Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], October 26, 1911, Page 4, Image 4

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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4
PLEBEIAN MAY BE PREMIER.
F. E. SMITH. SON OF A PRIVATE.
The Real Leader of the Conwrvnlire
Party of Great Britain—Political
Sneers* From the Start.
[Copyright. 1911. in the United Stites and
Great Britain by Curtis Brown. 1
Correspondence of The Republican
IjONDON. October 12. 1911
When Parliament meets for the autumn
session, on the 24th of this month, the
question “Who will suc'oed Balfour'
Will be heard more insistently than ever.
It is no secret that Arthur James Bal
four's days as leader of the old tory party
are numbered. Not only was he confront
ed with his 63d birthday last July, but his
health is not good, and for years he has
been getting more and more out of touch
with the rank and file of his party. This
— -■
* Ikwßl
■'W ..
18l
■ >
SHIk
F. E. SMITH.
[A popular cartoon of the brilliant young
lawyer who is the real leader of the En
glish tory party.]
estrangement began when Joseph Cham
berlain launched his policy of protection
for British industry. Balfour never fully
accepted it, and when he did render it lip
service he did it so equivocally that he
inspired its opponents rather than its
friends with fighting fervor. But he never
has been more hopelessly out of touch
with the young and vigorous fighting ele
ment in his party than during the recent
struggle over the abolition or the lords’
veto. The young tories belonged hotly to
the faction known as the "ditchers." from
their shouted readiness to die in the last
ditch rather than sacrifice the House of
Lords. Balfour threw in his lot with the
“hedgers,” who allowed and even actively
helped the liberals to pass the veto bill,
for fear they would flood the House of
Lords with new liberal peers.
The answer to this question, “Who will
succeed Balfour?” reveals with startling
clearness how nearly the day of the aris
tocrat in English government has come to
an end. For a good many years com
moners have led the liberal party, but for
more than a century the first tory prime
minister who did not bear a title was Bal
four himself, and Balfour is an aristocrat
of aristocrats. He is a member of the
great house of Cecil, and a nephew of his
predecessor in the tory leadership, the
late marquis of Salisbury. To-day only
three names are mentioned as those of his
possible successor, and each one of them,
to use a phrase which I heard the otbe?
day from Justin McCarthy, the famous
Irish historian, is “a man of no particu
lar family."
First of the trio, because most interest
ing. and most of all a self-made man, is
F. E. Smith, whose rise to prominence is
one of the romances of English public
life. Smith may not be the’ next tory
Prime minister. There are two strong
arguments against him. One is that Aus
tin Chamberlain, sori of Joseph, has a sort
of hereditary claim tn the reversion of
Balfour's political estate, and the other is
that Smith may be considered too young—
he is Only 39 years old now. Whether he
becomes prime minister or not. Smith is
to-day the real leader of the new tory
party, His brains and his enthusiasm in
spire it. and he is chiefly responsible for
switching it from a party of tradition to
a party which advocates conservative so
cial reform and a larger part in the com
forts and decencies of life for the work
ing class. With marvelous skill he has
grafted his social reform policy onto the
older policy of protection, and he proposes
to devote the money raised by taxes on
imported merchandise to financing his
scheme for social betterment.
F. E. Smith is pre-eminently the “man
of no particular family." The British pub
lic doesn’t know—and doesn't care either
—who his father was. and few even of his
friends know anything about his grand
father. Smith pere appears to have re
ceived a fair education, for he ran away
and joined the army and rose to he a ser
geant-major. and after he left the army
was able to become a lawyer. He never
accumulated any money, however, for
when he died, his sou, F. E.. found that
if he were to continue his education he
must win a scholarship. Ho was at school
at Birkenhead, in the north of England,
then, and he made up his mind to get that
scholarship. He won it. and in 1890 went
to Oxford. There he soon attracted at
tention. and before the end of his term
was president of the Oxford Union, that
famous debating society where so many
of England’s statesmen have won their
spurs.
At that time, however. Smith’s ambi
tions were scholastic rather than political.
He took all sorts nf college honors and
when he was graduated he became a
"don," which means that he took up the
work of teaching and lecturing at the
university, and he might have continued
this useful but rather humdrum round all
his life if he hadn't happened to fall in
Jove with the daughter of a country cler
gyman who had no more money than he
had Smith made up his mind thnt he
had to get into some more lucrative pro
fession. so he started rending law. anti he
was called to the bur in 1899. To-day he
is the youngest man entitled to wear the
silk gown of a king’s counsel. He never
was a briefless barrister. His fame at
the university brought him clients ns soon
as he hung out his shingle in his native
city of Liverpool, and in n few years he
was earning a hig income. To-day no im
portant law case is complete without “F.
E." on one side or the other I have
hoard all sorts of estimates of his income
from hie practice. Some of his legal as
soeintea put it at $59,090 a year; others
at $100,090. Probably it is somewhere
tietween the two figures.
Law in England, as in the United
States, often leads to politics. F. E. Smith
made up his mind to enter Parliament,
and he fixed on T. P. O’Connor's "Scot
land” division of Liverpool as the con
stituency he would like to represent. He
“nursed it for n year or two. but never
fought an election in it. for he was ottered
the chance to contest the neighboring
Walton division in 1906. and he won. Ue
found himself in a Parliament where his
party didn’t count for much. The tories
bad been hopelessly beaten, and were not
only few in numbers, but discouraged and
disgusted. Even Balfour had been beaten
at the polls and was looking for another
seat. "F. E." watched things for a week
or two, and then he made liis maiden
speech. It was on a rather dull financial
subject, and most of the members were
in the smoking-room. They arc not over
polite to new members or bores in the
House of Commons. When the new man
had been speaking for five minutes, the
news reached the smoking-room that some
thing was happening, and members came
trooping in. "F. E.” finished to a crowded
house. The listless tories chortled in their
joy. Hero was a man who was evidently
a match, and more, for the Winston
Churchills and Lloyd-Georges and other
able young men on the liberal side. Even
the liberals couldn't help cheering him.
