Evening star., 1905-10-28
ON CHINESE BOYCOTT
MISSIONARIES WRITE HOME CON-
cERNING CONDITIONS IN EAST.

Reports of the Chinese boycott on Amer
lean goods are now coming in by mail from
China to missionary headquarters in New
York and most of the letters 1t is said, In
dicate a more widespread movement than Is
usually understood here. American mis-
sionares in China have been giving close
attention to the movement, it is said, and
from widely separated centers in China let
ters have come within few days to the
office in this city of the Presbyterian board
O, foreign missions. From the Island OF
Hainan Rev. H. NJ. McCandless sends a
story which connects the boycott with the
smuggling of morphine. He says:
Away up in Annoy some months ago
morphine was smuggled in by concealing 1t
in sacks of flour. Unfortunately the NOR
phine got mixed with the flour and some
people were poisoned The people VINO
wanted to boycott American goods circu-
lated the tale that all the flour (an Amer
fcan producO had been poisoned by the
Russians in order TO destroy the Japanese
and by the Japanese with like designs on
the Russians Any one who used the flour
would die inside of four months. The story
has been made use of TO such an extent !
that no flour is to be seen on the streets OF
Hoihow six hundred miles from where the
tale started If there is a distinct boy
colt against American kerosene oil, 1t mas
not come to my notice. Great quantities OF
q cheap Sumatra oil are being imported
and used to adulterate the much dearer ana
m1;ch better American oil, and frequent Sc
we're burns have resulted from the use or
reG-hot irons in opening up the cans WIN
a view to adulteration
Rev Dr. William d. Noyes, Presby-
terian missionary in Canton says that the
rapid spread of the boycott movement
shows the new power OF the natVe press.
"A few years ago such a thing would nave
been impossible; now there are dailies In all
cit of China ana 1t Is q COM
mon sight to see Cinnamon reading them on
the street. The papers have been foremost
in the movement, and by them the agltatloll
is carried to the towns in the interior. II
Is not only Shanghai, Canton, Chefoo.
Tie1t-sin, Hangchou and Peking, but all
the groups of cities around those cehters
that are affected. We see also In the move
uent the power of the Chinese merchants
they are not only in China but IN Japan,
Korea. the Straits Settlements, Siam-and
in all these places they control consldera-
ble trade. ,,,,.
all who worked for American mercantile
firms In Hongkong Chinese dentist told
M, they had threatened to boycott MN De
cause he had received ms eoucatioh on ~,
America The viceroy of Canton claims
that the boycott is beyond government con-
troll. saving: You cannot compel men 10
b,,v certain goods II they do not wish TO-
One method of spreading Ine ,, "a of
seems novel, and that is the sending out OF
actors to portray on the stage the facts ana
fancies that exist in the agitators minds.
0f one thing we feel certain: Whether the
threatened boycott is carried out or not Is
iu,uaterial. for it is but a first step. CHINA
will take others and she may step fast TOO,
believe the day has gone when the occi-
dent can trife with the orient-not only
japan, but China resents western insults. Il 1
believe the day is dawning when China VIII
become an important factor In the "orio
progress. X
From Petchaburi, Siam. Rev. r. e
Jones also a Presbyterian missionary SENDS
word that the Chinese boycott had reacheu
bangkok. where all the Chinese traders
had hound themselves not to deal In Amer
lear goods They had also warned Chinese
isborers not to assist in unloading cargo
OF American oil. The situation was not
eer,ous In bangkok as Siamese and Malay
laborers are available. and American goods
were handled in larger quantities by other
firms because the Chinese merchants re-
fused to deal in them