The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-03-08
YELLOW
BUCABOO
No Peril From the
Advance of
Japan.

Editor Advertiser: The yellow
PERIL Is it fantasy or fact? Many
men in various places and ways have
uttered iteIated and reiterated the
words. and multitudes now profess to
believe that there is indeed a yellow
Peril. Why these words? What their
| raison d'etre? Chatham charged an
/ opponent with being without that sa-
gacity which is the true source of in
=! forma ton, ''Sagacity to compare causes
| and effects, to judge of present affairs
| and to discern the future by a careful
review of the past This so-called
yellow Peril" or the dream of one,
| apparently dominates many minds, and
| it is constantly urged that a victorious
Japan will work upon the susceptible
| ties, weakness and latent strength of
! China in such wise that a mighty men
ace to peace and civilization viii be the
outcome of her triumph over the North
ern Giant, Japans powerful and most
| interruptions opponent.
An extremely clever, versatile and
somewhat emotional man lent his brush
and artistic tendencies to usually por-
tray his maginIngs of what a dread
the Yellow Peril of his mind might be-
come This royal excursus into the
realms of symbolic art set the world a
talking and gave an added impetus to
the theory OF a yellow Peril Does
the strenuous ruler and tho e holding
his views really feel the matter to be a
great Government of the day. Il mon
strous black cloud of indistinguishabl
shape marring the fair sky of a peace
full and peace-loving world? They so
say, and not a few are they protesting
thus to believe. OF such beliefs it may
well be asked do they exhibit that
PRESIDENT sagacity which enables men
to reasonably compare causes and eff
fects and to judge of the future by a
careful revision of past and present
occurrences? Has this cry of a Yellow
Peril any reasonableness in it? Is II
not merely the echo of words that a
paralyzing conceit in their own good
ness and superiority, coupled with de- /
sire of gain, caused the enemies of :
Japan to utter, in an effort to justify !
the robbing of the Island Empire of .
the East of the material advantages of |
it's victory over China? In the whole /
gamut of international obliquities no |
note sounds clearer, no chords more
resonant of truth than the facts above
stated.
Interesting and informing are the fol-
lowing quotations (which, perhaps. Sir,
you Will permit me to put before your
readers, for we on these islands, who
owe much to the indu try and relia-
bility of the Japanese, may read the
words with both pleasure and profit:
For at least half a century Euro
pean nations, with England as the pio-
neer, have been telling Oriental nations
that their only hope of salvation lies
in adopting Western habits of thought
and Western civilization. In order to
enforce the lesson, Europe has invaded
their territories, slain their people, an
nexed their revenues and taken posses
sion of their soil. One of these Oriental
nations has taken the advice of Eu-
rope. 1t has mastered the ways of
Western civilization with extraordinary |
thus showing that 1t Is
anxious to profit by our secular efforts
for its regenera ton. Yet, as soon as it
accepts our advice, and complies with |
our cherished notions of progressive
ness and intelligence, Europe turns !
'ound and denounces it as a menace to {
peace and civilization. For a thousand
years that nation, Japan has enjoyed Y
civilization of its own which has pro- l
Iuced a physical and moral education {
low triumphantly enduring the severest
ests that can be applied. 1t meddled c
With nobody. and it asked of the world Z
nothing but to be let alone. Europe s
would not leave it alone, and it was '
wise enough to learn from what went q
n in its vicinity that European inter- '
erence would go on increasing in pro- n
'ortion to its possession of things COW
table. Now that it can protect itself g
" European methods against the ag- a
,ression of a European nation, it is h
eclared to be the natural enemy of all S