Perhaps because he is a "man of no par
ticular family” F. E. Smith doesn’t trouble
much about the traditional "House of
Commons tone." He is a master of in
vective. and he never hesitates to bit
brutally if he thinks the brutal blow good
ring tactics. In spite of that, he is popu
lar with his opponents, who forgive his
most stinging attacks because they are
clever. One night he was speaking on the
protective tariff program, when a liberal
member called out, "What about our
food ?”
"Don’t worry, my friend." said F. E.
Smith. “Your food will be all right.
Neither Mr Chamberlain nor myself ever
proposed to put a tax on thistles.’’
His friends wonder how Smith keeps
going, and how long he will be able to
keep going. Every morning when the
courts are sitting he is in court before 11
o’clock, and often remains there till 5 p.
m. Then he goes down to the House of
Commons as fresh as a daisy, and often
stays there till midnight, or, even later.
When he gets home he must spend some
time studying his cases for the next day
and his speeches for the House f Com
mons. as you never find him unprepared
in debate. His method shows that lie
must have gone over the subject carefully
in advance. He has a wonderful system
of classified pockets for reference clip
pings. He quotes from an opponent's
speech, for instance. "I never said that."
shouts the man on the gridiron. "Oh, yes
you did. on February 2, 1908," says F.
E. Smith, and his hand goes unerringly
to the right pocket and hauls out the clip
ping, which he reads.
Perhaps one secret of Smith’s physical
fitness is his devotion to fox hunting. lie
keeps a big stable of hunters, and every
week finds him in the saddle. He is also
a lieutenant in the Oxfordshire imperial
yeomanry; of which Winston Churchill,
the rising young man of the liberal party,
is major. The two men, by the way. are
inseparable friends in private life, al
though in Parliament each is the other's
bitterest opponent. Often, after a night
spent in slanging each other across the
green benches, they may be seen leaving
Westminster arm in arm to sup together.
In appearance Smith is a dandy. At
first glance you would set him down for
one of the gilded youths who 101 l along
the sunny side of Piccadilly during the
London season. With another look, how
ever. you note the firm jaw, the long, pale
face, betokening years of study, and the
clear, intelligent eye. The carefully
brushed and pomaded hair, the immacu
late collar and fashionably cut clothes all
are typical in their way of the man's
orderly mind. He hates personal no less
than mental slovenliness. It is this order
liness of mind that has given him his
power. He found his party cut loose from
its old moorings and with only part of a
new program. With a group of the young
er members he worked out a complete plan
of social reform, which will he presented
to the electors at the next general elec
tion.
As I have indicated already. F. E. Smith
may not be the next tory leader because
there are two other men in the running,
■ ■ ; pl
AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN.
(Sou of Joseph Chamberlain and F. E.
Smiths ihlef rival for the leadership ot
the English tory party.]
Austen Chamberlain and Andrew Bonar
Law. Chamberlain, although the son of
Joseph Chamberlain, is also a “man of no
particular family” in the English sense,
for the Chamberlains are "middle-class”
people. Austen really is handicapped by
being the son of his father, for while he
has {treat ability, it isn't the same kind
ns hrs father's, and that is what people
are looking for. He is a plodding, steady
going politician, who masters all his sub
jects and devotes all his life to politics.
He made an excellent if uninoinring
chancellor of the exchequer in Balfour’s
government, and. by the way, it may not
be generally known that, it is tn Austen
that Balfour probably owes the fact that
he still is leader of the tory party. When
Joseph Chamberlain resigned Ids post in
the cabinet to start liis protective tariff
agitation, lie was urged by his friends to
depose Balfour, and it is believed he could
have done so. He refused because his son
had just been appointed chancellor of the
exchequer, and lie wanted to “give the
hoy a chance.’' To attack Balfour would
have meant an immediate general elec,
tinn nnd a possible defeat for his party./
Bonar Law, the third of the trio of
aspirants for Balfour's shoes, is tlie least
inspiring of nil to the num in tlie street.
He is a Canadian by birth, who made a
fortune as an ironmaster in Glasgow, and
then went into imlitfra. He is, as one
would expect from his training, an ani
mated reference book. Facts and figures
nre always at his finger ends, and he is
an authority on all matters connected with
trade.
’ HE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY. OCT.OBFR 26. 1911.
CALIFORNIA'S EXPERIMENTS.
CHANGES IN CONSTITUTION.
Some of the Radical Measure* Adopt
ed This Month—Franchises—lnitia
tive, Referendum nnd Recall-
Woman SnflFraffe.
I [Written hr Cttxton Rogers Woodbuff
"for The Republican.J
California is engaged in making over
i her constitution piecemeal rather than to
j risk a complete revision, although it is
I difficult to appreciate her attitude at this
I distance, in view of the large number of
I complicated amendments which the voters
| passed upon on the 10th. The long series
| of amendments submitted were, however,
of more than ordinary local interest. They
were draw n by the progressive Legislature
of 1911 and represent a further or com
pleter fulfilment of their campaign pledges
ot a year ago. They represent, however,
the California idea of legislation by way
of the constitution rather than the federal
idea of conferring broad general powers
upon the legislative body.
