The farmer and mechanic., 1915-08-31


consideration of the needs of China
in the world crisis, according to Leb
beus r. Whitley, former Attorney |
General of the Philippines and Judge
of the United States Court fo China.
says an article in the New York |
Times.
I'm my opinion" said Judge Will
fey, "the intention Of President Yuan
to make himself Emperor, il the re- |
port of such an intention is correct |
is not at all due to any desire for per- |
Sonal ACKNOWLEDGMENT. | know PreSl- |
dent Yuan personally; | have made
"A close study Of his public career, and
] am thoroughly convinced that he is
a man Of integrity and of unquestion-
ed patriotism.
More than that, he is a statesman
of great ability, and my opinion of
his capacity is as high as my conf
deEce in his patriotism is absolute.
II he contemplates taking this step,
it is certain that he is not doing it
withous careful consideration and
without having first taken counsel
with the ablest advisers whose SER
vices he can command.
His foreign advisers are President
Frank Johnson Goodnow of Johns
Hopkins University and DR.. George
T.. Morrison, formerly Peking cOrre-
spondent Of The London Times. The
character of these men, as we'll as
President Yuans record, is such as
TO inspire confidence both at home
and abroad in any step which the
President may undertake at this time.
II is only a fair inference that DIR.
Goodnow was called into conference
at this time for this specific purpose.
What the controlling reasons are
for taking this step | have, of course,
no means of knowing, but there seems
good believe a
connected with the present interna-
tiOnal situation and the particular pO-
sition of China. 1t is fair to assume
that Yuans recent experience with
Japan, in connection with her de-
mands on China, has occasioned care
ful consideration Of the form of gov
ernment best suited to conserve and
promote the interests of the Chinese
people In view of the Japanese pro-
gram he, no doubt, realizes that the
great problem now confronting China
is the conservation of her sovereignty.
Now as to the best means of Sc
curing this. But for Japans recent
performance. President Yuan and his
advisers could have devoted their en-
ergies to the establishment of a re-
publican form Of government. In
view of conditions in China this work
alone would have been sufficient to
absorb all their thought and energy
itG incipiency when Japan launched
her program for the taking over OF
China.
For the real establishment of re.
publican government in China is
very different task from the mere dec
laration that the form Of government
is to be republican. A system like tha
cannot be imposed in a day. The re
formers who wished to impose oil
IT,, L
liar to that Of the United States for
got that republican government il
this country did not arise over night
but that il had behind it the devel
opment of free institutions for
thousand years in England.
This was lacking in China, an
there was likewise lacking the idea o
nationality. despite the spread of sue
an idea in recent years among the ed
ucated classes. In early times tn
Chinese was interested first of all i
his family and then in his villag
community. The central governmel
was remote and eXtraneous affai
which touched him only now an
then through the medium of take
for which he got no particular return
1T is only in recent years that tn
idea of nationality in the modern az
ceptance Of the word began to gro
in China, thanks to the telegraph. til
railroad, the newspaper. and foreig
trade in China. together with the &c
ucation of Chinese students abroa,
This spirit must be more highly d,
veloped before China can be +,
public in the true sense of the wor
If President Yuan has resolved
make change in the form of go
ernment. it is undoubtedly for II
reason that the work of establishir
republican polity had not procee
ed far enough to make the new go
ernment an efficient instrument in +
hands for meeting the information
issuee which have confronted I
country, and for the further reas
that by returning to the old form
would be in a position to utilize t
forces of the nation more effective
than he could possibly do While
was establishing the republic.
FOR the republican poity in Chi