Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-18
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The Department Of State is giving
careful attention to conditions in China
which threaten injury to American
trade. The American minister at Pekiug
has been instructed TO call the attention
OF the Chinese government to the treaty
OF 1853 with the United States, which
remains In force, one article of which
guarantees certain rights to American
citizens as to importing exporting, buy
ing and selling at the open ports of
China. 1t is apprehended that the boy
colt movement may interfere with these
treaty rights, respect Of which will Of
course be firmly insisted upon by our
government. At the same time the
American consuls in China have been
instructed to furnish detailed reports of
the boycott situation.
A Washington dispatch says that our
government will probably take a de-
termlned position and insist upon fair
treatment for American trade in the
Chinese empire and IL is believed that
once the government of China gives ex
plieit orders prohibiting the boycott the
merchants will abandon the undertaking
in short order There should be no hesi-
tation on the part of the government in
taking such action as It properly can
whenever it shall become convinced that
the movement hostile to our trade is as
represented. There must be a firm in
sistence upon strict observance of all
treaty rights and the Chinese govern
ment must be given to understand in
unmistakable terms that It will be held
responsible for any failure in this re-
spect. OF course nothing that our gov
ernment can do will compel the mer-
chants of China to take our goods or
the people to buy them, but we can in
sist that there shall be no openly unfair
discrimination against us, especially of
a character that violates treaty obliga-
tions.
The trouble is that the Chinese gov
ernment may prove unable to prevent
this that while it may make sincere
effort to do so, little heed Will he given
to its efforts. Peking has already IS
sued an order to viceroys instructing
them to prevent the boycott, but it is
stated that practically nothing has been
done by Chinese officials. The fact
undoubtedly is that these officials are
very generally in sympathy with the
boycott movement. and are disposed to
aid rather than to hinder 1t. Being
irresponsible and virtually independent
of the imperial government, they will
give only such respect as they please to
the wishes Of the Peking authorities. 1t
is therefore to be apprehended that the
boycott will be maintained, perhaps
somewhat less aggressively than thus
far, yet with enough vigor and per-
sistence to effect very material reduc-
ton in our trade.
AS a matter of fact the feeling in
China toward the United States is at
present distinctly unfrlendly. There is
a very strong sentiment of resentment
among merchants, students and the bet
ter class OF the people, and there is rea-
son to believe that some prominent and
Influential men at Peking and elsewhere
are not doing anything to discourage
this feeling. Everybody here under
stands its cause and the question to be
determined is whether we shall remove
the cause. That is for congress to de-
eide, the simple course being to so mod
ify the exclusion law as to keep out
only Chinese laborers. If that be done
the peril to our trade will be averted.