Evening star., 1927-10-16
MORE SOCIAL EQUALITY
DECLARED NEED OF CHINA
American Business Men Find Them
selves Unable TO Discuss Affairs With
Leading Natives at Clubs.

MANY Americans to believe that the
dav OF unified China is rapidly ap.
| preaching and that the Cantonese or
| Nationalist government is likely to be
successful in promoting law and or
der in the Republic of China.
No one can predict definitely what
Is going to happen to China. but one
thing which appears fairly sure Is that
the 400. 100000 Chinese are so intense
! iy individuaistic, so Sefreliant and
SO welded to family traditions that 1t
is going to be impossible for any
strong central government to be es
tablshed in the near future.
In the meantime what ought to be
! The attitude and policy of America?
| In the first place. American citizens
| in business in China would do well, it
| seems to me, to break down the stu
/ pid social barriers which "old China
/ hands" erected years ago, and which
were not serious handicaps to interna-
| tional peace until Chinese returned
| students emphasized the difference be.
| tween their treatment abroad and at
| home.
| can see no reason why the Ameri-
can Club in Shanghai should not re-
| gard Chinese who are graduates of
| American institutions as eligible to
membership. | believe such action
would tend to cement good feeling and
would cause returned students to take
/ n more friendly attitude toward Amer
| lea.
Should Advertise Truth.
| In the second place, would like to
see those benevolent and philan.
thropic persons and institutions who
| have been helping to maintain hos
pitals and schools in China devote
| part of their energies to advertising
| the truth about American activities
in China. 1t is difficult for them to
| realize how few Chinese know what
they have really been doing and how
| widespread is the anti-Christian and
| anti-foreign propaganda which has
| been openly teaching falsehoods
| about American philanthropy. A
| widespread campaign advertising the
| truth would be bound in the long run
| to have more lasting and more bene-
| tic al results than the campaign of
| falsehood so efficiently backed by Rus
slams and Russian-traIned Chinese.
| In the third place. we ought to have
| better sources of official information.
| We ought to have Chinese-speaking
| military observers attached to the
staffs of all the chief military leaders.
winning their friendship and conf
/
| ly informed regarding the attitude of
| the American Government and bring
| ing us in closer touch with the real
leaders of political and military ac-
tivity.
! In the fourth place. we should have
! Chinese-speak:ng diplomats, not nee
| essarily of high rank, assigned to the
| various de facto governments to pre-
clude any misunderstanding arising
between these governments and our
selves and to keep us informed of
their policy and their actions. These
things viii cost money, but it seems
to me that the American people will
| not be niggardly. When it comes to
establishing friendly relations with
| leaders in the different parts of that
great empire, it has been our pleas
ure to befriend from time to time.
Should Make New Treaties.
In the fifth place, whenever our
diplomats find "A regional de facto
government which in their opinion
appears to have the elements Of con.
tinuity and security we ought to
enter into negotiations looking towar I'd
new treaty relationships While there
are many demands which will be
made and which we cannot grant,
am sure there will be found to be
number OF very important matters.
like tariff autonomy, which we can
readily grant.
The more thoughtful Chinese realize
that gunboats and marines promote
law and order, and their presence
| does not really cause us to forfeit
the high regard Of the Chinese peo-
| pie, as we have been told by some.
The more thoughtful Chinese recog.
nize that the foreign concessions in
the treaty ports constitute almost the
only cities of refuge to which Chinese
/ political offenders can escape when
| their enemies come into power and
/ threaten them with loss Of property
and life.
Most of the countries bordering on
/ the Pacific do not welcome Chinese
refugees, or even permit them to re-
main as law-abiding aliens. In the
| present state of Chinese "justice"
and Chinese courts it would be
utter folly for US to give up the
rights of extraterritoriality. At the
same time it would be perfectly FEAST
| BILE to make treaty provisions regard
| ing the gradual elimination OF some
of the most undesirable elements in
! the unequal treaties.
Regional Governments Needed.
In the sixth place. we ought to do
all we can to encourage the formation
Of sound regional governments, each
one of which should be small enough
for Its people to see and understand
it's workings, and to realize that it is
piece of machinery able to improve
their farming, commerce and other
activities. It would help to bring the
Chinese people up to the point of in
| terest in and fitness for popular gov
ernment.
The United States might well take
the initiative in endeavoring to induce
the several groups now at war with
each other in China to agree to respect
certain boundaries and to confine their
efforts to improving the condition Of
the people. We might place COM
missioner within each such area
wherever the new regional government.
was willing to acknowledge normal
national obligations.
Above all, in our relations with Asia
and with Asiatics. the principle Of the
Golden Rule is the safest guide, but
it is extremely difficult to apply 1t un-
less we are sufficiently aware of actual
conditions to know what we ourselves
would like to have done If we lived in
China.
Copyright 1927 by the North American
Newspaper Alliance.l
. Ghso Eo~r.soe DIn1