Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-30
CHINA'S BOYCOTT.

The ostrich when run to earth seeks a
fancied protection by hiding its head in the
sand. When told that China
~ee1icn boycotts American commerce
Optimism. the optimist declares the
evil Is not general. but short
lived In any case. The optimist is a hui
man ostrich.
China's boycott Is most serious. There
exists In China a power behind the throne.
verttable government within gov
eminent. composed OF trade and craft
guilds. formed for the protection and de-
veiopment Of trade against the tyranny Of
government and the exactions Of the priv
LEGGED class. Their numbers are very great.
and Sir Chentung LANG Cheng. the Chinese
minister. was quite right when. referring
q few days ago to the boycott. OF American
manufactures. he said: This boycott Is not
in any way q government affair." but en-
anates from the commercial guilds over
which the government has no control. He
might have added that for the very reason
that the government has no control OF these
guilds they are all the more dangerous.
The boycott. assumed to be modern In
stftutfon. Is not so for fact but was prac-
ticed long time ago in China. On one
occasion the emperor having want Of a
large quantity of gold leaf sent function
airy to the guild. 1t was Impossible to fur-
nish all that was urgently required, except
Inc workman SnOuEU enplOy hSAP
than the number prescribed Ia violation of
the laws of the guild The functonary
prevailed upon the workman. but the IN
fraction of the law came to the knowledge
of the guild which condemned the wretched
man to death. One hundred and twenty
three members of the guild, each one IN
turn, bit the unfortunate victim as they
passed out of the guild house. To be GER
tain that no one had failed Of his duty.
only such as gave'evidence of participation
in the act by bloody mouths were allowed
to go to their homes. The workman who
inflicted the frst-bite was discovered by
the officials and decaDitated; the rest were
undisturbed.
These guilds are divided into merchant
and craft guilds, and exist III all the large
commercial centers Of China.
Chinese in Canton. Shanghai Tient-
Guilds sin, Ningpo. Hankow. New
chwang and elsewhere, and
their participation in the present boycott
Is evidence of popular movement which
renders futile any interference Of govern
| ment. China is autocratic, aristocratic and
feudalistic. a combina ton which, strangely
enough does not exclude a democratic ee-
ment.
The writer recalls a visit made to the
guild halls of Canton in 1889 as the guest
of an educa ted Chinese merchant. He was
astonished first at the superb building, the
club organization. and second by the gen.
tie and courteous hospitality rendered. The
| host it was plain to be seen. had singled
out the writer among his other guests
(French. Russian, Italian and American
officials) to show him particularly the diff
ference between the merchant and the
coolie. To dissipate this feeling the writer
| told the story Of his entry into Seoul:
who comes there?" asked the crowd, and
| the coolie porters of the sedan chair re-
piled. "a barbarian from the western
ocean,
49, you see. Mr.. Wo.' the writer re-
Joined. "the honors are easy; the oriental
and the occidental treat each other mu-
tually to this doubtful compliment" Mr..
Wo seized the writer 8 hand and gracefully
carried it to his forehead In token that he
| understood and appreciated the delicate
and subtitle distinction. There is nothing
so offensive to a Chinese gentleman as to
be confounded, as 1t has been so frequently
done by Americans with the Chinese
cOolie.
The advent OF the boycott is the signal
| for closing the open door," which In fact
that Japan occupied Korea. the fact being
| further accumulated by Japans military
achievements In Manchuria. followed by
| her naval victories in the Yellow sea and
the Straits of Korea,
Japan holds the key to Korea and will
Undoubtedly be accorded the privilege Of
taking over that country by right of con-
quest Notwithstanding the treaty of Inchon
with the United States and that of Shi-
monoseki which assured the independence
and autonomy of Korea.
Chinas boycott is not entirely directed
| against the United States LIE Temps of
Paris. July 4, in an article
Europe entitled THE Mackay Treaty
! Affected. and English Traders in Chi
na," says: Seventy direc-
| tors of the i'm licb
| of Shanghai have sent to Lord Lansdowne
a protestation which sets forth: That
China ignores the Mackay treaty signed
| two years and eight months before. para
| lyzes its action. opposes it's rules regarding
| mines. taxation, navigation, etc The laws
| in regard to mines should have been en-
| forced since September. 1903. Two years
| have passed without such action and CAPT.
| tai hesitates 10 engage in work where To-
| cal laws compromise it's security.
! The ill-will shown all ships flying foreign
| flags is manifest. Under such crcum-
| stances Lord Lansdowne is asked to act
vigorously to cause the enforcement of the
| Mackay treaty, whose hon-observance is
| prejudicial to British interests as well as
the interests of others in the extreme
| east
The power of the guilds is clearly mani
| tested in the following cable from Shang
| hal, dated the Goth instant:
| ''One hundred and sixty Chinese .mer-
1
| board of foreign affairs that they have SUBJ
| scribed enough money to build the Soo-
| chow, HanS-chow and Ningpo railway
| without foreign assistance. They petition
| the board to cancel any concessions to for
| eigners."
! Commerce with China dates from very
| ancient period, and there is mention of the
| Chinese in the 10Th chapter and 18th verse
| of Isaiah: Behold these shall come from
| far, and 10! These from the north and the
west and these from the land Sinim." The
| land Sinim being China.
| The Sores (Chinese) mentioned by
| Strabo, Virgil Horace, Pomponius Mela,
| Pliny and Marceilin. while Florus enumer-
| ates them as among those who sent mis-
sions to Rome during the time of Angus
| tus. Rome opened communication with the
| extreme orient under the reign of Marcus
| Aurelius, who sent embassy in 1865 A.
| d. to China. Under the Tang dynasty Chi
| nese ships visited the coast of Malabar and
| the Persian gulf. The Arabs frequented the
| same route and carried their merchandise
| from Bassora and Bagdad to Canton, which
| they called Sin-Kilan. The Chinese annals
| relate that Arab traders from Syria visited
| China and Korea and carried there articles
| uiac Tha IN,