Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-23

IN n Wll circles in either the Onlteu
l@ al States or China has consid-
la E@Hll cred seriously for moment
I% kkN the proposition of a Sino-
t4srg1Ssa American alliance, as ad-
vanced by some newspapers.
China is not in position to contract
alliances. and the warning advice given
by George Washington in his Farewell
Address has come to be a part OF the
unwritten law Of America. A formal
alliance is out of the question, but
there Is reason to believe that the lead
ing statesmen of both nations are Civ
ing most earnest consideration to plans
by which the friendship between China
and the United States will be made
stronger the better to secure certain
mutual benefits which can accrue to
neither nation Independently.
Mr. Taft is the first president of the
United States who has had a personal
experience in the Orient He knows
the East; he realizes the wonderful
possibilities for the development of
American commerce in China, and he
is not insensible to the fact that neg
lect of American interests in Asia at
this time may in future subject the
American nation to dangers and en-
barra ssments which may be avoided If
action is taken in time.
Inc HeklnS government, on the Ollti
hand. is actuated in every phase of its
activity by the prevailing passion for
rights recovery" To carry out its
program China must endeavor to re-
cover its sovereign rights in many
places where they have been invaded
by other powers, or surrendered to
other nations under duress. Nations
now possessing peculiar privileges and
concessions in China are Japan, Russia,
Z
tugal and Belgium. The only world
power possessing no concessions
amounting to an invasion of China's
sovereign powers is the United States.
In the campaign of rights recovery
which probably will amount to no more
than the conservation of rights not
already lost. China can look to but one
nation for sympathy and aid. That
nation is the United states of America.
The self-interest of both nations i'm
pels them toward co-operationr China
must achieve at least n partial sue
/ cess in it's internal reforms and its
! efforts to recover it's rights, or 1t must
! lose its national existence. The po-
/ litical and commercial future of the
United states will depend in great
measure upon the Pacific ocean and the
/ development of American commerce
! in the Orient The enormous home
/
! sunlced until now, but the wise men of
| America recoenize that the time has
come when Americans must aYzthe
! foundations for great foreign trade
or else face the alternative of, the ulti-
mat4 stagnati0n of limited production.
William II. Seward, one Of the ablest
/ and most far-sighted of American
statesmen. pointed out the way long
/ ago In 1852. in speech in the SEN
70 ~ Even
coverv Of this America continent and
| its islands and the organization of So
| ciety and government upon them,
! Grand and important as these events
| have been. were hut conditional, pre-
! liminary and ancilliary to the more
| sublime result now in the act Of con-
/ summation-the reunion of the two
/ civilizations. which. parting on the
plains Of Asia 1000 years ago. and trav-
! cling ever after in opposite directions
around the world now meet again on
| the coasts and islands OF the Pacific
| ocean. Certainly no mere human event
| of equal dignity and importance has
/ ever occurred upon the earth. 1t VIII
/ be followed by the equalization of the
condition Of society and the restora-
/ ton Of the unity of the human family.
/ Who does not see that henceforth every
wear European commerce, European
| politics, European thoughts and Eu-
ropean activity although actually
/ gaining greater force. and European
! connections. although actually becom-
/ ing more intimate, will nevertheless
/ sink in Importance; while the Pacific
! ocean. it's shores, its islands, and the
vast regions beyond, will become the
/ chief theater of events in the world
/ hereafter? Who does not see that the
movement must effect our own COM
/ plete emancipation from what remains
/ of European influence and prejudice,
and in turn develop the American opn-
! ion and influence which shall remould
| constitutional laws and customs in the
land that is first greeted by the rising
SUM-"
That speech. made just before the
American expedition which opened
japan to modern intercourse. seemed
at the time but the rapt dream or an
enthusiastic philanthropist. Nowadays
men may appreciate its prophetic value
All that it foretells has not been ac-
compished but the mills of the gods