Railroad Regulation.
Although the chief interest centered
around the woman suffrage amendment,
those dealing with franchises and munici
pal government are of prime importance.
In fact one of the chief amendments pro
vides tor a railroad commission of five
members to be appointed by the governor
in place of file present elected commission,
one each from the three railroad districts
mto which the state has for years been
divided. The commissioners now in office
are to serve out their terms, and the ad
ditional ones are to be appointed by the
governor. The terms of the commissioners
hereafter shall be six years, except the
commissioners first appointed after such
expiration, one of whom shall hold until
January 1. 1917. two until January 1,
1919. and two until January 1. 1921.' No
person in the employ of or holding any of
ficial relation to any person, firm or cor
poration subject to regulation by the com
mission. and no person owning stock or
bonds of any such corporation, or who is
in any manner pecuniarily interested there
in. shall be eligible to serve as a commis
sioner. 1 arious other provisions and pro
hibitions have been incorporated to make
the victory of the progressives over the
Southern Pacific railroad influence 88
complete and lasting as the ingenuity of
the capable men in charge of the “new
politics’’ in California can possibly make
it.
Another proposed amendment dealing
with the transportation problem provides
that:—
No railroad or other transportation com-
P®ny Baa ^ grant free passes, or passes or
tickets at a discount, to any person holding
any office of honor, trust or profit tn this
state. ercept to the niemhers of the railroad
commission of this state and officers and
employes of said commission and to peace
officers. and the acceptance of anv such pass
or ticket, by a member of the Legislature
or any public officer, other than railroad
commissioner or any of the officers or em~
ployes of the railroad commission or peace
work a forfeiture of his office.
Ine italicized words being the new ones.
^ntirely new section provides that
there shall be no discrimination in charges
or facilities for transportation by any rail
road or other transportation company be
tween places or persons, or in facilities for
transportation of the same classes of
freight or passengers in the state, and
that no railroad or other transportation
company shall charge or receive any great
er compensation in the aggregate for the
transportation of passengers or of like
kind of property for a shorter than for a
longer distance over the same line or route
in the same direction, the shorter being
included within the longer, or to charge
greater compensation as a through rate
than the aggregate of the intermediate
rates.
To the present section dealing with the
right of eminent domain the following
language is to be added:—
The taking of private property for a rail
road run by steam or ele-'trtc power for log
ging or lumbering purposes shall be deemed
a taking for public use, and any person,
firm, company or corporation taking private
property under the law of eminent domain
tor such purposes shall thereupon and there
by become a common carrier.
Generally speaking the purpose of the
amendments dealing with transportation
problems is to remove their control and
supervision from a comparativelv rigid
constitution -although it is doubtful if one
tnay hereafter so speak with propriety
and accuracy of the California constitu
tion—to the more responsive Legislature
and railroad commission. It is a step,
however, in The direction of "trust the
Legislature" and away from the old pol
icy of checks and balances and prohibi
tioriß. In the adoption of the amendments
California will afford an experiment sta
tion in transportation matters of great
interest.
County Home Rnle.
Perhaps the most novel of the amend
ments is the one providing for county home
rule. “Amendment No 5,” which is an
entirely new section, provides—and herein
we find a remarkable case of embodving
a statute in a state constitution—that‘any
countv may frame a charter for its own
government, or, having framed one. mav
frame a new one. Instead of giving the
counties This* right and leaving to the’Leg
islature all the details, the amendment
proceeds most elaborately to outline the
procedure. If a majority of the electors
voting vote for a charter, drawn up in
accordance with the amendment, it carries,
and is forthwith submitted to the state
Legislature, at a present session, if there
be one, otherwise at rhe next regular or
extraordinary session, for approval or re
ieetmn as a whole, without power of al
teration or amendment.
It shall be competent, in all charters
framed under the proposed section, to pro
vide. in addition to any other provision
allowed by the constitution of the state!
’y boar tis Of supervisors; and (2) for
sheriffs, county clerks, treasurers, record
ers, license collectors, tax collectors, pub
lic administrators, coroners, surveyors, dis
trict attorneys, auditors, assessors and su
perintendents of schools, for the election
or appointment of said officers, or nny of
them, and t3l for the number of justices
of the peace nnd constables for each town
ship, or for the number of judges and oth
er officers of inferior courts a s mav be pro
vided by the constitution or general law:
for the election or appointment of such
Officers; and i4> also for the powers and
duties of hoards of supervisors and all
other county officers, for their removal and
for the consolidation and segregation of
county offices; and (5) for the fixing and
regulation by boards of the supervisors, of
the appointment and number of assistants
and (6) for the appointment of fish and
game wardens.
All elective officers of counties and of
townships, of road districts and of high
way construction divisions therein shall be
nominated and elected in the manner pro
vided by general laws for the nomination
and election of such officers.
Whenever a county lias adopted a char
ter. and the Legislature has approved it,
the general laws adopted by the Legisla
ture. in pursuance of certain sections of
the constitution relating to county gov
ernment. shall, as to such county, he an
persede j by such charter as to all matters
properly covered thereby, except as oth
erwise provided, nnd except that the char
ter shall not affect the terms of office of
the elective officers of the county, or of
anv district, township or division thereof,
there in office. This, of course, is to pre
vent “ripping” opt of officials.
