470

TEZ PBRMZNT

The rationale of the troubles in China

is beginning to appear in a dearer hghl
asevents move on. That a formidable
reaction is shaking the Empire has been
been
obvious enough, but it hasnot
plainly seen that it has a domestic side
as we11 as a.n interna.tiona1 aspect. The
truth is, however, that the movement of
which the Boxers have taken the murderous lead, is directed against not only
foreign interlopers, but n a t m reformers
as well. These are normally the two
phases of the agitation. The revolt is
one against modern ideas and methods, whether imposed from
wlthout
or advocated from within. Mmionaries
are
murdered and foreigners
hunted on exactly the same princlple that led to the execution of
six native reformers at Pelnn, and sent
Kang-Yu and other educated Chinamen,
hospitable t o the new enlightenment,
fleeing from the land for safety.
Much valuable information concerning
the influences at work for the regeneration of Chilia from within is given in an
article by Prof.Robert K. Douglas in
theJune
LVneteeuth
Professor
Douglas i s , a recognized authority in
matters Chinese. For many years in the
China Consular Service, he is now Professor of Chinese in Kings College,
London. and Keeper of Oriental Books
and MSS. intheBritish Museum. The
special value of his article lies inits
Clear account of the means by which the
long night of intellectual stagnatlop in
China has been made to yield to something like the dawn. The most potent
agency has been the systematic publication of books conveying to educated
persons
correct
notions
of Western
science and religion and the progress of
civilization. Appeal has been deliberately made to
the
more intelligent
classes: It has been perceived that the
motive Power for enlightenment and reform in so vast and ignorant a populationmust be found among the people
themselves, and must come from above
fromthemandarinsand
literati. ACcordin&-, selected works on history,
geography, the various sciences, besides
the Blble, have been translatedinto a
Pure llterary style, such as the learned
affect, and have had a wide circulation
and powerful influence.
Professor Douglas gves in cnnsiderable detail an account of the publishing
SCtiVltYof the Soclety for the Diffusion
of Christian and General Knowledge
among
the
Chinese. It has issued
more than 120 volumes. These arenot
given away, but sold, andthe demand
for themhas increased remarkablyin
allparts of the Empire.Thus,when
a.
popularedition
of Mackenzies Nineteenth Century wasrecently
brought
out, 4,000 copies were sold wlthln a fortnight-this,be
it remembered, among a
population only 10 per cent. of which is
to read. The Societys agents

The Nation.
made particular efforts t o circulate theil
books and pamphlets among students
d stock is maintained at each of the 20(
centres of examination intheEmpire
and the sales have been steadlly rising
All told, the work of the Society har:
been, says Professor Douglas, a triumphant success.:
. Oneproof of this is to be seen in the
way in which the native ardor for
the
new learning, having once been kindled,
Qas set about tryingtosatisfy
itself.
Chinese publishing houses have themselves taken up the idea of translatins
foreign books which may be useful t u
peaple. Norestriking
even than
that factis the rapidmultiplication of
native newspapers. In 1895 there were
onlynineteen in the whole Empire. In
1898 the number was quadrupled. Professor Douglas makes no doubt that the
its shock and surJapanese ITW,
prise of <steat, mzs the means of convincing even the most complacent mandarins that their country must learn of
Westerncivilization or perish. In 1893,
before the war, the sales of the Societys
bonks amounted toonly
$817, but In
189% after the war, the demand had
grown so much greater that $18,457 was
realized. Travellers into the remote int e r m have been astonished to find these
imported books eagerly
sought
after,
and to meet officials in distant provinces
whc can talk glibly on new scientific
discoveries, and who
intimately acquainted with the Constitutional histories of Western nations. So far had the
enthusiasm for the new education gone
that the Vicemy Chang advocated in a
state paper the introduction of Western
studies and the teaching of foreign languages inthenative
schools, and declared that the lands of the Buddhist ana
Taoist ~nonnsteries mightwell be seized
to endow the new chairs.
Of course, this promising internal
movement, which amounted t o an intellectual awakening, has been temporamly
checked by the reaction under t h e bigoted Empress-Dowager. But such a flowing stream cannot be turned again into
stagnant waters. So f a r as the uprising isagainst foreigners, it will have
to
put down sternly by thePekin
Government itself, or else suppressed by
orelgn
intervention.
Then wlll come
the opportunity of the native reformers
whose strength at present,writes Professor Douglas, is t o sit stlll and see
the brutal reactionwreck itself. In the
whole movement towards better things,
which willundoubtedly be resumed, it
is n o t too much t o see the hope of an
ultimateregeneration of Chinasuchas
Japan has wrought out for herself. And
how superior would be the method t o
that of our pike-and-gun Imperialists!
When we opened Japan to civllizati,on,
we did not find it necessary to seize islands and, set up spheres of influence;
we trustedtothe
empire of ideas; we
gave .books a s t e a 8 bayonets; rnachlu-

