The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-26
NO GENERAL ANATIC SPIRIT.
The Japanese Not Representative OF ANY
Common Oriental Sentiment.


TO THE EDITOR or THR SuN-Sir: You
said last Sunday that there IL not Oaasar
In India nor felt tent In Turkestan In whion
the name OF the Mlkado Is not Whispered
with mysterious reverence. All dlnerehees
Of creed are sunk under the electrifying In
fuence Of racial gratitude and pride.
These statements suggest o solidarity OF
race feeling for which. l think there 10 no
historical basis: nor did l see 1t evidenced
when wandering In the bazaars Of India and
sleeping In the felt tents Of Turkestan. (About
two years ago i went In through RUSSIAN
and Chinese Turkestan. passed through the
northwestern corner OF Tibet and came OUT
through Kashmlr and the PunJab.)
1t Is true that "Asiatics" are not to be de-
spised as enemies. but there Is an almost
universal error OF overgeneralizlng in the use
OF the word "Asiatic." This error is largely
due to tho slow, unconsidered extension OF
the geographical term Asie-an extension
which was due not to conscious enort
toward q reasoned grouping. but rather to
the careless convenience OF ignorance. Thus
that which was centuries ago the name OF
comparatively small area, situated In the
modern Asia Minor. has come to represent
to US q continent in all Its variety Of physical
conditions and racial stocks. The man In
the Indian bazaar ID. tribally. nearer to US
than to the man under the felt tent In Turkes-
tan; the Persian is nearer to US than to the
Manchur!an With all its apparent hetero..
geneity Europe has greater uniformity Of
character in it's races than may be found IN
dwellers OF the Bengal plains. That which
has impressed certain resemblance upon
qasa Asss; that Which as
VIII oh has given static traits to Egyptians
an influence not yet duly. specI,caily &C
credited by students with Its enormous enece
upon human history mean the influence 6t &c
whatever, tour dc force Of soholarship. the
aordian knot OF race origins which letters ,tr.
Is . vain to marx out the environmens elect.
OF desert and mountain merely as suoh: II
is vain to, study the characteristics OF ,aegr.-
the same time we fail To d ' the special
when they occupy arid regions made habit
llshed the fat years roll by. rsss larry bring:
ING 9sT snd the o!a ssp P' sssh
bureau are unknown. Invention Is dullard.
because e, his | RotheT Necessity, leave. him ere
strenuous action runs down. WIZ nspsSt
but devastating war to wind It up. Mean
upon pe each other and Upon the sch; IN such
se f be the R
complicated code controls the fiowaa rights:
o comm 'hs ass
face OF an inevitable conquest II you, and l.
tains or nomadio plains-shall seize and hold
even twenty rods Of the great ditch. for 1t is
father and mother to all the pulsins life OF
tamian yalley-now sithered I'll under the
9
or kept from this role but not from destruc-
ton; by the power II ConstantinoPle suoh
samarcand. Kashgar. Yarkand. Khotan'
ST6Ss with M on NE
fosnsdsd And veil mishs " se.itste. syea
+" stssnation otherwise Certain toy to fall upon
the dwellerS in the threaded valleys,
nomad Krshz he Of the felt It tent. as have
brothered with him. is g man. not sheep.
s has Of Win 1He fnhh Hndu
who squat HaA'i in the shaded ba,a@rs. . Ana,
iieve that tented Kir9hiz. timid Bengal or
seGuestered Turkestani cares rap for the
IL in the bazaars 1t be whispered that in
strength. then the Mikado joins Edward VII.
in the R"ngal imagination as one Of the pow
crful 20 whom he may hav to yield,-to whom
he will yield If the other be pushed out. In
deed. In the mere hope OF change. common
to all servile condition. he may for moment
hail the coming Mikado rs he would hail any
other new con1ueror But he will not love
him es brother AsiatIc. That Reneraliza-
tion does not exist. and | think should not
logically exist in his mind.
let us look to Asia--for we have been ig-
norant-but let us remember that Asia Is
mnrv-not one. OSCAR Il. CROSBY.
WASHINGTON. June 20.