The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-09
THE CHINESE SIDE.
As Stated by the Consul General at
San. Francisco.

Chicago, July 9-A special to the
Times Herald from San Francisco says:
In regard to the present situation in
China, Ho Vow, the Chinese consul gen
eral in San Francisco, a diplomat only
second in importance to the Chinese
minister in Washington, whose prede-
cessor was in fact Ho Vows brother
in-law, says:
The origin of the whole trouble is in
terference with our religion in China.
do not question the worthy intentions
of the missionaries who have gone
there, but they have made the mistake
of trying to convert a people who are
not educated as a race even to the point
of religious liberation
Good missionaries merely waste their
energies and incense the people. Study
ing the history of the world we find
that almost every great war has been
brought on by differences in religion.
There is another cause for the present
uprising, aside from the purely religious
work of the missionaries in China. It
has so happened in China that when
ever a missionary has been injured or
killed in the country the nation which
he represented has made the tragedy
the occasion for asking grants of lands
from the Chinese government.
Il do not mean to say that they were
not right in demanding indemnity for
such misdeeds, but this course in the
eyes of many Of our people, who are
extremely suspicious, has been miscon-
Il1SrGDrGSenTGQ.
Il am positive from the dispatches
have received that 1t was the original
intention of both the government and
boxers to respect the Pekin legations.
Otherwise it would have been easy to
attack them before June 20. 1 am sure
the government was ready to put forth
every effort to protect them
To-day I can not speak so confidently
The bombardment of the Taku forts has
changed the whose aspect of the situa-
tion. AS soon as the tidings of that
act of hostility reached Pekin I fear
that the forces which up to that mo-
ment had been held in control by the
government would become frenzied and
beyond its control, for they would rea-
son that they were to be punished any
way, ard all reason for restraint would
then have been gone.
From political point of view it
seems to be a fatal mistake on the part
of those powers to have taken that ag-
gressive step before they had landed
sufficient forces to be able to support it
or to follow it up. They stirred up a
bee hive when not in a position to ac-
compliSh anything. Instead of reliev-
ing the legations in Pelxin they aggra-
waited the situation, stirring up an ig-
norant and maddened popuiace to
frenzy.
what effect a different policy would
have had on the Chinese, is, I think,
exemplified in the attitude which Ii
Hung Chang, China's most progressive
and influential statesman, has taken
toward your admiral, Kempff, who re-
fused to join in the bombardment.
Iii has invited the American admiral
| to accompany him on his mission to
| Pelin for the purpose OF pacifying the
4 Chinese, and he has expressed the de-
/ sire t>sat the United States should act
/ as an Intermediary in the settlement of
| the troubles
Admiral Kempff made a fine dem
/ onstration of wisdom in declining to
/ join in precipitating hostiiities at Taku
and he has by his conduct won the con-
| fidence Of the Chinese for his nation.
I At the same time he showed good mill
| itary Judgment, for an act of aggres-
sion was as useless as it was dangerous
| to the interests back of it.
| In my opinion the powers would need
an army of about 250,OO0 men to subdue
this one northern province by force.
| Should there be a general uprising
| throughout China, before they could dc
any sort of policing for that great ter
| ritory with its 400. 600. .000 people or bring
them under subjectiop. they would re-
quire not less than !, 600, 600 soldiers and
many million dollars would be waste
and millions of lives be lost before the