The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-17
CHINA FORESEES MONARCHY STEP
 IN NEW TITLES
Honors For Officials Don't Jibe With Republic, Many
 Maintains

q
 Pak,ne. Sept. Ills the plan of prestdent Yuan Shi-kai to confer ti- Hes of nobility upon government of ricials another step toward a, Inonar- phy?
 This is the question which is asked very generally throug ughout Chinas es- pecia1ly in the liberal press.
 The thinking public and the for pigA press are having some difficulty In reconciling the title idea with a republic but the criticism is of kindly. inf act of a rather jocular. character.
 RetrogressEve titles are the sort which will be conferred if the new plan is carried out. It has the ap- proyal of tn he cabinet. The senate is stau to act tn the measure but, like most other measures fathered by the President and jais official family, the scheme for conferring titles will doubtless pass without opposition.
 The five titles which Prest5ent Yu- an Shi-kai's government will prob ably confer upon nneritorious mem bers Of the government are: Prince. duke, marquis. earl. viscount and bar on. These titles are all considered to be of equal rank with the excep- ton that the baronetcy will cease with the life of the man upon whom the title is conferred, while the heir of a viscount will be permitted to be- come a baron. The heir of a prince win become a duke. His heir in turn will become marquis and so on through the list of the baronetcy. each generation inheritingfa a less en- during title. The princes family will have a title for five succeeding gem serations, while the dukedom will con- fer distinction upon only four, subse- cent generations, and so on through <iae list
 After considering ,Ahe title question carefully the cabinet is said to have decided that titles which expired with fhe original holder would not be thor 0ugkly appreciated by Che officials. In discussing the cabinet action the EPe1<ing Gazette says: -To escape from khe horns Of the dilemma, it has been Idec1Aed by those responsible for a lxneasure which strikes one as rather lbizarre in a republican regime to adopt what is called 'progressiona1 ldisinherita1ce system.
 Tn commenting upon the proposed If1tles of nobility the Picking Daily |prpposftion is unusual not to say un- tune. for where in any other part of the world has a.republic countenanc- ied the conferring of titles upon it's subjects? The only reply to such 8 query is that China is a unique coun- tfxy. g1orying in a history unparalleled lin it's records, with population greater than any other in the world. and with a view point different to practically every other notion West fern standards cannot be adopted as scrdesr1a when China and the Chinese Iaraf being considered.
 AIt ts a trfte remark to say that 1t 2B the unexepected that always hap pens This is very true of China. AL lmost four years ago the world was sIagHeeably surprised to witness a revo- iaut10nftn this country which was prac- ficaIly bIood1ess. Not only was the gevoIut1on b1oodlesss but the republic iGreated by imperial decree. This Eevent is unique in the history of the world Never before was such ra- Ecar1ed out under the blessing and sgo0dwdn of that which it displaced kHsurthermore the world has since been surprised to see that a stable Administration has been established 4n a land where chaos and anarchy lpreva4Ied- And another suprise is presented in the spectacle of a China Tho longer dependent upon foreign icOun&r1eS for financial assistance 1T, HtB administration. Therefore, in view OfftSese unexepected happenings, who AhozzL1 be t1nprepaxed for other events .eG a surprising nature To talk of hereditary titles in a republic seems sDradcx1ea1. that ia, from a western point Of view. But China is a land IOG tCp@y-tzzrvydom also from the fyveBteEn point of view. So, keeping zaf8 aspect before us, fhe proposition may not seem So very strange after A11, although tts-wisdona may be ques-
 aOned.