[Vol. 70, No.

1825

ery, instead of swindling carpet-baggers.

That was the old and successful way
of empire-bullding. There 1s undoubtedly a peril, as Goldwin Smlth asserts, that
the new Imperiahsm of shotand shell
may be applied to China; that the civilmed nations may take their nest
in the name of humanity and religion,
cut of the milllons of Chinese whose invincible ignorance of centuries is Just being penctratea by thedrst
gleam3 of
knowledge. But the example of Japan
ShoVrs 1:s
more esce1,ent way, and lt
is to be hoped that the Chinese, too, will
hc left to u-01-k- o u t 1heir own salvation.
Thatthey
have tbemstrumentalities
and the leaders ready to their hand, as
soon as fhese troublous times are nverpast,Professor
Douglas is firmly convinced.
Meanwhile, nothing can be more evident thanthat Russia andJapanare
moredlrectly concerned in the Chinese
crisis than any other nation. The map
is thegreat treaty-maker andinternational lawyer, and the map shows t h a t in
the impending break-up, or at any rate
sweeping readjustment, i n North China,
Russian and Japanese interests are predominant. Clpse upon the flank of China
lies gapan, a nation eager t o colonize,
with a population of40,000,000
already
pressing hard upon the means of subslstence. Justacross a narrow channel is
Korea, thinly settled, wlth a kindred
People and institutions-the very outlet
for Japanese energy. Korea must
Japanese, is the one watchword of foreign politics for all partles andclasses in
Japan. If naturehad chanced t o make
Korea anislandinstead
of a peninsula, it would undoubtedly Bave been
numbered long sinceamongthe
Japanese islands, assurely as Yesso. Fprmosa, to the south, was added as the one
visible trophy of the war with China;
b u t Formosa. has a teemingpopulabon,
.
and is not colonizable. To Korea and
to predominance inNorth China, Japznese ambitions steadfastly
On the other hand, Russias march to
supremacy in all that region has been
stealthy and steady. Her railway across
3ibena and through Mantchuria has
been
pushed with consuming zeal, and is
withm less than two years of completion, every section having htherto been
finished in advance of theestimated
time. Not content withherterminal
harbor of Vladivostok, Russia secured
Port Arthur, and hassince been working
?everishly to make it impregnable. More
than 90,000 cnohes are at this moment
!aboring on the fortifications of this Russian arsenal at the. point of the Liaorung peninsula. A railroadto connect
wlth Vladivostok has been pushed on
rapidly, and is to
be completed in October. M,eanwhile, Korea has not been
leglected by Russian diplomats. In adTition tothwartingJapanese
influence
tt Seul i n every way possible, they sudaenly secured for themseives, &pga;&eEtlY

