Evening star., 1926-04-11
ELIZABETH MOVES HEMPsTONE.
HANKOW, China.

America. Inc 0eWSDa per
Il items are frequently so alb
breviated as to be almost de-
void of interest or even meaning
@. e., some general with an I'M
pronounceabe name has captured
some unknown place which you could
not find on the map if you took
the trouble to look for it. Occasion
ally magazine articles tell of some
body'S trip somewhere or of expert
ence with bandits; scientific explora-
lions; trade statistics; ancient art or
customs; successful missionary ven
lures and deep-seated gratitude of
Chinese; all very exciting and stim-
ulating, arouSing no antagoniSm and
leaving the reader with no more of
an idea of preSent-day China than he
had before. The news agencies re-
port military engagements and major
bandit activities. so one is informed
that all Is not perfect peace In China.
But the magazines print only the
most sugar-cOated eulogies of the
Chinese character, customs and ideals.
They blissfully ignore or blandly dis
Npose of in a single sentence all the
hideous realities; they make glitter
ing generalitieS" of "glaring ubiqui-
ties; they picture a utopia where
there exists a hell. So imbued have
they become with the Chinese point
of view that they have attacked their
own nationals and compatriots and
Knocked "the white mans burden
the endeavor to keep justice in law,
honesty in commerce and love in re-
Hgjon. They eXtol the Chinese as
wise, patient and long suffering peo-
pie; they condemn the white men in
China as snobs and bullies, exploit
ing" the poor Chinese beyond be-
lief"
To enter into a controversy as to
the respective merits of the yellow
and the white would be absurd, as
the only logical conclusion can be
foreseen-the good and bad come in
both colorS. But to allow such whole
sale accusations to go unrefuted, thus
permitting them to be accepted as
truth and incorporated into public
opinion, would be a bit of sheereSt
folly. For this is a moment of
crisis for the white man in China.
His life, the wellbeing of his family,
the safety of his property, hang in
the balance, awaiting the voice Of
public opinion, as expressed by the
representatives of his home govern
ment attending the extraterritorial-
ity conference in PekinG.
The Cause of ViIification.
Who are these men so vilified by
the fanatics, religious and political?
The foreign settlements of China are
made up of representatives of big In
ternatiQnal firms, banking corpora
tions and trading companies of world
wide importance-men who are not
here in their own interests. who could
find no profit in exploitation of the
Chinese, no advantage in Snobbish-
ness, and who are, moreover. strange
ly like men in similar positions at
home and abroad. Then there are
diplomats and consuls, with a full
representation of both services; and
army, navy and marine officers and
their families and enlisted men.
There are writer's and artists and sci
entists a few residents and small
business men who were born and
reared in China or have lived here
for a long time; a large number of
tourists and many, many missionaries.
If you could bodily transport from
London, Paris. Toxic, Berlin, Moscow,
New York, Richmond, Va. and Madi-
son, Wis, three or four blocks OF
houses with the families therein and
place them all in a plot Of ground in
China YOU would have a fair IDEA OF
a foreign concession. Let 1t be empha-
sized here that when the concessions
were granted to the foreigners the
ground was entirely unimproved Tin
some cases mud flats, was bought and
paid for. That modern, beautiful cities
have grown up is entirely due to the
initiative of the foreign settlers for
whose use it was designated. The fact,
so often quoted, that many Chinese
reside and pay taxes in the settlements
without representation on the councils
is because the Chinese deliberately, in
some cases dishonesty, contrived to
purchase property in this zone OF prog
resS under the protection Of foreign
flags. And the Chinese population is
being augmented daily by prominent
and wealthy men from all parts of
China, whose lives and property are
threatened by avaricious and corrupt
officials WhDo they stand on Chinese
soil.
Pawns of the Soviet.
In regard to the propaganda against
=: the white man in China which has
been published in several newspapers
and magazines throughout America
and England, a large number of mis-
sionaries have proved to be pawns
tsome no doubt unconsciously) of the
Soviet. But there is distinct reac-
ton against this political meddling by
certain spiritual leaders. While. In
an effort to igratiate themselves
with the Chinese although 1t
is only the agitators coached by
the Bolshevists who cry for itl,
they echo the slogan so often uttered,
so seldom comprehended, Away with
unequal treaties" But they have not
seemed to realize until just this mo-
ment that the sister slogan of the
Soviet is "Down with Christianity"
Now the personal columns of the pa
pers are full of letters from mission
aries repudiating the actions of the
so-called National Christian Council,
questioning its authority as the voice
of Chinese missionaries and condemn
ing the tendency to leave the province
of things spiritual for the realm of
things temporal. But already an anti.
Christian federation has sprung full
grown and full-equipped from the
heads of the patriotic students. It is
the revival of one started several
wears ago, and it has branches all over
China, In all the seats of learning, and
publishes a weekly magazine. Around
Christmas every effort was made to
spoil that holy season. They even
went to the quaint extreme of sending
= out anti-ChristmaS cards. The Chi
neSe themselves, having no national
religion (Confucianism being a phi
losophy and ancestor worship. being a
tradition), are extremely tolerant of
religious freedom as long as 1t does
not interfere with their customs and
government. Therefore, this recent
wave Of hatred can be traced directly
to the Soviet, with it's intolerance of
religion, even as the anti-foreign
movement can be traced to them with
their envy of capitalism" and fear of
imperialism" as summed up in 'un-
equal treaties"
Treaties Not Unequal"
The terms unequal treaties" in
clude the granting of foregn conces-