China under her control Russia would have
| not merely the SO00,o00 soldiers who now
| compose the military forces of the car
but an army of forty millions, most OF
whom could live fnexpensvely on a handful
| of rice a day. He adds that the Chinese
are among the best seamen known; that
they man the steamship lines between
| America and China. and are fast taking
the place of the white tar the world over.
| and that Russia could soon organize a
| navy manned by Chinese and Differed by
| Russians
| Whether or not we accept all these state
| ments as within the hounds of strict ac-
| curacy there can he no question of the
| enormous extent to which the power of
| Russia would be increased by bringing un-
| der her SWAY the vast population of the
| Chinese emnire which added TO Russia 8
| present nonulation wol'd make n total of
| Something like 20, oC) rr, souls or fully
| one-third of the nonulalion of the earth 1t
is true, moreover, that according to thor
oughly competent Judges the Chinese prom
| erIy armed CENTRALIZED and led would make
| excellent soldiers and that owing to the
| low wages to which they are accustomed
| and the simnle fare with which they are
| content they wouId he the cheapest SOL
| diers in the world If Russia can ont of
| her present population maintain an army
| of supD,o men IT can scarcely be an ex-
| apneration To saw as Mr. Ford does that
| with China at her DISMISSAL she could raise
| this number TO forty millions 1t might
| perhaps be douhted whether the Chinese
| would make the hest fpbtin., materia! for
a navy. but intermixed with Europeans
and set at the tasks for which they might
| prove themselves fitted they would vastly
| swell the n,,mhar Of mon available for
| naval servica undar tho PusS;an dap
| The (,hinesa too ara indefa tipa HE work.
| ers. Their country is enormously rich in
| natural resources and with the ann,ica tion
/ of Enronean methads In tbe;r ind,strv
| their nroduction ~ wealth Tbus China
| would soon bS,con1e the richest source of
revenue tributary "a the Russian excheouer
| and the fnanciai resources of Russia would
| he Increased as winch nc her SUNNY of
| fighting material
| But annexation would not ston with
| China. If that country were safely under
| Russian domination India could no longer
| be he'd by Great Britain. Her population
| of nearly three hundred millions NAV there
| fore b, counted as another ineyitable addi-
| ton to the number of the cars subjects
| Japan too along with Corea would fall
| under Russian control as would Persia
| and Asiatic Turkey. More than half the
! population of our p,anet would thus be
brought under a single scepter. and that
| a scepter which represents unmitigated alb
| selutism in government
| Well may Mr. Ford saw that with China
| under her control Russia ".could dictate
| terms to the world" Yet he seems to re-
| gard il as about an even chance whether
| we shall think il to our interest as a ma
| tion to unite with the nations of western
| Europe in preventing such a stupendous
| augmentation of Russia's power or wheth-
| er we may be led into peaceful CONNER
| cial alliance with her and be content ito
| grow corplIlent and law from overlooking
| upon the rich feast of crumbs falling from
| the Russian table"
| Even If we could have any assurance that
| these crumbs would constitute a feast rich
! enough to make us corpulent and lazy
which might well be doubted-the role of
| dependence involved in watching for them
| Is scarcely such as would commend itself
| to the feelings of high spirited people like
| those of the United States especially when
| /; is in their power by taking a positive
| stard in time to make this country instead
| of Russia the worlds greatest power. If
we choose the former career rather than
| the latter 1t will not be from deliberate
| preference but from failure to recognize
| in time the bea ring of current events upon
| our own future Mr. Ford says: THAT the
| Russianization of China will he eventually
| ACCOMPLISHED seems Inevitable" If 1t were
a matter between Russia and China alone
| II would be Inevitable: but with proper
concert of action between the powers in
terested it can be prevented IF western
ly stand aloof; but with France apparently
in the accomplishment of her designs and