The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-10-22
QUEER FRANKS
OF JUSTICE
Diplomacy Shocked by
Chinese Ministry's
Charge.
AGAINST THE NATIVES

Washington.-D in Wash
ington is greatly shocked at the Chi
nese ministry of Justices charge that
the foreigners consular courts in
China show favoritism toward their
own nationals when called on to try
them for offenses against natives.
Ali the same, everybody who ever
had any experience in the far east
knows that these courts decisions al
most always are on the side of the
foreigners and against the natives.
It's hardly to be expected of human
nature that the situation should be
otherwise.
An American, for instance, is ar
raigned in the American consular
court, say at Shanghai, on charges
which Chinese accusers, or perhaps
European residents of the foreign
settlement, are pressing against him.
The Judge may well feel some little
prejudice in favor Of bis own country
man without being the least bit
crooked, and still more so the jury.
The extra territorial system, in its
nature, obviously lends itself to injus-
tice.
In my own time in China l recall
the case of one little occidental coun-
try which maintained consul at
Shanghai for the benefit Of just
single one of its citizens. The con-
sul's official income naturally was very
small but his resident fellow country
man brought it up to handsome fig
ure out of hisao own pocket
This individual ran a gambling
house in the international settlement.
The foreign authorities who governed
the settlement didn't like it and had
their police arrest the gambling house
proprietor repeatedly.
While the international police
could arrest him, however, they
had to turn him over to his own con-
sui for trial. One guess is sufficient
to tell anybody what invariably hap
pened.
Another celebrated Shanghai case
was that of an American who was con-
victed in the United States consular
court Of "a serious offense and sem
fenced to term of several years in
prison.
In such situations, the consular Jail
not being adapted to take care of long
termers, it's customary for the judge
to order the prisoners tranfer to San
Quentin.
This calls for deputy United
States marshal to act as escort and
usually somebody who is just
leaving for the home country is
specially deputized, thereby getting
his fare paid by the government.
1t was done in this instance. The
captive was locked in his stateroom on
the trans-Pacific liner and nobody but
the deputy marshal saw him.
At Maya 'aki, Japan, where the
boat made short stop, the prisoner
begged for a chance to stretch his legs
ashore and the marshal consented. sTv-
body particularly noticed the depar-
ture Of the two men, but their return,
late at night, just before sailing time,
was>something Of an event, due to the
advanced stage Of the conyict's in
toxication.
In the morning the sobered prisoner,
previously perfectly manageable, sud-
denly started a tremendous commo-
ton, very peculiarly in language un-
known to anyone else on board.
This continued throughout the voy-
age, during the trip in the prison van
to San Quentin and on into the peril
tertiary.
A day. or two later Norwegian
convict discovered that the man
was countryman of his whom
the marshal had substituted, while
too drunk to know what was being
done, for his real prisoner, at Nagas-
aki.
OF course, The marshal had disap-
1eared and neither he nor the genuine
convict were ever heard from again by
.he federal authorities.