The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-11-28
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director,
washington, d. Q.
CHINA,S CASE.


| the Chinese are prepared to withdraw
from the Washington conference, I'M
less they set what they consider a
square deal, is the opinion of some
well-informed observers.
1t has been repeatedly stated that
the Chinese demands are for the most
part merely trading points. and that
China does not expect to get them all.
There is reason to believe, however,
that China is determined to get due
recognition of her rights as a nation
or else refuse to sign any agreement
whatsoever.
In this bold stand the Chinese are
supported by two considerations. In
the first place, they made a distinct
gain by refusing their sanction to the
treaty of Versailles. Their refusal to
sign that treaty left the Chinese prob
lem entirely unsettled, and now it has
come up for international considera-
ton again with much better prospects
for a solution favorable to the Chinese.
In the second place some solution of
the Chinese problem is necessary to
the success of the conference. China's
withdrawal would be a serious mat
ter. Public opinion weighs heavily
with the conference and public opin-
ion demands a fai1 deal for China,
which is perhaps the one genuinely
peaceful and peace-loving nation rep
resented at the conference. While
other nations have piled up arma-
ments and cherished imperialistic am
billions, the Chinese have peacefully
gone their way. Stronger and more
belligerent nations have sliced their
country up into spheres of influence,
and more progressive" nations have
exploited it commercially, and yet
China is today one of the most dis
tinctive and unified nations In race
and culture on earth. Furthermore,
altho it has not adopted all of the ma
chine technology of the western civil
izations, it has a civilization of it's own
which commands world wide respect.
The Chinese have shown that a ma
ton which tends to the business of
raising crops and babies may retain
its individuality r spite of all sorts of
military and commercial aggreSSionS
on the part of other nations. China
is an experiment in peaceful living
Leave her alone and give her a chance.
That seems to be about the gist of the
more intelligent popular demand.
Conditions in China.
In order to stimulate this demand
the Chinese are making earnest eff
forts to explain the actual condition
of their country to westerners. The
casual reader of newspapers is apt to
civil war and in a somewhat chaotic
condition. AS matter of fact, civil
war in China does not amount to as
much as did our recent coal mine war
in West Virgins. There are two ma
tional governments in China and they
occasionally make military expedi-
tions against one another Yet ex-
tremely few men are killed or wound
ed in these wars. Telegraph lines,
mails and railroads are not molested.
TTo7
political quarrel which does not af-
feet the life of China as a whole in
an appreciate way.
China is governed today. Just as it
has been governed for some 5000
years, by its numerous provincial gov
ernments corresponding to those of
our states. Some of these provincial
governments are highly efficient and
just and others are more or less cor
rupt, as is the case in this country.
The chief difference is tnat in this
country the central government for
over half a century has been slowly
usurping all the functions of the state
governments, until local government
has been a minor importance. In
China, local government IS still the
real government, and national gov
eminent is a farce.
In their strong instincts for local
government the Chinese probably
have a political asset. A strong ma
tional government has some disad-
vantages. Too much national gov
eminent, in the opinion of many po-
litical economists. is just now what
afflicts most of the western nations.
1t is the national governments that
pile up great ornaments and that
make necessary heavy taxes. At the
same time, these central governments
tend to take political affairs out of
the hands of the citizen and remove
them to a great distance. In a coun-
try where the chief governmental
power was vested in town councils.
nearly every man would have such
snare in the government of his coun-
try as he was capable of bearing. In
country like ours. where nearly all
of the real power is vested in a ma
tional congress and national executive.
government gets utterly beyond the
common man. He has to support it,
but it is a mere fiction that he con-
trolls it.
What China Needs.
China, therefore, is not altogether
to be pitied for not having a strong
national government. She needs a
better one than she now has, to be
sure. She will never have a stable
currency, for example, until she has a
stable national government. But the
preponderance of local power over ma
tional power may well be an advan-
tage to the Chinese in their future
development.
What China needs, in order to pur-
sue that development, is freedom
from outside interference, and that is
the gist of all that she is asking OF
the conference. She wants her ter
ritorial and political integrity af-
firmed, she wants the policy of the
open door reaffirmed. She wants all
spheres of influence abolished and all
secret agreements concerning her re-
vealed. She wants no plans made
concerning her without her full
knowledge and consent. She wants
control of her natural resources and
of her public utilities. She wants for
eign troops Withdrawn from China
She wants all of the concessions, that
have been made by China to foreign
concessionaires. reviewed, and she
wants those abrosgated that are no
longer equitable or that have lapsed
by non-fulfillment of terms. China
wants her debts adjusted on the same
basis as those of other nations She