Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-09

dents have been coming to the United
| states, each year in increasing num-
! bers. There were very few at first, but
those few American educated boys are
now occupying high positions in gov
ernment and business affairs in China
Almost every branch of the Chinese
imperial government has a man edu-
Gated in America near the head of its
affairs. The engineers who are devel-
oping Chinese mines, who are building
Chinese railways, who are setting up
| Chinese steel mills-all We're educated
in the United States.
This means simply that in all com
petition in Chinese trade there will be
a disposition to prefer American wares,
if the American wares are there The
influence of American educational
training of Chinese cannot be under
estimated. There are now over 500
Chinese students in various educational
| institutions in the United Sttaes, a
great number of whom have been sent
here by the Chinese government to be
trained for governmental service.
A party of sixty government students
is now on its way to America, the van
guard of a new and mighty movement
which will bring China and the United
States into closer and more friendly re-
| lations than they have ever been, The
United States is the only one of the ma
tions which RENTED to China that por-
tion of the indemnity for the Boxer
outrages over and above the actual
losses to American property and in
terests. The Chinese government will
devote the money this reverting to their
treasury to the education of Chinese
students in America. The sixty stu
dents soon to arrive are the first Sc
lected under the regulations of the In
demnity Temission agreement. Others
will be coming soon, so that one hun
dred shall come this year, a hundred
each year for four years, and after
that fifty each year. The average res
idence of each student in the states
will be eight years, so that the fund
will keep about 400 government students
in American schools and colleges all
the time for the next twenty or thirty
years.
A special board has been created by
the prince regent in Peking for the Sc
! lection and control of these students
1t is known as the American eduoa-
tional mission bureau, and is composed
of members appointed by the board OF
foreign affairs-the Waiwupu-and the
board of education, and in coming TO
conclusions is to consult with a repre-.
sentative of the American minister at
Pelxing. A preparatory school is to be
established at Peking for the prelimi-
nary instruction of students chosen
from the different provinces of China.
The plan for the selection of the stu
dents takes into consideration the geo
graphical and political divisions of the
empire, and Is frankly modelled on the
PIN of selection of the Cecil Rhodes
scholarship students at Oxford. These
things mean that America and China
will be drawn closer and closer togeth-
er in the next few wears
The department of state is paying es-
pecial attention to trade development
in the Far East, and is laying especial
emphasis on the Chinese situation.
About three years ago a division of
Far Eastern affairs was established in
the state department, and the results
of its work along limited lines have
been so fruitful that its extension is
now being accomplished. An appro-
priation by the last congress enables
the department to widen the scope of
the division, and affords funds suffi-
cient to bring able men from the diplo-
matte and consular corps in the Far
East to Washington, where they may
direct affairs with intelligent knowl-
edge of the situation on the other side
of the world.
President Taft has had a wide per-
sonal experience In the Orient, and he
appreciates to a greater degree than
has anyone of his predecessors the op-
portunities awaiting Americans in
Asia, and more especially in China.
His Shanghai speech, delivered when
he was en- tour around the world as
member of Mr. Roosevelt's cabinet,
marks the beginning of American ag
gression in the Oriental situation. Since
he has been president he has encour-
aged a forward policy at Peking, which
has resulted in many advantages To
American interests. Mr.. Charles r.
Crane, the new minister to Peking, is
a business man who has the confidence
of the people of the United States. The
first secretary of the legation, Mr..
Henry r. Fletcher, when in charge Of
the legation, directed the negotiations
which resulted in the American partici-
patton in the recent railway loans made
by China, and therein he proved him.
self to be possessed of the highest quail
ifications for diplomatic career. With
such men at PelSing, and with the large
corps of able consular officers now sta
toned in China, the government la
prepared to assist American enterprise
in every legitimate way. 1t is now up
to the American business man to take
advantage of the situation and save
the Chinese market for American
wares.
Tomorrow-Our Far Eastern Problem.
II