A charter adopted under the section mny
be surrendered and annulled with the as
sent of two-thirds of the electors of the
county voting nt a special election, held
for the purpose. The provisions of this
section nre not. howewr. applicable to
nny county rhat is consolidated With any
city. Notwithstanding the long section
mid the long enumeration, nevertheless, as
the editor of the California Outlook points
out. the powers conferred upon counties
in framing county charters are grudgingly
conferred. Counties are not placed on a
parity with cities in charter making and
there appears no good reason why they
should not he. if the principle of home rule
is to bi carried out. They should be giv
en broader powers of policing and sanita
l!’'u n nd should have been made less amen
able to general laws. These powers fall
far short of complete home rule for coun
ties in all those matters which may prop
erly bp left to counties tn be handled if
real home rule L to be conferred.
Especially is this true with regard to
the power of taxation, winch is left, ex
cept as to roads and bridges, entirely un
, u?r the control of general lacs, whereas
; < altfornia counties should hare been free,
i m the editor's opinion, to work out the
i problem of taxation to suit themselves in
: so far as this can be done without tres
passing upon the state's taxation pre
i serves. Not a few counties might have
essayed the land tax to the exclusion of
the Taxation of personal property and im
provements. as the counties of Oregon
have been macle tree to do.
A larger m easure of home rule is pro
vided for cities of 3500 and more in a se
ries of amendments. The present section,
which, by the way. has already been
amended six times since the adoption ot
the constitution of 1879. will hereafter pro
vide. if amendment No 20 is adopted, that
any such city may frame a charter for its
government, consistent with the constitu
tion (or, if having framed a charter, may
frame n new one by electing 15 freehold
ers, pursuant to an ordinance adopted by
two-thirds of the council, or other legisla
tive body of the city, declaring that the
Public interest requires the election of the
reeholders for the purpose of preparing a
charter, or pursuant to a petition signed
by 15 per cent of the city electors. In sub
mitting charters, or amendments, an al
ternative article or proposition may be
voted on separately.
Loewi Self-Government.
Any charter framed under the proposed
section, or any amendment thereto, may
provide, in addition to provisions of the
amendment and by the state laws, for the
establishment of a borough system of gov
ernment for the whole or any part of the
territory of the city, by the creation of
one or more districts therein, which dis
tricts shall be known as- boroughs and
shall exercise such special municipal pow
ers as are granted by the charter for their
organization, regulation, government and
jurisdiction. This, in the opinion of Cali
fornia students, is regarded as a most im
portant provision. It is inevitable that,
in process of time, the suburban districts
clustered about all considerable cities shall
become parts of those cities for such pur
poses as have for their foundation a com
munity of interest, and yet leave to each
of such suburbs full control over purely
local affairs. It will be but the adaptation
to cities of the principle that underlies
the relation between states and the na
tional government, counties and the state,
suburbs and metropolitan centers. That
relation as to suburban cities has not yet
been worked out anywhere in this country,
except partly in Philadelphia and New-
York, and it needs to be worked ont. Per
haps no better way can be found than to
give to our cities constitutional powers
necessary to that end.
In commenting on this amendment, A.
J. Pillsbury says with great force:—
The proposed amendment is not in face
a constitutional provision at all, but a stat
ute proposed to be adopted Into the consti
tution Instead of being east In general
terms, as the section now is. it goes into
particulars to the last degree in specifying
now and when each step shall he taken in
framing a new charier or amending an old
one. It leaves uo room or need for any
supplementary legislation and practically
takes it out of the hands of the Legislature
to do any legislating with reference to mu
nicipalities having a population of over 3500.
Tbe section ns it stands tells what cities
may do with reFerenre to their charters, but
does not tell how those things shall he done.
The proposed amendment tells how each
step is to he taken as particularly ns any
statute might, a fine example of legislating
directly into the .constitution, a thing tbnt,
generally speaking, flight not to ,be done,
for the reasons that die constitution of the
state is thus nndlily encumbered and that
laws are made inflexible. whereas there
should be a reserve power vested in Legis
latures tn meet new needs ns they arise.
Nothing can be so fixed that it will never
need to be changed, and to change by a
vote of the whole people Is tardy, cumber
some and costly.
All the provisions relating to the gov
ernment of cities and counties are. how
ever, based on the idea of giving to the
electors a larger measure of control over
their affairs than they now enjoy. To the
same end "Senate amendment No 20” is
designed to provide that the people re
serve the power to propose laws and con
stitutional amendments, and to adopt or
reject the same at the polls, independent
of the Legislature, and also the power to
adopt or reject any act, or any part there
of. passed by the Legislature
Initiative, Referendum and Recall.
The first power reserved is the initiative,
and the section prescribes how “initiative
measures” may be proposed for submission
to the electors. At any time not less than
10 days before the commencement, of any
regular session of tbe Legislature, a peti
tion. properly certified to have been signed
by electors equal to 5 per cent of all the
votes cast for all candidates for governor,
may propose a law set forth in full there
in, apd the secretary of state must trans
mit the same to the Legislature as soon
as it, convenes and organizes. The law
proposed shall be either enacted or re
jected without, change or amendment by
the Legislature within 40 days after it is
received by the Legislature. If anv law
so proposed shall be enacted by the Legis
lature, it shall be subject to referendum.
