Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-04-11

to Yu Hsien the man who had turned
traitor, to the unfortunate Young EN-
peror Kuang Hsu, Yuan Shfh Kai. This
man Is we'll known to foreigners. He
was formerly Chinese resident at Seoul
and 1t was largely due to him that the
Chtna-Japan war occurred. After the
war he was made commanding general
of force of foreign drilled troops sta
toned at Hsiao Chan, south of Tien
Tsin. Yuan is one Of the shrewdest and
most INSCRIPTIONS men of China, and
the empress in rewarding him by this
appointment for his service to her, In
making known the emperor's purpose
to send her into captivity, gave power
to a man who would desert her when
It suited him, as quickly as he had
The weak but we'll meaning emperor.
Yuan upon his arrival in Shantung
sound himself in q difficult position. If
T.:e encouraged the Boxers he would
make enemies of the foreigners. If he
swas severe with the Boxers he would
oe removed by the empress, influenced
as She was by General Tung Flu Hsiang
and his cabal. Being man of great
wealth and having perfect knowl-
edge of the situation he steered
course that would obviate his striking
on either rock He subscribed to the
Boxer organizations, where they
obeyed him and punished them where
they We're refractory and soon had
Shantung, which was in ferment
when he took charge, fairly we'll in
hand. He gave it to be understood
that they would in time be able to ex-
terminate foreigners, but they must
patiently drill and practice gymnastics
until such time as he considered they
had reached perfection and must not
on any account injure foreigner too
early, as it would bring down trouble
before the government We're prepared
to meet it. AT the same time he al
lowed them to freely pillage and MUIR
der the native Christians, we'll know
ing this would please the court and
would not he actively taken up by the
foreign powers as an infringement Of
treaty rights, Which it certainly was.
His idea, too, evidently was that Tung
Flu Hsiang's plan to drive out and ex-
Terminate all foreigners was an entire
ly impossible one and that if he could
keep his province from committing any
overt act that would lead to a foreign
war for a years time, the Chill au-
thorities all the Manchus and Tung
Flu Hsiang himself would have brought
on the war and ruined themselves,
while he, Yuan, would then have q
chance to cut loose from the conserva-
tives and come to the front in the new
regime, which must come, as a re.
4 lOI Iiiel. 1i.cil VIII 0O lillS i I6dF1
lessly prophesy.
The Boxer organization was not
started by Tung Flu Hsiang, but was
| by his advice given imperial sanction
and infused with new life and activ-
ity. A similar organization known in
olden times in China under the same
name was a volunteer militia for ma
tional defense. The recent revival has
not only been for defense, but to ex-
terminate the. Christian religion and
the people who brought it. That the
| Chinese people have much to complain
of from the aggressive attitude of the
native Christians and particularly tho
Roman Catholic Christians no sane
man will deny. For years 1T has been
the practice of the priests and of
many of the protestant missionaries to
assist their converts In lawsuits
against the heather and to exert an
unjust influence in their behalf To
get even with an enemy it is only nee
essary for a convert to tell his priest
or pastor that he has been prosecuted
in some way for his religious belief,
to induce the missionary to take up the
cudgels in his defense. I have heard
heather Chinese often assert that these
men (converts) appear good enough to
their priests, who see very little OF
their ordinary behavior, but behind the
fathers back they are oyerbearing and
| malicious to all their neighbors, who
Continued Next Week.)