Show Intervention in in China I IF II F powers need to band together r 1 intervene in China stop the civil war and put the government on its feet suggests Charles C C. Batchelder former commercial atI at at- I tache ache of the United States embassy in China Addressing the Williamstown Institute of Politics Mr Batchelder encouraged the idea of foreign intervention in China America England and Japan could send troops into the war-torn war country and at a cost of disband the armies build and repair highways and railroads improve ve agric agriculture agriculture agri agri- c culture and industry and guarantee a strong c central government The outlay could be recover recovered re re- re- re covered cover d through taxes The practical results by the ex-envoy ex may sound extremely worth orth while but the principle of intervention is is' one of the most inexcusable and most abused theories of international politics Fore Foreign intervention is usually prop proposed sed under claims Of the loftiest motives even as Mr Batchelder suggests this should be Yet underneath th the motive of national greed has practically always been present Does anyone think the American marines mannes were sent to intervene in Nicaragua fo for wholly unselfish reasons r Were Vere the nations interested in Chinas China's elfare r when h n they thel st started grabbing their I share of the loot and gaining their th spheres sphere of influence after the Boxer rebellion When our jingoes wanted Uncle Sam Sani t to intervene in iii Mexico were they thinking half hal S as much flinch about right and wrong as about the lie oils and minerals and the chance to an annex the southern republic What by by br the why was waS' the ex excuse use or good of allied intervention in Russia after the revolution Why were American lives sacrificed Think back into history Can you recall any intervention that remained loftily unselfish unselfish unselfish ish and did not end in a free-for-all free scramble after the plunder of victory It It is the faulty theory back of Mr Batchel- Batchel d der's ders rs r's proposal that condemns his idea Of course the world wants to see peace return to o China Chin The powers power might be tempted to adopt drastic measures But fundamentally the American state department is right in its firm off hands-off pol- pol icy cy Intervention is n not t a right belonging to other governments by the mere reason of their heir greater strength and stability China Chinas is s entitled to work out her own destinies even as every world power had done The forces struggling for stable government in China h ve every claim to our encouragement encouragement encouragement encourage encourage- ment but our army and navy have no right to o kill the peoples peoples' of another land Intervention Intervention Inter Inter- in China might give grasping nations too oo great a chance to profit for themselves Intervention is not the sol solution tion The nation th that hat t produced the Declaration of Independence Independence dence deuce would have a difficult time squaring intervention with the principles of our own nations nation's founding |