The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-13
Chinese Benedict Arnold

William Elliot Griffis, in the North
 American Review.
 Was Yuan a Mirabeau, Cromwell, Bismarck? Millions think him a Benedict Arnold. Historic analogies must not be p1 essed. External resemblances count for little; while any profound or subtle an- alysis of motives, except in the acknowl- edged form of conjecture, is worthless Whether imperial resident in Korea, city governor Tao-Tai. of either Chilli or Shantung, head of the foreign office, ad- vocate and protector of the old dynasty, President of the republic, restorer of the state religion, high priest in the Temple of Heaven, restorer of Confucianism, or quasi- Emperor, Yuan was the same man the reincarnation of the typical manda- rinism of old China, never of the spirit of the new. He, the man, was ever faith full, secondarily, to master, sovereign, party republic, or traditional Chinese ideas, but ever and always first to Yuan Shi Kai. With all his limitations, he be- lieved in the China of his own mind-in- destructible. unsinking, eternal. In his view, the central empire would hold to unity, perpetuate it's life, weather all storms, and return to primitive ideals. as surely as the compass after all abbera- tions would tremble to the pole and this faith he held because such a China was, on the whole, best for Yuan Shi Kai.
 
 harem and his herd, his flocks and his possessions, his enjoyments of body and mind, the two, Yuan and China, must needs be inseparable.
 Yet expose the reality as we may. who will wish to minimize the vast service of such a man to China? In purely local matters, with ages of experience behind them, the Chinese are as fit for a republic as are New Englanders. No imperial dy- D1 SfU hal Ia Sta because the Chinese love freedom too well. There never was any permanent nobility in China, and in the ninth generation even the descendants of imperial princes become commoners. The Manchu dynasty followed in the way of all others, because it's time was up. It had to go.
 Yuan-called. because he had manipu- lated the call, to guide a republic-was a man steeped in traditions of force and craft. As unalterably minded as man. darin of the old school, he could see no ideals, but only the material bases of things. To conciliate or unify, Yuan knew not compromise. but only the method of the shooting squad Of the modern worlds forces, he utilized only those that had visibility such as finance army, navy. railways, hygiene, the med ical art and efficiency in administration, and these he used well.
 Yuan's statesmanship, such as it was, served as corduroy for the swamp and bridges for the rivers. which China must pass, on the long road to central strength which, from azure robing distance, seems so short and easy to the men of books and letters. Amid colossal ob- stacles, he restored the financial credit of China and postponed that 'break-up' which so many foreigners gleefully ex- pected. He laid the foundations of a genuine army He safeguarded, as far as he could. the country from aggression. His supreme idea for his country was freedom from alien conquest. The high est tribute to be paid to Yuan is this, that foreign governments turned almost unanimously from trusting China to place their confidence in one man, Yuan