Evening journal., 1901-05-16
NEW SPAPER OPINION
Was It Unwise lenity ?

From the New York Sun.
Several months after the arrival Of the
American troops at Pekin. General Wilson
sent into the region east of that city a
small expedition of cavalry, under the
command of Captain Forsyth So far as
we have any information concerning this
movement. Il was made at the suggestion
of the missionaries, for the purpose OF
roscuing certain native Christians who
were surrounded by Boxers. The Rev. Dr.
Ament apparently accompanied the sol
diers. AT Chicago on Monday, referring
TO the charge that he had exhibited vim
dictivenoss on this occasion, and that he
had demanded that an entire Boxer VII
ings be destroyed. Or. Ament said:
"That statement was false. We did de-
stroy one hut, but not a village The
place was the home Of one OF the worst
murdercrs. and its burning had a good
effect on the others. In Captain For
syth / felt that we had a man not deeply
ln sympathy with the missionaries, but
he did not permit his feelings 70 interfere
with his work
Missionaries are the forerunners of a
new civilization in China. They have
had before this last terrible uprising. The
Chinese take lenlency for weakness and
fear. The punitive expeditions were the
only things that could show them that no
weakness or fear existed. What we mis-
sionaries wanted was a iudicious punish
ment spread over the entire affected dis
hict."
OF this same expedition. concerning the
management of which DR.. Ament criti-
cises the military authorities for being
too merciful to the benighted heather, Dr.
Ament has said on another occasion:
"Orders given by General Wilson were
that no soldier was to fire his gun unles.
fired upon And no Boxers were to- b'
punished. 1t was in no sense punitiv,
expedition.
THE Chinese could not understand sucl
leniency. well equipped body of 26
lcavalrymen, under able officers, passet
through a region filled with ood-thirst,
Boxers whose hands We're red with tn,
blood of more than a hundred Christians
where thousands of dollars worth o
property had been destroyed and many
chapels burned, and not one man wal
called TO account for this terrible lawless
ness. only In one place where the sol
dierl We're fired upon. were there any OF
fensive operations on the part Of tn
troops. a'..
b zone gun fred at a troop Of foreign sol
: diers would easily result I'm the destruc
tion OF village or villages and the los
OF many lives. But In village wher
scores OF native Christians have perishe
by the hands of the Boxers and mission
aries have been driven out and vilihet
E for the latter to demand the punishment
a of a few notorious leaders Is considere
by some contrary TO the professions whic
they make"
o. what we missionaries wanted" say
! the Rev. DR.. Ament. "was a judiciou
q punishment spread over the entire afecte
= district He does not directly denounC
q Captain Forsyth for not disoheylng N
orders Of his superior officer, and FOR n,
j. carrying torch and sabre TO the village
q from which missionaries had been drive
r out and vilihed;" but DR. Ament does e,
q press his opinion that the forbearing cal
C. tain OF cavalry was "a man not deeply
sympathy with the missionaries"
e The Rev. DR. Aments various stat
n ments since his return TO this counti
r. have been somewhat fragmentary bl
% they are all perfectly consistent with Il
I general statement or defence which
dictated TO our correspondent I'm PeSin
~ February /, printed in The sun OF Mar
y a. Tie did not mince matters then. al
IS he Is not doing so now. The evasio
le and euphemisms and suppressions OF ia
1. that we are hearing now proceed n
At from him but from his ill-advised or /
n, adequately informed apologists in a C,
tain part OF the religious newspaper pre-
y Two questions of Importance suggt
themselves:
Was the course pursued by the Anne
Ae can military commanders. or was {
)n course urged upon the soldiers by I
n missionaries who held Dr. Ament's vie
We on "the distribution Of judicious punt,
r. ment' the nearer to the teachings
!, Christ and the policy Of Christian civili,
tion?
- Was there any relation Of sequence a
us consequence between the Rev
Ament's appearance in one set OF vlllal
accompanied by Captain Forsyth and
pl- 2G5 cavalrymen. and his success in {
Id lecting damages and an additional fine
Us thlrty-three per cent. from other villal
no which he visited subsequently,. unatten,
a by troopse