June

--

I goo]

i n open violatlon of their agreements

with both China and Japan, the Korean
harbor of Masampho, right acToss the
Korean Channel from Nippon.
The suddenly precipitated Chinese anarchy, however, may easily put a new
face on the entlre question. The RussoJapanese serpent may be swallowed by
a bigger one. Whatthe Powers will
have to confront and decide is the whole
question of the control of the Chinese
Empire; and the chances are now greatl y increased that a decision, and a
vision of territory, if that be necessary,
will be reached by the peaceful means
of a solemn international agreement under thehighest
guarantees. Even so,
Russia and Japanwould nseed to be given
the lions share. Geography settles that.
Korea toJapan,and
Mantchuria, clear
down to Pekin, as Russias part, would
be a natural assignment. But, whatever
t5e settlement, after the first stern task
of restoring order is accomplished, It is
much more llkely to be a paciEc settlement than seemed possible two months
ago.
T E E CUBAN ELECTIOiVS.
On Saturday last the Cubans took the
firststeptowardstheir
promised independent government. The municipal
elections then held, under arestricted
suffrage, are regarded as only the preliminary t o a Constitutional Convention,
ti3 be called before the end of the year
for the purpose of framing a system of
self-government to which the United
States, a
s i n honor bound, will thereafter commit t5e destinies of the island. This is the clear understanding of the natives. Gen.Gomez, m the
speech-which he made on his return to
Havana a fortnight ago, explicitly laid
down the programme of the Cubans. It
isto acceptmunicipalautonomy
as a
gratifying payment on account, an earnest of the intention of the American
Government to discharge thefull debt
of Cuban independence as speedily as
may be.
As both important in themselves, and
as an indication of what the Cubans may
be expected to do when Intrusted with
full control of theirownaffairs,
these
In
first elections deservecarefulstudy.
the party orgpizahons
formed for the
purpose of taking part in them, and
the electoralmethods followed, wealready have a f a i r measure of Cnban political aptitude. One unexpected feature
of the contest is the general indiEerence
andapathy
which haveprevailed.
Jn
Havana, only about onehalf the eligiblevoterstook
the trouble t o register,
and one-sixth of these abstainedfrom
the polling. In the city of Santiago,
where it was estimated that there would
be 10,000 votes, the registration
less
than 2,000. Similarconditions appeared
le theother municipalities. The affair,
toe, w a t QE quietly. TPeYe was no ex-

The Xation.
citement, only a small vote, no howling
crowds reading the election returns.
What is the reason of this lethargy?
Partly, no doubt, a feeling that the game
was not worth the candle; that the military governmint is raeally in control, and
means to continue so; and that the municipalelections are only a sop t o the
dissatisfied, and a way af marking time.
But it cannot be denied that a powerful reason for the disgust of the better
classes withthis firstelectoral experiment lies in the fact that the party organizations, and their candidates, represent little but political adventurers. This
was sorrowfully confessed t5e other day
by Patria,a native Havana paper, which
saidthatthe
educaked and propertyowning people of the island could not
go to the palls t o advance the fortunes
of the professional politicians who alone
were standing for office. The contrast
was too painful withthe practice underSpanishrule,
when university professors and leading plantersand merchants were put forward as Deputies in
the Cortes. Gen. Wood was waited upon
a few days ago by adelegation of prominent lawyers, bankers, and business men
to protest agaimt his reported intention
to q l l aConstitutional
Convention in
September. They pomted to thefact
that not a single candidate now up for
office was other than a professional politician, and that thepolitical power in the
hands of that class meant absolute ruin
tothe island. We presume that Gen.
Wood reassured them by asserting gravely that the United States would be horriEed at the thought of professional politiciansgetting control of the Government.
Three nominally different partles were
nominally inthe field. The Kacional
out to
be
the
Cubano has
turned
strongest, and is certainly the most vociferous. ThentherearethePartido
Republicano and the Unitin DemocrLtica. The platforms of all of them were
filled with professions as benevolent and
principles as lofty as those produced at
Phlladelphia thjs week, andthe unexpressed main intention-to getthe offices-is about as clear as ithas beeg
made in Hannas Convention. No real
difference of political b6lief o r programme divides the three parties; except
that the U d 6 n Democr5tica isthought
to be covertly for annexation. Gen.
Gomez hmted as much inhis speech,
though he admitted that the Democriitica
professed good faith (amuma 6 u e m
The old General freely said that this
splitting up of Cubans into warring facGen.
tioms was a great grief to him.
Collazo, in his newspaper, La Nam6n,
speaks of the political goings on in Cuba
as childish politics, and an eshibitim
worthy of Ghinamen.
Chief interest centred in the Mayoralty
contest in Havana. Gen. Rodrigdei was
the candidate of the Cuban National
~oaiazee
party. Senor Ealdo was

