Evening star., 1901-01-22

by the ease with which your diplomatists
have been fooled by ours. The folly of your
people in trying to force upon us an irre-
vocable ultimatum Will be shown by the
skill with which his excellency, Ii Hung
Chang, and his highness, Prince Ching, will
impose upon your people an agreement that
will seem to promise everything that you
demand"
China and Russia.
"Then you will have to keep your agree
ment," replied.
80 it would seem,'' was Yang's bland an.
swer. THAT will depend upon what we
are asked to promise. But you will find
after the treaty has been signed that the
next move of China will be to ask for the
interpretation of certain clauses that are
subject to different meanings There will
De dispute between your envoys, and ther
there Will be a falling out. If but one
country wins from the dispute 1t will be
t'nina II two countries reap fortune, Rus.
sia may find something. left for her. Fol
the other powers there will be nothing
You have told me that among your people
VINO tax English thereiis proverb about
people who laugh in their sleeves Re.
member that the Chinese have large sleeves
Our sage Of today, Chang Chih-tung
whose book'I was reading when you came
In, explains that International law is a sci
OF precepts laid down by strong powers te
be enforced on weak ones Now, there Is
no question about the moral justice OF
China's claims against the powers for the
damages that the, powers have Willingly
wrought against us. You blame us for the
mischief our mobs have caused You called
us heathen. Yet your armies have come
here in the name of civilization and in the
name OF your creed, yet have wreaked upon
US damages that have been hundred times
greater than those that our mobs have in
Hlcted upon your people,"
our people will have to pay" I assert
eu, sipplng my last cup of tea and speaking
as politely as l could, for Yang Szu was 9
model of bland sweetness
Will Not Keep Her Promises.
Oh we will promise" he chuckled "Oul
ENJOYS will even sign any papers that your
foreign harbarians force upon us. But
Chlna Will not keep her promises Why
should she?''
why should she not keep her pledges?
asKed, as moved toward the door, while
rang Szu stood bowling me out
what pledges have you Christians kept?'
ne demanded You have tried to teach US
everything that concerned forgiveness, yet
you you XII hil5 us, ROB us and maltreat our women
nnon1a G'iuren; ~ H. Your Germans have tied our
people 10 the stakes and have tortured
my countrymen to death with thrusts OF
your bayonets. Your French and German
troops ar1 nave set fire to our villages. By
al means, let the allied powers put in their
claims. We will pay all debts in money
or promlses-until we are able to pay them
with the sword. Say that to the people who
read your writings. Tell them not to be
tooilsh enough to imagine that Chinaman
can be made to pay when he knows that
ne has suffered greater loss, hundred times
over, than the mobs of our country have
been able to intitct upon your countrymen.
instead China will make the powers pay!
See If she does not!"
1t is always very entertaining, of course,
to talk with Yang Szu, though journalist
OF the west can no more get the advantage
OF him than one of our diplomats can talk
down Ii Hung Chang.
Yang Szu is patriot. The probability is
that his country will yet get the better OF
our stupid diplomats, and do 1t, at that,
without the winking of an eyebrow The
Chinese are delaying us only until they
feel that they are again in a position to
fight.
Yet, If the worst-for China-should come,
and the emperor or his successors are forced
to pay indemnity, Yang Szu, patriot though
he is, is enough Of a travelled man-for as
he says himself, he has ben as far as Hong
Kong-to derive all the profit he can from
helping to furnish the millions needed to