Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-02-22
ENCHANTING THE BEAST AGAIN.

From the Boston Transcript
The announcement that a Lew cam
paign is being Planned against China
by Count Won Waluersee, who has as
yet had but Limited opportunity to eN-
plot his new dignity carries with it
an ominous Significance. II had been
hoped that a settlement was to be
effected by diplomatic negotiations,
but the commanderinChicf represents
a nation that In this business is impa-
tient, vengeful and greedy, and unless
the new threat hastens the Chinese
with the demands of the Powers, the
foul dogs of war will doubtless be let
loose again and The horrors of the re-
cent past, which now comes filtering
through various Jews channels, Will
be repeated and perhaps intensified.
What these horrors were, we have
been some time in finding out. We
were given oaly the bright side of the
picture, the bravery of the soldiers,
the rescue of the legations and i'm
perilled missionaries The long sus-
pense from which so many had suffer
ed was ended in Pekin, at least, and
the best or the worse was definitely
known. Then stories of loOting be-
gan to reach us. The PROCLAMATION ii
sacred things, the violation of forbid
den places came to public knowledge
as being matters of course. All that
belonged to the fortunes Of war. But
there were other happenings for our
knowledge of which we have had to
depend upon more private sources Of
intelligence, yet sources to which We
have given full credit on other oC-
casions and there Is me- reason why
we should not give thcm equal con
fidence now. Sir Robert Hart, writ
ing to the LpntJn Fortnightly, de-
clares on the bas! Of his own Observa-
tions that the days of laepingdom,
when native warrcd with native show
ed nothing worse 'sln the outrages
of which the allied forces in China
have been gui.,s.
Robbery was ummitttcd in the
open, with no attempt at concealment,
and he says that even some mis-
sionaries took such aicading part in
spelling the Egyptians FOR the great
er glory of Goo that byetander was
heard to say. For a century to come
Chinese converts will consider loot
ing and vengeance Christian viz
tues,
Or. +. J. Dillon draws a still more
revolving picture Of the barbaric prac-
tees INDUCED "a by these armed rep
resentatives OF Christian Powers.
Some Of his statements are lmost un-
printable. Certainly nothing but
their absolute ruth would justify
making them pahpe. We were told,
during The sirs. - men prepared to
take the lives OF women under their
care before they should fall into the
hands of the Boxers Or Dillon tells
of those natives whose wives and
daughters hanged themselves on trees
or drowned themselves in garden
wells in order lO escape much worS"
lot. Chinese women honestly be-
lieved that no more terrible fate could
overtake them than 10 fall alive into
the hands of H. Europeans and
Americans. and It is TO be feared
that they were right. But a
large number of ill-starred women fell
alive into the hands OF the allied
troops saw some of them in Pekin
and Tungtchau Int already dead.
with frightful gashes in the breast or
skulls smashed in. and one with hoi-
ribly mutilated 'Ody'
To again quote Sir Robert Hart
the warriors Of this new century
with all their discipline and up-to-date
weapons can h as brutal as We're ever
savages of earlier times. with toma-
hawk. boomerang or assegai. y
new campaign means the raiding II
another province or other provinces
it means a probable repetition Of
these unspeakable orgies and crimes
Gen Chaffee. representing the United
States. will not join it unless he has
definite instructions from his govern
ment We hope that, unless for self
preservation such instructions VIII
never be received. In their treat
ment of the conquered. the Japanese
were the most merciful and most
| Christian. or least barbariC. The
| Americans came next, and then the
| English. The sins of the latter peo-
pies were comparatively venial. They
did not neglect entirely their oppor.
tunity to collect the spoils of victory.
but they did not forget that the Chin
| ese, as well as themselves, We're hui
man beings. This country cannot
afford to be identified with such
shoe king outrages against God and
humanity.