Evening star., 1930-06-21

" the most ancient and tradi-
"A tional Chinese diversions is the
4 i dance on stills" or wooden
legs. These dances have been
prohibited by the national government,
in public at least, for they were gen.
highways of the city and country:
Actors, grotesquely clad, and mounted
on these sticks, would give little Chi
nese dramas and farces, whole rep
ertories, in fact, of ancient Chinese
folk lore.
Due to the fact that these artists"
have in recent years departed somewhat
from classic productions and tended
more to depictions-made very ludi-
crow, when on stiltS-of current events,
or contemporary developments, OF too
easy comprehension and hilarious ap-
probation by the populace, the govern
ment has determined to put an end to
these too critical illusions and MINI
icries.
Row in China,
Constitutional and Chronic.
North China Standard Peiping.-Al-
though tourists in China spend most OF
their waking hours in the delights OF
sightseeing and shopping, they still f1nd
time for considerable interest in the
political and economic life of the coun-
try, which Is a somewhat formal way OF
saying that they want to know what is
going on.
What is all this row in China and
who started It? When Is the country
going to settle down? These questions
are readily answered. The row in China
is constitutional and chronic and the
Chinese started it. The Chinese people
are a vigorous, sharp and lively race,
and whoever says they are spongy and
downtrodden has the wrong idea. They
have been rowing among themselves
from time immemorial were conquered
from time TO time by Mongols and
Manchus, but usually managed to as
sert themselves in the long run by the
employment of a strong political sense
The Chinese Empire, until the coming
of the WeSterner, had very definite
ideas as to who owned the world. and to
do them Justice the Chinese really did
control q very large part of 1t at one
time. But even at the height OF its
several periods of power the country
was really q series of semi-independent
states acknowledging a central hegem-
ony. so long as that leadership suited
them. The most dominant trait OF
Chinese character is the desire for free
dom-that Is, to be free OF any kind Of
restraint, to work out his own destiny
in trade, in labor, or In the arts. There
is q large and well developed class.
however, with whom exploitation OF
their own people is a dominant passion.
Hence, with q deep-rooted desire for
freedom to work in peace alongside a
feudal characteristic, 1t is easy to COM
prehend why there has always been
trouble In China. A population Of 43O,-
900 900 people cannot be perfectly con-
trolled by its present hegemony at
| Marking.
Striking Back
From the Beyond.
Panama America, Panama. curl
Gus case of posthumous retribution is
recounted by an old settler in Panama,
| James F. Marshall. who came to the
| Isthmus in the early eighties upon the
| lure of the French canal activities. In
| 1889 one OF the numerous revolutions,
which finally led to separation from CO.
| lombia, burst out in Panama and lasted
three years, Troops sent from Bogota
to suppress the revolt had q hard time,
and barely 20 of them lived to get back,
says Mr.. Marshall. The revolutionary
troops Of Panama, in few instances,
ment against the invading soldiers,
whom they had met in business ways,
possibly in the days before the uprising
of 1882. After one of the skirmishes
Mr.. Marshall saw q Panaman soldier
kick vindictively the body Of one Of the
opposing troopers, upon the memory of
some old dispute. The mans rancour
was intense. He kicked his fallen op-
ponent several times and regretted that
he did not revive so he could kill him
again.
However, shortly afterward, in dis
posing of the bodies by fire, perform
ance which the unforgiving Panaman
went to see, a cartridge belt on the body
of his defunct enemy caught fire and
exploding bullets hurtled in all direc-
tions. Though there were perhaps
thousand onlookers and many soldiers
in the disposal party. the only person