The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-17
INTERESTING AND INFORMING
TALK BY DR.. A. /. SMITH

| In spite of politics raging down
town, Central Union church parish
house was we'll filled Monday night
in fact crowded when a number of
ladies arrived after the supper-to
hear Dr. Arthur H. Smith, the veter.
an missionary to China, talk about
The Pacific World" Seldom has a
Honolulu audience listened to a more
pithy address on big subject There
was witty snap at the end of al.
most every sentence, so that the au-
dience applauded and laughed until
hands and cheeks ached. DR.. Scud.
der, after the talk, fifty characterized
it as a Niagara Of wisdom and wit.
DR.. Smith is an unusually rapid speak
er and he varied a generally con-
versational delivery with an occasion
al thunderbolt driving home a point
DIR. Smith had been viewing the
= United States from the outside for
quarter of a century, and latterly had
seen it from the inside for eighteen
months. In this closer view he had
not taken the opinions Of others, Off
cial or otherwise. He concluded that
the United States was the most pro-
Vincial nation on earth, both as a
whole and taken by its chief cities.
His remarks on this line were richly
satirical.
He was sarcastic on the Panama
Canal talk he had heard No doubt
the canal would help business in the
United States, but he wondered how
a great American commerce could be
expected from the ditch while the
American merchant marine was al.
most invisible. The local boasHngs
of growth of places was ridicued.
the lecturer telling how some boast.
ers sidestepped when asked about the
honesty and efficiency of their city
governments.
In discussing Japan he said it had
taken the opposite course of empire
from that of Great Britain. The Bri-
fish nation gave up all continental
claims on territory and shut itself up
il an island, whereupon it began at
once to build up world empire. ia.
pan, on the contrary, feeling It's insu,
lar constraint began its world power
career by spreading into continental
domains. The speaker evidently con.
sidered this a most grave position for
Japan to assume.
DR.. Smiths remarks on China and
its revolution were to some extent an
application of the views he gave in
a Star interview on Saturday. or
course it was a republic only in
name as yet, but the unexampled pa
! thence of the Chinese character would
I il, time enable the nation to attain
democracy Many of the superstitions
, and bad practices of the people might
> take decades, or even centuries, 20 be
= eliminated, but the movement in that
, direction so wonderfully begun with
the rousing from slumber in 1S94-95
would never stop short of the ulti-
mate goal. One wise step of the revo-
= lutionary leaders was in starting with
only limited franchise, which made
educational and property qualifica-
: tions for voters, thus avoiding the
) mistake of the United States.
The yellow peril" doctrine was re.
morselessly scored There was no
, more fear of a descent like those of
: the Huns, Goths, etc, upon the rest
OF the world from China than there
/ vas of New York harbor being her
, metically sealed up with icebergs.
/, Neither did the speaker give any quar-
ter to the fear that China would be
/, pounced upon and partitioned by the
/, world powers. The Chinese were a
peace-loying people but must have an
} army as police. So far as modern
drilling had gone there, the Chinaman
had showed himself an efficient sol
der Then China had a larger num-
Der of people used to boats than any
other nation and, although DR.. Smith
declined the role of a prophet at the
outset in anything he would say. on
this subject he predicted that within
a decade Honolulu would be visited
by well-equipped Chinese fighting
ships. Giving her population as 3OO,-
100000, China could have an army OF
three million men on a basis of one
per cent What with these militant
resources and the spirit of regenera-
ton abroad, and a background of FIVE
, centuries of national life behind Chi