Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-03-12

WASHINGTON. March 1.-THE dip
lomats OF the entente allies arc work.
ing TO induce China to enter tho war
against the central empires. They
seem to be In fair way to succeed.
China is said to look favorably on the
proposal She may go no farther than
Il breach of diplomatic rclutions: she
may ""ssibly proceed to actual war.
diplomatic agreement of this kind
IL matter of give and take. China Is
indiEnant toward the central powers
Tor their submarine campaign I'm tn.
Medfterranean.a which has resulted in
the death of Chinese citizens. Popular
sentiment Is favorable toward the on
tcntc But over and above these con-
sidcrations. the allies hold ont other
inducements to the largest OF peoples
They speak Of rcmitting the Boxer In
IDENTITIES. which China has been nav
ing. since tho Boxer rebellion, to scr
cral European nations
These indcmnities total $4,000 900 81
year. and run for forty years, so tina,
the net amount is over $1,000. 900 600.
tremendous sum To nation in China's
position OF perennial financial en-
barrassmcnt. Moreover. the Chinese
naturally dislike paying these indcmni
tics. as they stand for an annually re-
curing humiliation. The United
states was among the nations granted
indemnity by the treaty OF settlement
but this country voluntarily waived the
claim little later. That single act
has gone far toward building IN tho
present friendly feeling toward America
which prevails in China to-day.
The entente diplomats arc said 10
nave agreed to the postponcment OF
further payments as soon az China
hreaks with Germany and Austria. with
tho prospect OF complete waving or
their ella inns later. In the event OF
such break. China would, OF course.
promptly rcpudintc her Indebtedness TO
the central powers. She is probably
holding out for an unconditional waiy-
ing Of the allies claims
This is thina's side OF the possible
alliancc--SatiSfact for cncroach-
mcnts on her rights. tho financial benc-
hts and sentimental satisfaction TO be
derived from u removal Of the burden
Of tho annual Indemnity payments and
n voice in tho final peace conference.
What could China bring To an alliance
To balance these gains:
Two BENEFITS for Allies.
IL is generally conceded that the al
lies see in an alliance with China two
main benefits for thcmsclrcs--first. i.
commercial advantage after the war Il.
the immense Chinese market. and, sec
ond. chance To draw on Chinn's in
eNhaustiblc reserves OF men for the
fighting line.
The great value OF any advantage to
u" gotten IN chimes. commerce after
the war is too widely recognized and
realized TO need comment. The world
has awakened To the Importance OF t.
Chinese market. which is probably the
greatest field for commercial expnn-
sion left in the world To-day Con-
corning the value OF CHINA as n military
ally. there is less definite knowi-
edge and considerable misapprchcnsiou
abroad. II * customary to speak OF
China as the helpless giant among ma
tons. the perfect example Of complete
unprcparedncss. the i00,0o0.oo0 who are
at the mercy or the first conner because
they are unready and unframed. To "a
considerable extent. this pictur. IL
true. but oNcrcmphasis OF II Inns led
10 an overlooking Of the possibilities
Of china as fighting power
The most striking fact about China
from a broad military viewpoint. il
the tremendous size OF her population.
Her people are 50 numerous that the
best estimates OF their numbers differ
by iOo.ooo.e0o--a figure equal to the
total population Of the United States.
However. the generally accepted csti-
mate OF the population OF China proper
the eighteen provinccs--puts the
total nj +00.00G.OO0, ON the basis OF
the usual percentage. this means 63.-
ooo.0oe men Of lighting nge. OF whom
io.o00.000 would be physically TT for
service. China has more men TT for
the battle line than all the warriu1
nations put together.
.tctunl Army Much SmnIler.
These figures are interesting. but
they mean little or nothing. so far as
the present crisis is concerned. These
millions do not know how to fight. and
they have nothing to fight with. China
has. however. for the last ten or twelve
years beSn making strenuous efforts to
raise real modern army. She has
made some progress, in spite OF lack OF
interest under the empire. and the dis
turbances attendant on the revolution.
The latest estimates put the peace
strengths Of her army at 100000 men,
with gao. 900 additional in the reserves.
This total war strength OF 100000 has
to u. reduced considerably to arrive
at the actual number OF men who are
armed, trained and equipped in a way