Evening star., 1927-03-09
Danger to Americans I'm China
Conceded i'm Debate on u. S. Aims

modern armies and is apparently get.
ting into the habit Of having and u.s.
ing them" ...-s.
The Madison Wisconsin State Jour-
nal says that the struggle at Shang.
hal when 1t comes twill be q time Of
acute danger for foreigners In China,
and possibly It may precipitate a
clash between foreign forces and the
natives-a possibility pregnant with
disaster. Unfortunately" the State
Journal adds, there seems little that
can be done about 1t, unless the powers
are willing to withdraw their nation
ais from the danger zone until the IS
sue is decided"
Estimating the foreign forces now
in Shanghai at 10000, the Philadel.
phia Public Ledger says 'it seems
strange that a number so small
should be regarded as ample for de.
Tense of the CITY," but 1t quotes mill.
tary attaches arriving from Peking
to the effect that 49, 900 foreign SOL
diers, properly led and equipped, could
conquer all China IL required to do
So" The Lansing State Journal feels
that lit is conceivable that the dis.
ciplined white troops can hold Shang.
hal for considerable time, but how
about holding the place indefinitely?
The surest kind of defense is aggres.
sion," continues that paper, "and if
Shanghai is to be definitely held it
may require q much more extended
enort, eventually, than Is now,
planned" The Manchester Union
also believes that 1.-The fact that the
situation may at any time develop
serious consequences to the lives and
property of foreigners justifies the
most thorough cooperation and pre-
caution"
1t Is a very naive reader of the
news, asserts the New York World.
who does not know that a fast game
Of high International politics is now
being played in China between
Britain, Russia, Japan and two rival
Chinese factions. Before we know 1t,
we may find ourselves involved in
something more, ambitious than pro-
tecting our own nationals" But the
Springfield Union observes that "the
powers are doing the only thing they
can do-trying to protect their ma.
tionals while letting the Chinese fight
1t out" The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
takes the position: THE native pop
ulat1on OF Shanghai numbers 1900,
600. The foreigners number $4,000.
Under the circumstances any show OF
force Is out of place.
-
'"The day for impressing the
Chinese with 'resounding thumps' is
over" AYERS the Baltimore Sun, "and
the nation that tries that short
sighted policy is likely to find that it
leaves nothing on the credit side of
the ledger and a great deal more on
the debit account than the $4,000, 900
taken from the British treas
ury for the martial display at Shang-
hal"
The Flint Daily Journal contends
that, SO far as the Americans are con-
cerned, restraint, on the whole, is
both because It shows that
a powerful Nation can hold its temper
in brawl and because It will even
country and China much smoother"
Out of the chaos we may expect
the Houston Chronicle
hopes. mot perhaps because of the in
ability or unwillingness Of the western
nations to use their superior force of
arms against the crowding Chinese.
but because conciliation is the only
way to prosperity for the white man
In China" -
The Buffalo Evening News holds,
also. that "a spirit Of compromise
which would turn the high.minded
leaders away from their
bolshevistic connections and bring
the better Of the northern chiefs into
cooperation with them would open
the possibility Of making China q
republic on the model
of the United States" The Rich
mond News Leader, seeing, q diplo-
matte contest on the part Of Great
Britain, Japan and Russia, II inclined
10 believe that "a general understand
ng may be much nearer than 70 gsn-