El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-17
China Republic Ages Ago
Overthrow of MaRchus Was Planned
For I6 Years Before the First
Gun Was Fired.
IErela ril j. Hasl,in--
o I
ASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. H.

NAf The renewed agitation OF Pre-
test against the failure of
the United States government CT
ficialy to recognize the republic
of China recalls sharply the dy-
mamie upheavaI of one short year
ago which transformed the celestial
empire into a republic republic in
form, at least, and even this is a high
light IN the renaissance of Chinese
self government It is not generally
known that over 1000 years ago the
Chinese people maintained a republic
and elected their own presidents.
The Chinese revolution of 1911 was
startling in its rapid effectiveness.
Perhaps it has no parallel in history,
taking into cnsideratiOn the tremen-
dOuS changes of which il was the
forerunner The first shot was fired
October 10, 1911, the boy emperor abdi-
Gated on February Il following, ana
on March 10, just five months to the
day after the outbreak at Wuchang,
sovereignty over 49O00000O people
changed from a mummified despOtism,
rigid in its cruel limitations, to pro-
visiOnal republic in which the tyran-
meal Manchus and their legion of com
placent Chinese officials had no part
Revolt Planned for 10 Years.
For 16 years Dr.. sun Vat Sen and
his followers had been carefully plan
ming the overthrow of the ManchGs
ard the eradication of all that their
reign typified. They had worked very
successfully among the majority Of
enlightened Chinese, however placed
and wherever found, and nearly every
student who returned after a civil CT
military education abroad was al hear-
revolutiOnist. DR.. Sun has since said
that he could have taken over Canton.
Marking and Wuchang as early as
1908, but that he was waiting to fur
ther convert the more self-cOntained
~ IL
north China. All this time the Man
chus and their barnacle-encrUStc d
Chinese office holders seemed deaf to
the rumbling to which everybody but
themselves gave anxious ear.
date about the middle Of December
had been named for the beginning q
the revolution, the signal to be given
by Llu King, a member of the Chinese
sentry of the Yangtze. He was p
years old, educated in Japan and there
became a convert of Dr. sun Vat Sen.
But on the afternoon of October Sun
WI, an expert bomb maker in revOlu-
tionary employ, accidentally exploded
a bomb while at work in a native
mouse in Hankcw. The shack was just
back of the German butcher shop IN
the Russian concession, and only few
doors from the Russian police station.
Students Executed.
Hearing the explosion. the Russian
police rushed to the scene. sun WI
was injured by the bomb, but IS
capped. The Russians caught two other
plotters and found maps, a long roll
call, bombs and flags. Wuchang, cap
itai of Hupeh province, situated Just
across the Yangtze river from HankOw.
was the subject of a very elaborate
sketch which gave the plan of attack.
even then drawn UP. NicerOy Jul
Cheng was notified and acted prompt
". He beheaded the two revolution
lists who had been captured. Many
suspects, mostly young students, were
then arrested in HankOw and Wa
chang Several of them were given
short Shrift- Their cries for mercy
were speedily changed to peans of
praise in the heavenly choir.
Ordinarily, few chain lightning
exits like this have been quite suffi-
cient to queu disorder in China. But
the worm really had turned this time.
Liu King had escaped, but his wife
and his brother were captured. the
young woman was not suspected, al
though she was one of the arch plot
tiers. The brother was tortured and mis-
death set for 10 o'clock the next night
Liu King saw the necessity of imme
date action He wrote the soldiers
that their names were known through
the captured roll call, and that the
vicerOy would disarm and execute
them He told them to wear any kind
Of a white band around the arm and
to begin the revolt at 10 o'clock that
night, the hour his brother was to die
Civilians Fired FIRST SnOTS.
The soldiers prepared accordingly,
but the glory of firing the first shots
of the revolution went to civilians.
When darkness fell, or about O'CLOCK,
several hundred coal miners took pos
session of the various city gates and
fired off rifles and shOtguns, with
out doing any particular harm. The
soldiers, who were in camp just out
side, then came pouring in. Without
Iiring a shot they took the powder
-@r,-sr
and the Serpent hill. They deplOycd
with two pieces Of field artillery in
front of the YicerOy'S yamen, but an
investigation showed that worthy to
have evapOrated through a hole in the
back wall. When next heard Of he
was safe in Shanghai.
Liu Kings next move was to confer
with his associates over the selection
of a trained military man to be com
chief of the rebel forces.
and to fight to the death for a repub-
lie They picked Col Ii Yuan-hung,
the mixed brigade of i'm
perial troops in the Yangtze valley.
His men were among the revOlters.
Ii refused the dangerous honor, but
was forced to accept. At that time
Col. Ii Yuan hung was an obscure
officer; within two months he was one
of the famous men of the day; now he
republic of China, and is generally re-
garded as the coming strong man" Of
the country
Many Victories for Rebels.
In the succeeding five months New
China made more and better history
than Old China had made in five cen
turtles Three days after the revolt ut
General LIS men took Han
yang arsenal the biggest in China 1t
was guarded by a few of the 800 SOL
diers who had stuck to the Manchu
banner with Gen. Chang PiaO, COM
general Of the Hupeh army. /
The arsenal was captured after a Skin !
mish and yielded to the victors 40 |
three-iAch guns, 100000 rounds of am /
and enough powder to make /
2 000 900 additional rounds. In another !
three days the native city of HankOw, |
a short distance up the river, went !
over to the republican cause
A satUrnalia of anarchy then began |
in both cities. The vengeance of the |
soldiers and the rabble was directed |
particularly against the government |
banks and offices, but private pawn |
shops and dwellings of rich citizens |
did not escape. Later in the revolu- /
ton. following alternate reverses and /
victories. both imperialists and revo- (
Iutionists were guilty of such offeHses,
made more horrible by needless burn |
ing, lOoting, murder and rapine This
together with heavy loss of life on /
both sides in the battles of Hanyang |
and Marking and the burning of Han /
1oW, made the rebellion anything but /
the blOOdleSS affair which enthusiasts