Evening star., 1921-11-28
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
There is being banded about Wash
ington the past few days a big word,
"exterritoriality." or "extraterritorial-
they mean the same thing
w, is strange to the average per-
So ears Stranger still is the thing
fo.. which it stands. Half the abuses
that have grown up in China. provok-
ing the people to such outbreaks as
the Boxer rebellion, are due to the
abuse Of the extraterritorial privi-
leres which foreigners enjoy in that
land.
A Christian from abroad, or a
Japanese either. in these II later , s,nder yeats:
may be in China, but he IS NOT unoer
China. He owes no obedience 70
Chinese law. He may kill, steal,
assault or commit all the crimes IN
the calendar, but a Chinese policeman
looking on may not lay nanos upoh
him. The foreigner in emma Is sun
iect only to the law of his own land. as
renresented by his consul or minister,
or nv the mixed courts" in the treaty
ports-which themselves, by an ex-
tension of the same principle, are as
truly foreign soil as the Strano or
Broadway. Many missions even clalHi-
ed extraterritorial privileges lot theif
native converts.
Immune From Law.
The idea back Of extraterritoriality
is that which makes a foreign
diplomat. or a travelling sovereign.
immune from the law Of the land IN
which he sojourns The Chinese dele
pation at this conference, for instance.
have more privileges in washington
than they would have in China one
Of them could II he pleased: nuri q
brick through the window OF one oi
the big F. street stores. and the DIS
trict Of Columbia policeman could not
Law hands upon him.
This diplomatic sanctity of person
and goods-which, by the way per
mits the visiting diplomats to carry
their own supply Nof liquors un, !,
troubled by thoughts of the Volsteaa
LAWS an ancient international US
age. In China and a few other back
ward countries it extends to the low
liest foreign beachcomber or adven-
turer. Any European or American
has diplomatic privileges.
Naturally. that rs a dangerous PRIV
ilege to confer upon sinful mortais.
I have seen white men .Dea'ns n
Chinese coolies with sticks just Pc
cause. apparently. they enjoyed the
exercise Of this form Of authority.
Shady characters have taken all sorts
of advantage of the immunity which
extraterritoriality gives In tne
Shanghai settlement. where chinese
law does not run. all the gambling
dens and brothels driven out of the
native city have established them:
selves. When first 1 knew Shanghai
the red light district was called the
American quarter" and it's inmates,
whatever their nationality. were
called american girls" No MISSION
-ary from this country would IN Ihose
idays think Of calling his daughter
Jan "American girl" Conditions be-
came SO rotten in Shanghai that an
American district court was estao-
Iished there. to clean up the American
name. Practically all the evil grew
out of the abuse of extra-terrItorlal-
ity.
Dates From 1850. ~
This curious status of foreigners in
China. and half a dozen other coun-
tries goes far back to the Russian
treaty of 1889, when its stipulations
were mutual. The basic idea was
that the judicial processes of China
were not such as a nation would per-
nit its subjects to undergo. Trial by
torture and execution without trial
are practices of recent date in China
There will have to be substantial
changes in Chinese legal procedure
before foreigners will be committed
meantime the common fagrant abuse
of the privileges entailed will be
heavily curtailed.
Japan, too, was formerly subject to
extraterritoriality. Her pride pro-
tested against this affront. and as
soon as she modernized her courts
these special rights of foreigners were
abolished. Siam is at the moment in
process of a treaty agreement with
this country abolishing extraterri-
toriality. Turkey is in violent protest
against it, and she has been given
promises of immunity by certain
European powers. :
Prevails In Five Countries.
At present the law of extraterri-
toriality prevails in China, Turkey,
Persia, Egypt and Morocco.
eigner has been carried farther in
China than elsewhere, especially by
the so-called treaty ports" or for
eipn settlements. These are strategic
points in China, like the great cities
Of Shanghai and Tientsin, where China
has no rights or authority whatever.
They are literally foreign SOIL In
beloneing to the foreign nationalities.
America has none of China's soil. ex-
cent the ground upon which stands
her legation, her consulates and her
most office in Shanghai-for several
nations have established complete
postal systems in China, superseding
the native institution. The post office
Of this country extends only to Shang-
hal.
There is no denying that whatever
protestations they may make from
reasons of national pride and face" "
he Chinese officials would be reluctant
to see the foreign, concessions wholly
abolished yet a while. They are de-
sirable cities of refuge in times of
trouble. Practically all Of the bigger
Chinese officials and business men
maintain homes in foreign settlements.
to which they flee upon occasions of
danger. from political enemies or