Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-06-04
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMAN.

The hgurative titles Of two recent
books On Manchuria are very suggestive
and "Manchuria Cradle
of Conflict" by Owen baltimore, and
"Manchuria: The Cockpit of ASIA" by
Col. P. T. Etherton and H. Hessell Tilt
man. Both are very up to date and full
Of valuable and interesting information.
The material of Owen Lattimore's book
was gathered during nine months OF
travel and residence in Manchuria In
1929-30, when he had fellowship from
the Social Science Research Council
Of New York. He had had previous
experience on the borders of China and
Inner Mongolia and a long journey
through Mongolia and Chinese Turkes-
tan. His observations have made him
conclude that "Manchuria, Mongolia
and Chinese Turkestan were once I'M
portant as the lands in which the
northern barbarians' Of China's from
tier Unanswered in war and migration,
working out among their own tribes
their destinies of conquest in China or
migration toward the west. They are
now becoming a field of contest be-
tween three types Of civilization-the
Chinese, the Russian and the West
ern." During the Manchurian explora-
tions, Mr.. baltimore and his wife re-
nounced all preferences for comfort
and went relentlesSly where valuable
information was to be found, regard
less of kinds Of food, lodgings and
transportation encountered. Part Of the
Winter was spent in a mud-wallec'
boom" town on the western frontier
Travel was varied in method. In the
Spring I went up again to the western
frontiers and Travelled. first by military
motor convoy and then riding with
border troopers, among the Mongols.
When the ice broke up on the great
Sungari River I Travelled on one of
the first steamers down to the junction
Of the Sungari with the Amur-about
400 miles AS the steamers were afraid
to venture into the Amur, no settlement
having yet been made of the dispute
between China and Russia, ! Travelled on
by cart, with a good deal of difficulty.
for some distance along the flooded
banks of the Amur, among the Fish
skin Tatars.'"
Mr.. Lattimore's discussion of the
question Of opium growing and con-
sumption in China and Manchuria Is
free from the passion of propaganda
or crusading Facts interest him more
than theories and he Is irritated when
the securing of facts Is obstructed by
preconceiyed ideas Unfortunately, 1t
Is impossible to obtain the figures of
opium production and trade and diff
i1cult to approach the study of the real
importance OF opium in the economic
and social life of the community. This
Is chiefly because, in all public duscus-
OF t,tda
have become obligatory. 1t is hardly
considered respectable even to discuss
the opium problems of China as II they
were, in the main, like the prohibition
problem Of the United States. problems
OF national legislation and social moral
1ty. Convention demands that they
be discussed as II they were governed
by standards Of universal validity"
According to Mr. baltimore some of
the best unassisted colonization in
Manchuria, creative and economically
beneficial has been opium colonization.
Opium has played in Manchuria the
part played by gold in California, Aus
tralia and elsewhere" Hundreds of
miles Of frontier regions, now inhabited
by an industrious and prosperous pop
ulation. would not have been opened
up and settled so early without the
lure Of opium" To many this may not
seem sufficient argument. Mr.. Latti-
more adds that Chinese can, and often
DO. consume great deal Of opium
without becoming addicts or suffering
any harm whatever. any more than the
Westerner who has drink when he
feels like 1t, but is not a drunkard:
and that probably men of any other
race could do the same, under equal
conditions"
Some interesting facts about bandits
are given in the chapter, Refugees.
Frontiersmen and Bandits" The bandit
IS not, 1t appears. sui generis. Bandits.
frontierSmen and soldiers are inter-
changeable, according to circumstances.
The same persons frequently take to
bandltry and soldering alternately, as
one or the other offers chances of
pront and promotion. Manchurian
oanditry differs from Chinese banditry,
the latter Is due to civil war. famine
and desperation. but the former is es-
sentially frontier banditry. The frontier
bandit Of the United States was a
lone desperate, the Manchurian bandit
adheres to q group identified with a
particular region. Intercommunica-
tons exist between the law-abiding vii
lage community and the outlaw COM
munity. When a countryside is rid
Of bandits, the cleaning up is normally
accomplished by negotiation, only ex-
ceptionally by the shock of conflict"
During negotiations bandits are not in
frequently betrayed and massacred
Sometimes bandits are disposed of by
enlisting them in the police force or
the regular troops. A bandit ridden
mi
Tense corps, which is more effective
than ordinary police or troops. because
the defense corps and the bandits are
well known to each other large
proportion of the bandits would prefer
to settle down and cultivate the land
or follow trade, but are prevented
by the difficulties in the way of pri-
waite exploitation of the wilderness. es-
pecially the difficulty of acquiring land
without any capital. But Mr. Lat
timore concludes, "Manchurian bandits
found more villages probably than any
outlaws in the world, and though law
less are an effective advance guard Of
normal settlement and exploitation"
X X
A few personages in every age have
succeeded in gaining notoriety and a
certain Immortality merely by their ro-
mantle, usually neurotic, adventures It
is easy to recall names Of such person.
ages-Casanova, Nelson's Lady Hamil-
ton. Nell Gywn, Julie de Lespinasse. The
interesting, If not constructively useful.
life of Julie de Lespinasse has been
made the subject of good personality
biography by Naomi Royde Smith
The Double Heart: A Study of Julie de
LespinaSse." The years of the life of
Julie de Lespinasse were the middle OF
the eighteenth century, 1926. She
was the illesitimate daughter Of the
Comtesse dAlbon and for 10 years, from
her 22d year, was companion to Nine.
du Deffand, head of famous salon. In
this salon she me D'Alembeft. ency-
clopedist and friend of Voltaire. Jealousy
probably caused the quarrel between
Julie and Mime. du Deffand, they sep
arated, and Julie started new salon.
D'Alembert followed her and lived at
her house, acting as her secretary and
deluding himself into believing that she
loved him. Much of the time her "dou-