If any law so proposed be rejected, or no
action is taken upon it by the Legislature
within 40 days, the secretary must submit
it to the people at the next general elec
tion. The Legislature may reject any
measure so proposed and propose a differ
ent one on the same subject upon separate
roll-call, in which case both measures shall
be submitted to the electors at the next
general election or at a prior special elec
tion if one should be called by the gov
ernor for such purposes. “All such
initiative petitions shall have printed in
12-poinr black-face type the following:
‘lnitiative measure to be presented tn the
Legislature ’ “ Thia phrase if adopted next
autumn, will he in tlie constitution of the
state of California!
Referendum is the second power re
served. It is provided that no act of the
Legislature shall go into effect until 90
days after the final adjournment of the
session, except acts calling elections, acts
providing for tax levies, etc., and “ur
gency measures necessary for tlie imme
diate preservation of the public peace,
health or safety," passed by two-thirds
vote of the members elected to each house.
When it is deemed necessary for the im
mediate preservation of the public peace,
health or safety that a law shall go into
effect, a statement of the facts constitut
ing the no, esslty shall be set forth in a
section of <ho act to be passed only upon
separate roll-csl) thereon: provided, that
no measure creating or abolishing an
office or changing tlie salary, term or du
ties of any officer, or granting a franchise
or special privilege or creating any vested
right or interest, shall be construed as nn
emergency measure. All other measures
shall be subject to a referendum if called
for by a petition signed and filed in act,
eordance with tbe carefully detailed pro
visions of the amendment.
The recall, which, like the initiative and
referendum, was approved by overwhelm
ing vote on the loth, is provided for in
the same amendment. There was vigor
out debate over this provision, which in
clndea the judiciary as well as other state
officials. Many thoughtful nnd public
spiriteil lawyers opposed this section,
rumoi- t 1? m Lewis It Works of ilu’ Los
Angeles bur, the son and partner of United
States Senator Works. Nevertheless, in
dignation over the recent decisions of the
state supreme court it! regard to the
San Francisco graft cases gave popular
strength to the amendment.
Woman MoUraire.
Amendment No 8 of the Senate, n*
adopted, Is, as one observer avers, “at
once the most revolutionary and evolu
tionary step taken in the history of the
state. The rise of the common man to
something approaching equality with the
privileged man has been attended, some
what tardily, with the rise of the common
woman to something approaching an equal
station with her husband and brother. Are
the men of California." the observer asks,
"about to admit the women of California
to full partnership in tbe affairs of.govern
ment? That is the issue pnt up to us in
this proposed amendment to section 1 of
article 2 of our organic law. such amend
ment consisting solely in striking out the
word 'male' wherever it occurs in that
i section.”
Another amendment dealing with elec
toral matters provides for the establish
ment of a majority vote, if thought ad
visable. Under the constitution as it now
stands. and under statutes enacted pursu
ant to it, the clerk of the supreme court
of the state is elected by tbe people for
a term of four years, A proposed amend
ment provides for the appointment of the
clerk by and liis removal at the pleasure
of the court, the present incumbent to
complete his term. This is a move in the
direction of the "short ballot."
If Senate amendment No 6 has been
adopted, the Legislature will hereafter
continue in session not exceeding 30 days,
and then take a recess for not less than
30 days, and then reassemble. After the
reassembling no bill mny be introduced in
either house except upon consent of three
fourths of the members thereof, and no
more than two bills may be introduced by
any one member after such reassembling.
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION.
A VETERAN LEADER EXPLAINS.
Remarkable Document by Sun Yat
Sen Sketching the Mancha Usur
pation and Justifying Rebellion
Against the Tartar Dynasty.
The following remarkable document by
Suu Yat Sen, for 14 years a leader of the
revolutionary movement in China, was
printed in 1904, for private circulation,
and is more timely than ever just now.
The interesting coincidence will be noticed
that the Manchu regime in China, to which
Mr Sun traces many of the fundamental
reactionary tendencies which have ap
peared to be deep-rooted in the Orient,
begafi at about the time when the Puritans
were setting up their government in the
New World. Mr Sun's sketch is entitled
“The True Solution of the Chinese
Question” and is as follows:— ,
The attention of the whole world is at
present directed toward the far East, not
only because of the war which is now
going on between Russia and Japan, but
also because of the fact that China will
ultimately be the main field of struggle
between those countries striving for the
mastery in Asia. European possessions in
Africa which had hitherto been the bone
of contention between the European pow
ers haying now been pretty well defined, a
new field for territorial aggrandizement
and colonial expansion must therefore be
sought. China, long known as the "Sick
Man of the Far East," affords naturally
such a field for the satisfaction of Euro
pean ambitions.. America, notwithstand
ing her traditional seclusive policy in inter
national politics, is. however, by no means
disinterested in it, although in a way some
what different from that of the other
countries. In the first place, the passing
of tbe Philippine islands under American
control make the United States one of
the nearest neighbors of China, and it is
therefore impossible for her to shut her
eyes to the state of things in that country.
In the second place, China is a
great market for American goods, and if
America .intends to extend her commer
cial and industrial activity to other parts
of the world. China is the first country
that, she must look tp. Hence the so-called
“Far Eastern question" is of peculiar im
portance to this country.
The problem is as important as it is
difficult of solution., owing to the many
conflicting interests involved therein. The
ultimate outcome of the present war be
tween Russia and Japan has been con
sidered by many as the probable solution
of the question. But. from a Chinese
standpoint, the war raises more difficulties
than it solves: if it decides anything at all,
it would decide, at the most, the question
of supremacy between those two countries
only. What about the interests of Great
Britain? of France? of Germany? of the
United States? As to these questions, the
war is far from being a solution.