471
>f the Republican party,but
he withirew in a huff, andhis party solemnly
znnounced that it would take no parr.
in the eleotions, on account of some objectionable features of the electoral law.
Thereupon, a sort of independentcanaldate came forward inthe person of
3eIior Estrada Mora He had sought
the nomination of the National party;
and was naturally denounced aas
renegade for opposing Rodriguez. The
Republicam and Democrats quietly supported Mora, but hewasbeatentwotoone.
[n Santiago, it was the National party
which washed its hands of the election,
md left the Republicans t o have a walkover.All told,therefore, we cannotre5ard the election returns asyery interesting o r highly sigmficant. What is really
significant 1s the way in which the Cubans have approached the election. As
we havepojnted out,
has been a
disquieting amount of indifference a i d
abstention, and a stdl more disquieting
coming to the fore of characterless intriguers.

ARBITRATION,

COMPULBORP
OTHER.

In the testimony given before the In$ustrial Commission at Washmgton last

week by Mr. N. F. Thompson of Huntsville, Ala.,we find a discussion of the
labor question which really goes t o the
root of the disease. There mayhave
been others, before Mr. Thompson came
forward,who have applied the scalpel
with equal thoroughness and intrepidity,
but me have not happened t o hear of
them. Mr. Thompson is described as the
Southern
Industrial
Secretary of the
Convention. Whatever this body may
he, it i s served by a man who Imo,ws
how to make himself understood, and
who withholds nothing that contributes
to that end. Evidently he is not an office-seeker. No office-seekerwould have
used the words wlth whxh he describes
the present situation of the American
republic. He considers labor organizations the greatest menace to this Government thatexists to-day inside or outside the pale of our natlonal domainfar more dangerous to the perpetuity of
the republic than would be the hostile
array on our border of all the armies of
the world combined
h m arrived at
lhis coirvxtian after years of close study
m t h t h e amplest means of information.
The sympathetic strlke and the boycott
constitutethe D.ena.cc which he has iL
mind. The sympathetic strike is inaugu1
rated t o redress the wrongs of some one
class or person, however insigniEcant or
however unjust may be the demands of
that class or person. When resistance is
made to those demands, the boycott is
invoked t o compel all classes to join in
enforcing the demand, although their
own interests may be directly opposed
thereto. The boycott is the, force unclerminmg theStat?#
Thomp~

mQ

472

T h e Nation.

agrees tothis.
He thinks that society
should not rel~nquish thepower to deal
To recognize such a power a s thx in any summarily with outbreaks that occur,
organiaatlon, or to permit such a theory t o but that it should take measures
make
be advanced without protest or countemctHe
ing influence, IS so dangerous and subversnve a repetition. of them impossible.
of the Government thatit mayjustly
be says :
likened to the plantmg of deadly vims 111
language is n o t too strong when

says :

the heart of organized society-death bemg

its certain andspeedyconcomtantOrganizationsteachingsuchtheorlesshould
be
held
treasonable ~n t h e r character, and
their leadersworse thantraitorsto
tllelr
country. It is time for theplamestutterances on thlssubject,
for the danger
Imminent; and in view of the incidents that
have attended recent strikes, It can be consideredlittle
less than crirmnalinthose
who control public senbment,that
such
scenes are possible a.nywb.ere m thm corntry.

