The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-11-25
The Universal Races Congress

There Is something attractive in the
plan Sor Universal Races Congress to
be hello in London next July. Its pur.
pose is ''to discuss in the light of
modern knowledge and the modern con.
science the general relations existing
between the peoples of the West and
those of the East, between so.called
white and so.caled colored people
and, of course, the result hoped for is
friendlier feeling, a heartier coopera.
tion, and better understanding. What
could be more natural, what more de.
sirable, than such give and take9
Somehow or other, the colored men and
the whites have got to arrive at mu
tual basis Of respect and good will, if
the world is to develop in peace and
without bitter hatreds and possibly
even fearful calamities. Nothing to be
thought of at present can contribute
so mach toward this end as joint
meeting at which the different points
of view can be stated and the races
of the East explain their aspirations
and ideals. Without some direct touch,
some such frank expression on a basis
of mutual friendliness and self-respect,
the world at large will be entirely too
ready to dismiss the whole subject with
a glib East is East and West is
West
Now even the dominant white races,
which have been so sure they are of
the Lords anointed when it comes to
| showing those they deem their infe-
riors how to manage their affairs, have
begun to feel some qualms of conscience
and doubts as to their ability to regu-
late their conquered distant provinces.
These have recently been expressed by
no less a pro-consul than Lord Cromer
himself. The difficulty seems to be that,
while it is easy to rebuild wasted cities,
to refinance country, enlarge its crops,
and to introduce modern sanitary and
police methods, the beneficiaries decline
to become or to remain content. Good
government refuses to satisfy them, as
is the case in Egypt. today, and the rea-
son is that it is not their government;
they would rather be dirtier and more
diseased and far less progressive, if
only they could do things their own way
and develop according to their own
ideals. So it is that, whether the colon
| izers are English, French, Germans, or
Americans, the dissatisfaction grows
| the longer the overlordship continues.
Lord Cromer's own experience in Egypt
is perfect case in point.
One reason for this is that the So
called civilized nations approve, in
their mental infexibility no methods
which are not their own. The native
of Dagupan must not only live in
| clean house; he must wear clothes of
American woollen or shoddy, cut in
American style. If he refuses, there is
no attempt whatever to study his own
desires and ask him the why's and
wherefores; he is simply set down as
a heather whose mental processes no
one can understand. The fact that the
races at their points of contact are
usually at daggers drawn is still an
other reason why neutral ground should
be chosen for an attempt at better
understanding. But it is not only those
who are being foreibly uplifted whom
the congress will include. Japanese and
Chinese, Turks and Haytians, are as
well to be represented in the effort to
smooth out racial misunderstanding
and chickering's. How desirable this is
even from the point of view of for
eign offices and state departments is
obvious if one stops to consider the
political conditions in the Far and Near
East. The tremendous awakening in
Japan and in India alone has made
the chancelleries of Europe SILVER. The
J open door, with its guarantee of fair
start for the business of China, may