In order to arrive at a satisfactory solu
tion of the whole question, we must find
out the root of all these difficulties. The
most superficial knowledge of Asiatic af
fairs will convince any one that this lies
in the weakness and corruptness of the
Manchu government, which threatens, by
the very fact of its weakness, to disturb
the existing political equilibrium of the
world. Paradoxical as it is, it is not with
out foundation. As a proof of this, we
would only mention the present Russo-
Japanese war. Had it not been for the
utter inability of the Manchu government,
over Manchuria, the war might have been
avoided. And it is but the beginning of
a long series of conflicts which are likely
to arise between the different powers in
terested in the Chinese question.
We say the Manchu government, and not
the Chinese government, with intention.
The Chinese have at present no govern
ment of their own, and the term “Chinese
government,” if applied to the present
government of China, is a misnomer. This
seems to be startling to one who is not
well acquainted with Chinese affairs, but
it is a fact—a historical fact. In order
to convince you of this, let us give you a
short account of the establishment of the
Manchu dynasty.
The Manohna.
Before they came in contact with the
Chinese, the Mamins were a savage,
nomadic tribe roaming in the wilds of the
Amoor region. They often raided and
plundered the peaceful Chinese inhabitants
along the frontier. Towards the close of
the Ming dynasty there was a great civil
war in China, and taking advantage of
this golden opportunity they suddenly
came down and captured Pekin in much
the same way as the barbarians overran
the Roman empire. This was in the year
1644. The Chinese were unwilling to sub
mit to this foreign yoke and offered to
the invaders the most stubborn resistance.
1n order to force them to yield, the bar
barous Manchu ruthlessly massacred mil
lions of people, combatants and non-com
batants, young and old, women and chil
dren; set fire to their dwellings; ransacked
their bouses and forced them to adopt
their costume. It has been estimated that
for disobeying the order of keeping the
queue tens of thousands of persons were
slaughtered. It was not until after much
bloodshed and barbarity that the Chinese
finally submitted to the Manchu rule.
I The next measure the Manehus adopted
was to keep tile conquered people in
ignorance as much ns possible by burning
nnd destroying all the Chinese books and
literature concerning their dealings with
and their invasion of China. They also
prohibited the people to form associations
or to hold meetings for tbe discussion of
public affairs. Their object was to stamp
out the patriotic spirit of the Chinese, so
that in course of time they might forget
that they were subject to n foreign rule.
The Manehus number at present not more
than five millions, while the Chinese have
a population of not Jess than four hundred
millions. It is therefore their constant
fear that the Chinese might rise up some
day und regain their country. To safe
guard against this, tunny precautions mca-
Mires have been mid are still being adopted.
Siu b has been the policy of the Manehus
towards the Chinese.
There is n general misapprehension
among western peoples that the Chinese
are by nature n seclusive people, unwilling
to hnve nny intercourse with outsiders,
and that It win only nt the point of the
bayonet flint a few ports along the coast
were opened to foreign trade. This mis
apprehension is due more to the ignorance
of Chinese history than to anything else. 1
History furnishes us abundant proof that
from the very earliest times up to the
establishment of the present dynasty the
Chinese entertained close relations with
the neighboring countries and did not up- |
pear to have the least ill-dispositiop toward J
foreign traders and missionaries. The
Nestorian Tablet at Si an Fn gives ns
an excellent record of the evangelistic
works of foreign missionaries among ths
people there as early as the seventh cen- I
tury after Christ. Again, tbe Buddhist ।
t religion was introduced into China by the
emperor in the Han dynasty, and tbe
people welcomed the new religion with
great enthusiasm. It has since continued
to flourish until now it is one of the three
leading religions In China. Not only
missionaries but traders also were allowed
to travel freely throughout the length and
breadth of the empire. Even ns late as
the Ming dynasty there was no sign of
antiforeigu spirit among the Chinese
The then prime minister. Hsu Kwang Che.
himself embraced the Catholic faith, nnd
his intimate friend. Mathew Ricci, n
Jesuit missionary in Pekin, was held in
great esteem by the people.
Gradual Change st Policy.
With the establishment of the Manchu
dynasty came a gradual change of policy.
The whole country was closed to foreign
trade;, missionaries were driven out: na
tive Christians were massacred; and no
Chinese was allowed to emigrate outside
the Chinese border under pain of death.
Why was this? Simply because the
Mancinis wanted to exclude foreigners
from their jurisdiction and to instigate
the people to hate them, lest the Chinese
might be enlightened and realize their
own nationality through coming in con
tact with them. The antiforeigu spirit
fostered by the Manchns finally culminated
in the Boxer trouble of 1900. It is now
well known that the leaders of the move
ment were nobody else than the members
of the reigning family. Hence it may be
seen that the seclusive policy of China is
the outcome of selfishness on the part of
the Manehus and does not represent the
will of the majority of the Chinese people.
Foreigners traveling in China have often
noticed the fact that those people who are
farther away from official influence are
always more friendly to them than those
nearer.
Since the Boxer war many have been
led to believe that the Tartar government
is beginning to see the sign of time and
to reform, itself for the betterment of the
country, just from the occasional imperial
edicts for reform, not knowing that they
are mere dead letters made for the ex
press purpose of pacifying popular agita
tions. It is absolutely impossible for the
Manehus to reform the country, because
reformation means detriment to them. By
reformation they would be absorbed by
the Chinese people and would lose the
special rights and privileges which they
are enjoying. The still darker side of the
government can be seen when the ignor
ance and corruption of the official class is
brought to light. These fossilized, rotten,
good-for-nothing officials know only how
to flatter and bribe the Manehus. whereby
their position may be strengthened to
carry on the trade of squeezing. A very
striking evidence can be seen from the
proclamation issued recently by the
Chinese minister at Washington prohibit
ing the Chinese in this country from hav
ing anything to do with the patriotic
society under the severe penalty that their
families and distant relatives will be ar
rested and beheaded in China. Such a
barbarous act as coming from such an
educated man as Sir Liang Cheng, the
Chinese minister, cannot he accounted for
except upon the probable assumption that
lie wishes to flatter the government so
that his position as a minister may be
secured. Where is the hope for reform
by the government and its officials?
