Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-29
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Americans and French as enemies
a cleavage with possibilities.
X X r x
There Is a great difference between
the records of America and Great
Britain in Chinese relations. America
has never made military demands
for concessions. while Great Britain.
Germany and France have made most
drastic and forcible invasion Of
Chinese territory. The first wedge
was in 1912 by the British in their
war to force opium trade into China
and, as their price of peace from that
aggression, they received Hongkong
Finding commerce hampered in that
one open port, they sent a vessel IN
1S43 to explore more northern mar
kets. and it, forced it's entrance into
Shanghai, against the defenses Of the
natives.
The native city then had a popula-
ton of 100000; according to the CEN
sus taken in 1920, the population was
1850 900. and today it is estimated at
about 100000. The native city is
surrounded by a wall 31s miles in
circumference, having seven gates.
The foreign settlement is built in the
suburbs, and comprises now an Eng
fish region, an American and a
French part with a sprinkling of
other foreigners. The entire foreign
settlement is now under it's own in
ternational municipal government,
comprised in a municipal board elect
ed annually by the local landholders
who are foreign. No Chinaman can
be member of that municipal board.
but last year, for the first time, a
Japanese member was elected.
The fofeign settlement of Shang-
hal made no progress for the first
year or two, but the TAPPING RebeE
lion, which terrorized all China, drove
thousands OF Chinese refugees into
Shanghai, and they overran the for
eign settlement, bringing a great deal
of goods in with them. Thousands re-
manned permanently and the growth
of that metropolis of Asia dates from
that war.
A possibility of the present fighting
in China Is that one of. the armies
might find Shanghai Il desirable
stronghold. and take possession Of IL,
including the settlement Of the for
eigners, which situation would then
Whether that would result in a CoIn-
bination of the two Chinese armies
to drive out the foreigners or merely
result in battle between the Chinese
rivals. in either case, the peril to the
foreigners is incalculable.
X 4 \ *
While tho Chinese look with dsdain
upon the barbaric world outside the
Celestial Empire. and Europeans and
Americans are more or less patrontz-
ing toward Chinese culture and re-
ligion, ii Is we'll that both parties for
get race prejudice and face facts.
Three years after Great Britain had
forced China to open her ports be-
cause she tried to defend herself
against British opium, Lord Beacons-
field, the famous Prime Minister Dis
raeli, wrote his story, "Sybil," dealing
with civilization in England within
that decade, when laborers were
fiogged with knotted ropes, felled with
hammers, and 1t was common practice
to pull the ears of apprentices until
the blood ran.
China had had the influence Of
Buddhism and Confucianism for 5000
yearS. and Europe had had Christian
ity for nearly 1000 years. When the
British forced the opening of Chinese
ports in revenge for resisting the traf-
nc in opium, Great Britain's civiliZa-
tlon was measured by her laws, which
nailed a British perjurer by the ears
10 pllIory, or hanged q man If he
dared appear on Westminster Bridge
in disguise. There were 223 offenses
or which the penalty was death. In
1915, at one execution of IS persons,
one victim was a 10-year-old boy.
(See page Il, 1.-THE History Of Shang-
hal" by G.. tanning and s. Couling.
Published in London. 1929
The same authority cites the fact
that England freed slaves in the
nineteenth century" the United States
in 1868 and Brazil in 1888. 1t is not
quite accurate. for only this month.
1927. has the British empire in India
decreed the freedom of the last 5000
slaves of BURMA century after
British rule began. This line of COM
parison, sketched by the British atI-
thors, is not intended as a condemna-
ton of England alone, but rather as
justice in the comparison Of Oriental
and Occidental civilizations. and the
proof that China has good grounds
for her awakening to national indie
pendence and autonomy. A mere GEN.
tury In the development of China is
''as yesterday" And China's present
progress Is within less than a century
Of that OF the Occident.
tCopyrwht. 1927. b. Paul " Coliins1