In n e w of t h e close reiationshlp exlstmg

among all classed-of our citizens and the m terdependency of allinterests,strikesand
boycottsshould be madeafelony
both by
natlonal and State legdation. and to securc
adequate relief for the grievances f o r which
strlkes and boycotts are inaugurated I would
suggest the formation of national and Sta~te
boards of arbitration. authorizedand
empowered to settleallmatters
of difference
betweenlaborandcapltal,and
whose deCrees shall be binding on the partles affected-granting an appeal, however, to the civil
courts t o either party dlssatisfied with the
arbitration.

These may be called extreme opinions.

but the facts and reasons by which they
This suggestion calls to mind the Comare supported are quite sufficjent ta war- pulsory
Arbitration
Law which ha.
rant the conclusion that the real crisis been in force i n New Zealand since Janof the country is n o t in the~EastIndles uary, 1895. Thisact
provides that in
the West Indies. but in our midst, any case of dispute between a- labor orand that in reaching out to seize foreign ganizationand an employer, or an emcountries, and t o introduce civillzation ployers organization, which cannot be
and suppressevilsamong distant sav- settled by conference between the parwe are wasting time, money, and ties, the one which makes thecomplaint
blood which mightbetterbespent
in may demand an arbitration,the
maevils at chinery for which is promyided by the
finding a remedy forgreater
home.
law, and that in the meantime the inLooking
labororganizatlons from dustryshall
not be interrupted. The
the standpoint of patriotism, it cannot umpire i n such arbitration is a Justice
be said thattheir
members, or even of the Supreme Court, who holds his ofthe walking delegates to whom the great- fice for life. Thehistory
of this law
er part of the mischief is imputed,
and its practical working is set forth in
consciously unpatriotic.
They
believe a book of 180 pages, recently published,
themselves to be working for the best In- entitled A Country
without
Strikes
terests of the countrywhenthey
work (Doubleday, Page & Co 1, by Hemy D.
for their own interest: but even if it Lloyd, who made a vlsitto NewZeawere otherwise, where is the socid class land for the purpose of studyingthis
thatthinks more highly of the welfare novel problem. We call attention to this
of the country than of its own welfare? work because it tallies with the remarkThepatriotism that preferscountry t o able testimony of Mr. Thompson before
self is the possession of individuals, not the Industrial Commission, not meaning
Of classes. When sacrifices areto
be to imply that such a law would fit the
made forthe good of the State, rich conditions osf the United States. This
and poor are expected to contribute
we greatly doubt, but i t is evident that
do contribute.Theline
of demarcation New Zealands example 1s one of the
does not run between classes. None t h e things we must study in settling the
less do we consider Mr. Thompsons diag- gravest problem before Me American
of the countrys chief malady a people.
pretty accurat; one. Looking at the situation of Chicago, where industry in the
DiSCOVERIES I N THE AGORA AT CORbuilding tradehas been suspended for
INTH.
several months, and where the public
May
29 1900.
authorities have surrendered their poiwThls
a t Corinth has eclipsed
ersto a private society whose decrees
of former years. It
enacted in secret session, we recall 111 one waythework
that
sixyears ago the same city is true that wehad gone on in three campassed through the Debs strike and boy- Pmgns excavating one importantbuilding
aXeranotheruntil
me found ourselvesincott, which was accompanied bybloodsidetheagoraTheestablishing
a topogshed and conflagration, and that a little raphy of such an important city was in one
earlier the Anarchist rebellibn took place aspectabrilliant
success. But thoughthe
there-allshowing
that one experience. excavatorsmainobject
be the recovinstead of saving as a deterrent, seems ery of buildings, he still hopes that
to pave the way for another of the same luck will throwinhisway
some interesting smallobjects.
Our workmen areperkind.
Evidentlythe repetition of the sym- t s p s notsingular in their feeling that expatheticstrikeand
boycott, with their carationswhich do notbring out statues
afailure
We ourselvesfeltkeenlythe
attendant sufiering and their prodigious
for
the
dozen or twenty
loss, isnotto
be avoided by shooting lack of heads
statues found in the first three campaigns;
and hanging. These remedies may be and, although we hadfoundafairly
good
necessam inparticular cases, but
we still
quantity of vases of earlystyles,
are not preventive.
-Thompson wantedsomething more striking of the
~