During the 260 years of Tartar rule we
have suffered innumerable wrongs, chief
of which are the following:—
The Tartars run the government for
their own benefit and not the benefit of
the governed. They qheck our intellectual
and material development. They treat
us as a subjected race and deny us equal
fights and privileges. They violate our in
alienable rights of life, liberty and prop
erty. They practice or connive at official
corruption and bribery. They suppress the
liberty of speech. They impose heavy and
irregular taxes on us without our consent.
They practice the most barbarous tor
tures in the trial of an alleged offender for
the purpose of compelling him to give
evidence to incriminate himself. They de
prive us of our rights without due process
of law. They fail in their duty to pro
tect the lives and property of all persons
residing within their jurisdiction.
Notwithstanding all these grievances, we
have tried every possible means to become
reconciled with them, but to no purpose.
In view of this fact, we. the Chinese
people, in order to redress our wrongs,
and to establish peace in the far East,
and in the world generally, hnve therefore
determined to adopt adequate measures
for the attainment of those objects,
"peaceably if we may, forcibly if we
must.”
Ripe for Revolution.
The whole nation is ripe for revolution.
Look at the Weichow uprising of 1900, the
attempted coup de mnin at Canton in
1902. and the Kwang Si movement which
is now still going on with ever-increasing
force and encouragement. The newspa
pers and the recent publications in China
are also full of democratic ideas. Fur
thermore, there is the Chee Kung Tong
(Chinese patriotic society), commonly
known in this country as the Chinese free
masons. which has for its object "the over
throw of the Ching (Manchui and the
restoration of the Ming (Chinese) dynaety.’’
This political organization has lasted for
over 200 years and it has now a member
ship of tens of millions of people, spread
ing ail over southern China. About 80
per cent of the Chinese in this country
belong to this league. Those Chinese who
favor revolutionary ideas muy be roughly
divided into three classes. Tbe first class,
the most numerous of the three, comprises
those persons who cannot even obtain a
bare livelihood because of the extortions
and exactions of tin- officials. To the
second belong all those who are provoked
by racial prejudice against the Mancinis,
while to the third class belong those who
are inspired by noble thoughts and high
ideas. These three factors, co-operating
together in different directions, with in
creasing force and velocity, will ultimately
produce the desired result. It is evident,
therefore, that the downfall of the Manchu
government is but a question of time.
The theory has sometimes been advanced
with some show of plausibility that China,
with her immense population and her
vast resources, would he a menace to the
whole world, if she would wake up and
adopt western methods nnd ideas; that if
the foreign countries should do anything
toward the uplifting and enlightening of
the Chinese people, they would thereby
create n sort of Frankenstein; and that
the wisest policy for other countries to
pursue is to keep the Chinese down as
much as possible. This is. in short, the
substance of whnt is known as the “yel
low peril." The theory sounds very well,
but it will be found upon examination to
be untenable from whatever standpoint
you may view it. Apart from the moral
side of the question as to whether it is
right for one country to hone for
the downfall of another, there is the poli
tical side of it. The Chinese are by na
ture an industrious, peaceful, law-abiding
people. They arc by no means an ag
gressive race. If ever they go to war nt
all, it is only for self-defense. The
Chinese would be a menace to the peace
of the world only if (hey were properly
drilled by some foreign country and nisdo
use of as an instrument for tlie grutifinij
tion of its own ambition. If left ro them
selves they would prove to be the most
peaceful people in tlie world. Again, front
an economic standpoint, the awakening of
China and Ilie establishment of an en
lightened government is hcneficiul not. only
tn tlie Chinese hut also to the world at
large. The whole country would be open
to foreign trade; railroads would bo built;
natural resources would lie developed; the
people would be riehey und their standard
of living would be higher; the demand for
foreign goods would be greater, and inter-
national commerce would be increased a
hundred fold above its present rate. Is
this a peril? Nations are to each other
as individuals. Is it economically better
for n man to liave-a poor, ignorant neigh
bor than ii is for him to have a wealthy,
intelligent one? Viewed from this light,
theory falls at onpe to the ground and
we may safely assert that the yellow peril
may after all be changed into the yellow
blessing.
Therb are two conflicting policies pur
sue,! by, the foreign powers m regard to
t Ilina. The one favors the partitioning
and colonizing: the other advocates the
integrity and independence ot China. To
those maintaining the former policy it is
needless to remind them that it is fomented
with danger and disaster, as the case of
colonizing Manchuria by Russia, exhibits;
while to those maintaining the latter policy
we venture to predict shat it is impossible
for them to realize their object so long
as the present government exists. The
Manchu dynasty may be likened to a
collapsing house; the whole structure is
thoroughly rotten touts veiy foundation.
Is it possible for any one to prevent the
house from falling just by supporting, the
wails collaterally outside with a few
beams? IVe fear this very act of sup-
I porting it might hasten its tumbling. The
dynastic life in China, as shown from his
tory. is much the same as an individual;
it has its birth, growth, maturity, declining
and dying. The present Tartar rule has
begun to decline since the beginning of
the last century and is dying fast now.
