Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-10-02
FOREIGN DEVILS IN CHINA.
Cigarette Pictures Increase Con-
tempt For European Women.

tempt For European Women.
AS I have gone down these thirty
years of life in China, the words For
eign Devils" Chinese Devils" have
seemed to remain with me as some
thing to keep down in the undercurrent
of my life that every now and again
insisted on making themselves heard.
I have come to believe that we foreign
ers in China, as a class, think too much
about the "Chinese Devir' part Of the
subject and not enough of the other
side.
Do we foreigners realize what we
have done and are doing to make
Shanghai the sink Of iniquity that it Is?
We scatter broadcast over these settle
ments, and from here into the country
at large, such pictures and advertise
ments as should make US all ashamed.
The worse ones are all Of foreign wo-
men, and, as we send them out, we say
to these heather Chinese, who have
far more Christian ideas in this respect
than we have, that we care not what
the world thinks Of our women. We
put her forth into the glare Of the
worlds broad sunlight, we set her up
before millions Of curious eyes, and say
Here Is our foreign women, dressed or
undressed, 1t is all the same to US.
Look at her. Think Of her as you will
We are so anxious to have you buy our
cigarettes and come to our theatres
and circuses that we are willing to ex-
pose our women in anyway you like
best. We so want to have you buy
our wares that we willingly sacrifice
all our ideas Of propriety. In exchange
for your gold we will give our goods
and throw in our social purity at no ex-
ira charge" We post all over this set
tlement life-sized picture of an Amer
lean girl smoking cigarette, hoping to
get tine Chinese girl, suppose, to fol-
low her example. We scatter picture
cards by millions even begging shop
keepers to give them away when they
sell their goods, If only we may bring
to the notice of few more thousands
of these heather Chinese how anxious
we are to have them purchase our ci-
gars and how lightly we value the hon.
or Of foreign women.
About ten years ago, when the large
cigarette advertisement pictures began
to be so plentiful in Shanghai, was 60
ing frequently to the house Of one Of
our Christians to teach his wife to read.
To my sorrow I found one day two of
these hung up in their guest room. I
told them at once how very sorry I
was to see them there. The old moth
er in the family, herself a Christian,
said: why, my son, has just bought
them. He thought they were very or
namental." Said I, "If that cluster Of
women were Chinese women and dress
ed, or rather undressed, in that fash
ion, would you have them in your room
for one moment?" She seemed horri-
fled at the idea. WELL" said I, II
am a foreign woman and they are for
e1gn WOIneIl, dlu dill dSIldilleu W lOOh
at them'' On my next visit they had
disappeared and on my remarking upon
it the mother said: LAS soon as I told
my son what you said he decided that
they must go at once"
In another home Of our Christians I
found two large (nearly life sized pic
lures ofa similar nature. One Of them
was of a foreign lady in a neat, tight
fitting street costume; the other of a
lady ready for the ball. turned to the
latter and said: II am exceedingly sor-
ry to see this in your home" The
wife, pointing to the other, asked: do
you think it any worse than that?''
Her manner implied a contempt for
any woman that would appear in eth
er way, she seeming to consider one
just as bad as the other. This was the
severest comment I ever heard on our