Mr.

[Vol. 70, No. 1825.

of that rich city, which, even

aftex- its des t x c t l o n by the Romans, possessed so
It began
to
dubious
whether
very
much had survived the slower and Ewer destruction of ages of occupatioh.Particularly,after we hadlastyear
passed
the
pmedstreetfromLechmn,
ascended the
greatmarblestaircase,gonethroughthe
centralopening oh the Pmpyliea,andproceeded nearlyhalfwaythroughtheagora,
we
clearingaspacethirtyyardswideas
advanced, without finding anything of importance, it began to seem as if our holy
r X holieswasempty,
after all. So it was
with
same
misgivings
that
began,
this
ypar, inperformance
o f . whatseemeda
duty, the clearingout
of
much of the
agoraas mas alreadyexpropriated.
flank of
Thistime,
we turnedthewest
thePro8pylza,andbeforewegot
f a r we
fonnd our way fairly checked by an abundZnCe
of
marble blocks andstatues.The
formerwerearchitrave
blocks, verymassive,carvedononesidewithmostelaboprominent
of
rate mouldmgs (the most
which was the palm-leaf band), o n the other
with the usual Ionic mouldings, and
on the
bottomwlthatripleband
of overlapping
myrtle
leaves;
and
cornice
blocks
ornaAmong
mented with bracketsandrosettes
about ten of eachkind
of theseseveral
curved, the ornamented side being concave
Thefirststatues
were a pair of
colossal figures, eight
feet
hlgh,
wearing
thePhrygian cap, attached to pilasters a t
thc back Two Corinthian
square
capitals
fitted on to the tops of these pilasters The
backs of the heads of the statues were cut
away, that
they
might
come closer
against the capital, which was also cut away
a littleThe
figures thus appeared to assist at least
in
bearing the
architrave,
and
were
analogous
to
the
famous
Caryatids. Two square bases, threefeet
each way, with the same ornamentation as
the architrave blocks, and wiih most shabby reliefs on oneside,wereseentobe
bases for these figures, the plinth 6 t h the
feet of one of thestatuesfittingexactly
intothedepression
at
top of one of
them.Thus,
we canreconstructthe
whole
system from the bottom
up.
Two more
large, fine female
heads,
with
the 6ame
at
proportionsandthesamecuttings
back,belongevidently
t o the same series:
butnothing
of theirbodieshasyet
been
of ceiling,
recovered.
One large
plaque
dcubtless of thesame building. containing
in two of its sunken squares busts of
and Selene in relief, and in a third a rosette,
i s supplemented by several
other
pieces
As we kept on goingsouthwithrosettes.
west from the west end of the Propylrea, we
expectea to find foundations t o fit all these
pieces of thesuperstructure:but
now that
of
we seem tohave got beyond themass
them,and
no foundationsfittedforthem
appear, the probability that they come from
thePropyha,
of whch wehavemassive
buttressesremaining,isgreatlyincreased.
To reconstruct the Propylzea is a large hope,
anditseems now about to be realized
any rate, the sculpture. although
of
times. is valuable for itself.
After the first flush of excitement,there
followed many
in whlch we had
little to record, except theremoval of so
many cubic metres of earth.Thencame
the discovery of avery fine head of Ariadne,with
an ivy wreathand
one hand