Therefore we say that even this benevolent
and ehivalrie art of maintaining the integ
rity and independence of China, if such is
meant, as we understand, to support the
present tottering Tartar house, is doomed
to failure.
A ‘‘Republic of China.*’
Now it is evident, in order to solve this
burning question, and to remove the source
of disturbance to the peace of the world,
that a new, enlightened and progressive
government must be substituted in place
of the old one. In such a case China
would not only be able to support her
self, but would also relieve the other
countries of the trouble of maintaining
her independence nnd intregrity. There
are many highly educated and able men
among the people who would be compe
tent to take up the task of forming a
new government, and carefully thought-out
plans have long been drawn up for the
transformation of this out-of-date Tartar
monarchy into a "Republic of China.”
The general masses of the people are also
ready to accept tlie new order of things
and are longing for a change for better,
to uplift them from their present deplorable
condition of life. China is now on the
eve of a great national movement, for
just a spark of light would set the whole
political forest on fire to drive out the
Tartar front our land. Our task is indeed
great, but it will not be an impossible one.
It needed fewer than 20,000 troops of the
allied army in the Boxer war in 1900 to
break down the Tartar resistance, to
march into Pekin and capture that city.
There is no doubt we could do the same
with double of triple that number of men;
furthermore, we could easily raise a hun
dred or a thousand times more men from
our patriots. And it is evident from recent
experiences that the Tartar soldiers are
not our match in every field. The present
uprising of patriots in the province of
Kwang Si is a striking proof. They are
far away from the coast and cannot get
supplies of arms and ammunition from any
source. The only means of getting Stich
materials depends exclusively upon cap
turing those of the enemy. Even thus
they have continued the fight for the last
three years and repeatedly defeated ex
pedition after expedition of imperial troops
sent against them from various parts of
tlie empire. By possesing such wonderful
fighting capacity, who could say that they
could not vanquish tbe Tarter power from
China if sufficient supplies could he forth
coming? When our great object of revo
lutionizing China shall have been accom
plished not only a new era would dawn
on our beautiful country, but a brighter
prospect also' would he shared by tbe
whole human race. TTni-Vursnl peace will
surely follow . the step of the regenera
tion of China, and a grand field hitherto
never dreamed of will be opened to the
social and economic activities of the
civilized world-.
To work, out the salvation of China, is
exclusively a duty of our own, but a.s the
problem has recently involved a world-wide
interest, we, in order to make sure of our
success, to facilitate our movement, to
avoid unnecessary sacrifice and to prevent,
misunderstanding and intervention of for
eign powers, must appeal to the people of
the United States in particular for your
sympathy and support, either moral or
material, because you are the pioneers of
western civilization in Japan: because you
are a Christian nation: because' we intend
to model our new government after yours:
and above all because you are the cham
pion of liberty and (Jemocracy. We hope
we may find many Lafayettes among you.
BIG NEW YORK BUDGET.
Expected to Show Increase Of. std,-
000,000 Next Year Over That ot
This Year.
New York's taxpayers face a probable
budget for the year 1912 of $190,000,000,
an increase of nearly $18,000,000 over
1911. This was announced Saturday as
the tentative sum estimated by the budget
committee of the board of estimate after
an ill-night conference. The chief item
is that of city debt charges to he paid
next year, which amount to $51,754,825,
representing a gross city debt of newiy
$1,000,009,000. or not so very far from
the national debt.
The budget has beefl increasing every
year, but in spite of this fact, taxation
in the city of New York, according to a
statement by Mayor Gaynor given out
Saturday, "is the lowest in the cities of
this state, and I may add. of the nation.
BRAZIL NEEDS “DISSOLVING."
[From the Boston Traveler.]
Brasil seem? to bo a “bad trust." And
sometlung certainly ought to be done about
it. The Sherman law can't apply, and
the Monroe doctrine is useless for the pur
pose. Even the Hague peace congress
seems to lack jurisdiction.
The trouble is, that Brazil is engaged in
a conspiracy to restrain trade and raise
the price of the world's breakfast. That
is whv coffee has gone up lately, and will
probably keep on going up.
Brazil has more coffee lands than all the
rest of the world together, and produces
nil grade* plentifully. The price of coffee
everywhere is determined pretty much by
the Rio do Janeiro rote. And the govern
ment, being just ns willing to produce
little ceffec at high prices as much at low
prices, has been curtailing production and
holding millions of bags from the market,
in collaboration with a big international
syndicate of bankers and coffee merchants.
In San Paulo, one of the chief coffee
growing provinces, there baa prevailed for
the hist three years a policy of restriction
on exportation, producing an artificial
scarcity. The holding of vast quantities of
coffee in Rio warehouses adds to the
scarcity.'
What is to he done? Shall we tolerate
international conspiracies in restraint of
trade when we are stumping them out at.
home? Germany, which has a firm grip
on Brazilian business, is probably respon
sible. but we can't go to war with Ger
many over the price of coffee. We need
an international Sherman act.
The old t'entrai Baptist church in New
York city, out in the emtntry when it
was built, in 184.1,s but now an old land
mark of the tfienter district, is to be torn
down in a few weeks to make way for a
new playhouse. It will be the ninth thea
ter on Forty-second street, closely follow
ing one now building and already named
in honor of or by the way of advertising—
a bmlosouo actor. Evidently there is one
way to “reach the musses.”