The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-06-04
INJUSTICE 10 THE CHINESE.


Murder and assassination are never JUS
tifable; still there are sometimes miti-
eating circumstances which fair-minded
people will take into consideration. II
is seldom that murder is committed from
sheer lust of blood, even by Chinese; and
it probably never occurs that large bodies
of men band themselves together TO kill
human beings merely for the pleasure. of
taking life. There must, therefore, be
some underlying cause for the uprising
of the Boxers In China which is not
well understood in this country.
The Chinese minister at Washington
says the Boxers" have been organized
since he left China. Therefore he has no
knowledge respecting them, save what he
has CLEANED from the newspapers. He
notes.. however, that In che Chinese pa
pers the society is called "Yee Ho Chuan,'
the English equivalent of which would be
righteousness. Harmony and Fists"
This probably MEANS" says Minister
WI, what you would call being in train
ing as athletes to develop strength for
the promotion of righteousness and har-
mony."
Mr.. w. E. Curtis of Washington, who
lis probably as well informed with respect
to Chinese affairs as any person in this
country, traces the origin of the Boxers"
to the Shantung province, where German
and Belgian engineers are building rail-
roads 1t will be recalled that during the
past year or two the dispatches have fire.
quently reported railroad riots in Shan
population to the square mile of any part
Of the earth Every foot of fertile soil
is devoted to agriculture, and the dead
are buried in the gravel hills which will
not grow anything. The natives are of
necessity compelled to utilize every twig.
branch and straw of vegetation for the
purpose of supporting life. The country
is divided into little farms. (which are
cultivated almost with a microscope, one
might say."A
II is through this country that the Eu-
ropean engineers are building their rail-
roads; and in the construction, Mr.. Cur
tbs says. they pay no attention whatever
to the rights of the natives. If the right
of-way runs through a village they burn
Il, If over a farm they destroy 1t, and
if over a graveyard the sacred bones of
the dead are not respected. In this man.
ner thousands of farms have been in
vaded. thousands of houses burned and
thousands of graves desecrated Further
more, the farmers whose property has
been destroyed have been impressed into
the railroad work. In short, the Chinese,
according to Mr.. Curtis, have been treated
by these railroad builders in most
'cruel and shameful manner"
To avenge these outrages and protect
themselves against others of the kind,
the natives organized the society of "Yee
Ho Chuan," or of righteousness, Har-
mony and Fists" Being unable to diff
ferentiate between the missionaries of
modern progress and the missionaries of
the gospel, but chasing them all as for
eign devils" they have visited their wrath
upon white persons Unfortunately Be
ing religious fanatics, their anger has
been especially stirred by those persons
of their race who have discarded the re-
ligion of their own people and embraced
that of the foreigners. Such Chinese they
regard as traitors, fit only to die.
The foregoing being correct, 1T is not
difficult TO understand the uprising. I'm
der similar circumstances-that is, If rail-
ROAD builders were to ruin farms, burn
houses, desecrate graveyards and impress
labur-it can hardly be doubted that riot
ing would occur in this country, or in
England. or Germany. or Belgium. "If
the German and Belgian railroad people
would treat the poor coolie farmers of
the Shantung province in a just and hon
orable manner and give them fair COM
pensation for the property they have
taken or destroyed" says Mr.. Curtis,
there would be no need OF sending fleets
40 Chinese waters or demanding indem-
nifty at the Tsung-li-Yamen."