The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-04-19
WAS II LOOT OR BOOTY?
DIR. AMENT ON MARK TwAINs
CHARGES.
Passes the Buck Up to Minister Con-
ger-Conger Passes 1t Back Again.
Moral Right to Punish

Rev. DR.. W. S. Ament who vas head
feklng ana against WnOm Chas ses Of
loUting have been maze Dy many news
paper and magazine correspondents
VINO were IN emma was a passenger on
the Nippon Maru DR.. AmenL was seen
on the steamer this afternoon about
the charges made against nm.
The most prominent OF the accusers
of Dr. Ament is mark 1waIn the DIS
tinguished author. DIR. Ament makes
a sngnt difference in the manner which
he answers the various charges. lie
says that the correspondents nave been
circulating lies about him but in speak
ing of Mark Twain he does not employ
such sweeping language but says that
Mark Twain was laDoring under
misapprehension of the facts and that
there are two sides to the controversy
ana he, DIR. Ament will content hlm-
self with waiting until he reaches
America before entering into any de-
tiled answer to them.
zone of the principal of my accusers," j"
said DIR. Ament, lis a correspondent
name Millard and it will be my object
to especially reply 10 the statements
which he has made. He in an article
in the March or April Scribner's, made
statements which are absolutely false
He is a fabricator of the first water.
The correspondents seemed indeed to
avoid me and contented themselves
with sending out every wild rumor
and untruthful report about us. There
was a man named Lynch who has been
going through Japan telling lies about
me. l do not know whether he has
passed through here or not.
"Of course conditions are very diff
ferent in China than they are in the
United States and l can readily con-
ceive how the people in the latter coun-
try might be misled by occurrences
which they did not understand. For in
stance ! believe that one of the first
reports that / was engaged in looting
occurred through an attempt on my
part to do a kindness to a native Chi
nese. He wanted to move his goods
from one place to another In Peking
and he asked me to ride on the cart in
order to protest the goods from the
soldiers. l got on top of the goods.
They were not looted goods mind you.
although they looked like 1t. I rode
with the stuff through the streets. per-
fectly unconscious of, what might be
presumed from my being there.
"One of the points upon which Mark
Twain lays particular stress Is the
fact that / went out to the various
villages and levied tribute. All that I
fact was to demand and require of the
the indemnity claimed by the mission
aries and M tive Christians who had
been driven from their homes and then
deprived of their property. That was
only a Just fine. one third more than
what was destroyed. Mark Twain con-
tends that this was unfair because it
made the burden of the taxes fall upon
the innocent in each village. As a
me- tier of fact it did not. for all Of
those villages We're concerned in the
Boxer uprising. The organizations of
Boxers represented at least one young
man from every leading family of each
village and while 1t might have been
the hands of the young men who had
struck down the missionaries and other
Christians. 1t was the older men who
We're furnishing the brains and supplies
to the young men who were actually in
, the Boxer ranks. / think we have a
moral right to punish those who were
| the brains of the movement therefore
contend that the innocent We're not
made to suffer but the punishment fell
on the guilty.
After we were relieved at Peking we
\ had to look about for other quarters fol
| we could not remain In the English LIE
| cation any longer. / selected the hous'
| of a Chinese prince who was a Boxer
J and who had deserted his place. l wen
there and on the written authorization
from the American Minister I sold the
stun which had been left in the place
| This was was done merely to help care
| for 400 or more native Christians who
| were without means. About $4,000 was
realized from this sale. This was de
clared by some correspondents to be
loot but ii was not. IT was e'''nlv con.
hcation as we had a right to levy"
Evidently this Is what Minister Con
| ger had in mind this morning when In
| speaking of the interview published II
| the Advertiser with DIR. Ament he said
"Wel you know when some people have
a kick they can tell an awful nice
story"
DR. Ament says he will not institute
any libel suits against his accusers bu
he will consult with the missionary
board as to the best means of replyinl
to the charges Truth will prevail, h