Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-12
CHINA IN ANOTHER WAR
Students of Situation Expect
Trouble This Summer.

| Special Cablegram to The Star
PEKING, March 12.-If China does not
| find herself Involved in another war with
the powers before the middle of the sum-
mer of 1906 1t win surprise all OF the for
| eigners who have been students OF Chinese
| character for many. many years. The sit
uation In many respects is far more serious
| than 1t was few months previous to the
| Boxer rebellion.
me news of the massacre of French and
English missionaries by rioters at Nan
Chang. together with the announcement
! that the American missionaries at that
! place escaped the massacre only by taking
| to boats when the threat of massacre be-
came imminent. surprises one who has
| been keeping posted upon the situation here
| In this country The American boycott
| proves conclusiveIy that even taking 1t for
granted the dowager empress and her court
| love the Americans like brothers. this love
and affection is not shared by the rank and
| hle Even the merchants, the banking and
| commercial classes, powerful interests in
| China as in other nations, appear to have
egged on this boycott of American goods.
And this boycott can be explained upon no
| other grounds than the grounds OF the bit
terest hatred. 1t Is true that
the Intentions of the mob became known to
the governor of Nan Chang he used the
force at his command to suppress the riot
| ing, and that he also assisted by every
| means In hts power to aid in the escape of
the missionaries who had not already been
/ murdered. According to the reports here
| the original quarrel was with the French
Jesuits. no other nationality being involved.
| But the rage of the mob once excited did
not draw the line between the French ana
| the representatives of other nationalities.
| All Christian missionaries without dis
elimination were attacked, with the inten-
ton of making clean sweep. Therein lies
| the whole trouble Difficulties which in
other countries might become purely local,
| as. for instance. the lynching of the Italians
| in Louisiana in the United States few
years ago, here become international, and
| all In moment. And the fever for the kill
| ing of missionaries In one town IL I'M
| checked will spread from town to town
| with amazing rapidity.
International Policeman.
The sooner one thing is recognized by the
nations of the world. the United States In
| cluded, the better it will be for the nations
| of the world, the United States included.
| No matter whether one likes the nation or
not-no matter whether one agrees with
her civilization, still 1t must be admitted
| that for hundreds of years Russia has been
| a sort of an international policeman on the
Chinese and Tartar frontier. And millions
and millions of the representatives OF the
yellow race who knew other nationality,
| feared no other nationality, lid know and
| fear the Russian soldiers. Those wonderful
| new cftleS DulIl on the HOItUcI'i f'oTutT vi
| China, those railroads pushed through to
| the sea did act as a pollceman's club To
| keep In check millions of Manchus and
Tartars, who perhaps never heard of the
United States, but who did llnaW the n1ean-
| ing of the crack of the whip of the Cos
| sack, the knout of the Russian soldier, only
| recently applied to the back of The Russian
peasant and made perfect by practice. Take
| away the international policeman. take
away the international polcemans club,
| lift the pressure and what is happening
| now is what always happens when the
| pressure is lifted from irresponsible peoples
| and authority Is succeeded BY no authority
| at ALL For it should be remembered that
| for thousand miles and over ten millions
Of people who yield nominal obedience to
| the ruler of China-for a stretch of a thou
| sand miles the northern boundary Of
China Russia was the supreme authority.
| And now that this international sick man
| with apologies to the Turk) Is no longer
| able to WELD the policenans club the
| whole attitude of the Chinese people has
| undergone a remarkable change; the pa
| tent timid Asiatic would suddenly seem to
| have realized that the power OF the west
| Is no longer invinctble, and the result has
| been an immediate awakening of the ma
| tional instinct and the expression of its
| national policy-China for the Chinese.
Aversion to European Civilization.
| The causes which predspose the Chinese
| people toward the possibility Of so sudden
| change undoubtedly, first, their instinc-
| tive and not unjustifiable aversion TO the
| objects and methods Of European civiliza-
| ton, and secondly, the absolute ignorance
| of the newspaper men, the writers and even
| the classes which here as well as abroad
| mold and guide public opinion Were 1t
not for this ail-peryading ignorance and
| the inability of those who lead the pres ent
| movement to realize the actual Iosition or
| the empire in its relation to the rest of the
| world the victories of Japan would have
| sobered rather than stimulated the national
mind. AS matters now stand. however, the
| classical scholar of the old regime COM
| placently reminds himself that Japan le-
| ceived her prehistoric education from the
| middle kingdom, while the student reGormer
| talks loudly of insisting on his couatry's
sovereign rights and the immediate organ
| izng of armies. Neither the one nor the
| other realizes that they themselves are suf-
| ficient explanation of the fact that China
| has at present no more hope than Turkey
| of climbing to the heights Japan las Won;
| that her administrative corruption far ex-
ceeds that of Russia, and that She is con-
stitutlonally incapable of making the
rifices by which Japan was apparently able
| to cast Off medievalism in u cay.
China and Japan.
Among observers of the far eastern
| question there is disposition to accept as
| Identical the national characteristics and
| aspirations of China and Japan. To a GER
tain extent some of the contentious are JUS
tified as Is proved by the presence of p
great number of Japanese in the cities OF
the interior of China where Europeans are
not tolerated, by the intimate relations nat
uraIIy resulting from similarity Of thought
language and customs. But closer scrutiny
of these relations in both countries justt-
fes ore In doubling the existence of racial
sympathy sufficient for their permanence.
The present mood of the Chinese is chiefly
due to the recognition of the success
of Japan in war and to desire to &C
quire the secrets of that success for their
4 q yrt iNle h9 .
sent 10000 students TO Japan In the last
two years. which accounts for the large
number of japanese advisers, school teach
ers and military instructors In every prov
ince of China, but there exists at the Same
time so fundamental difference In tenn
permanent that a japanese instructor can
no more permanently influence the morale
of a viceroys yamen than Chinese stu
dent in Japan can assimilate the principles
of bushdo
The immediate outlook is therefore un-
promising, but the very rapidity with which
the present mood has been developed and
expressed may justify the hope that It will