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Show THE CONGER LOOT. Spoils From the Boxer Outbreak in Pekin Are Sold by Auction in New York. I shrink a little from describing the Chinese curiosities that were sold here last week by public pub-lic auction as. the "Conger Collection of Loot,' but there" seems to be no other expression that Is so accurately indicative of Its nature. The suppression sup-pression of the Boxer trouble by the allied forces is a matter of history, although we do not yet know, and perhaps we never shall know the full tale of murder and outrage that marked the progress pro-gress of the white soldiers to Pekin. There is no competition for supremacy in the carnival of plunder to which the ancient Chinese city was subjected, and while we should like to forget the ugly story In Its entirety If we weie allowed to do so It must be admitted that a public auction of spoils is hardly conducive to so desirable an oblivion. How this extraordinary collection of - antiquities antiqui-ties came to be in the possession of Mr. Con ger, who was United States minister to China at the time, is not quite clear. No one suggests that Mr. Conger stole them, but then, on the other hand, no one denies that theywere stolen. It is patent to the meanest intelligence that they were stolen, and there can be no such thing as a bona fide claim to their rightful ownership In this country. Whether the actual thieves took them to the American embassy for sale or whether wheth-er they passed through various hands on the way matters not at all. There can be no such thing as innocent possession anywhere along the line, and indeed tho very fact that they wore plunder plun-der is advertised In enhancement of their value. It would appear that there are no such things as property rights where Chinamen are concerned. There were about a thousand of these looted articles and that their sale netted over $37,000 is some indication of their actual value, although It Is admitted that the result was disappointing to the diplomats widow, who expected to receive at least twice that amount. There were plenty of buyers and some keen competition was displayed dis-played among those who were anxious for the tangible proofs that the Egyptians had been effectively ef-fectively spoiled. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbllt bought a large celadon bowl of the K'ang-h'si per lod and gave $70 for it. Of course, it is worth a lot more than that. She also bought a collection of dwarf plants "and ornaments for $G5 and a brilliant cobalt blue temple jar for $225. James Steers became the "owner" of a large white hard paste bowl of the Ch'ien-lung period for $160, another of porcelain of the Yung-Cheng period for $110, and another of blue and white thick porcelain for $80. Other purchasers were John Ortgen, R. Fulton Cutting, and K. Everett, who bought dishes, vases, carved woods, teak boxes, and the infinite variety of bric-a-brac associated I with Chinese industry and art. Everything went " cheaply, as though the warning of caveat emptor were visibly displayed in the sale room. It may be wondered what the courts of law would say to claims from the rightful Chinese owners of all i this treasure and, of course, the identity of many of them is well known and indeed was advertised as "a guarantee of good faith." ' Among the articles of unusual interest may be mentioned a bell from the Temple of Agricul j ture with symbolic characters in high relief, brass ornaments from the harness of a royal elephant, sacred bells from the pagodas, temple gongs, Buddhas of brass, bronze, pottery, and wood covered cov-ered with lacquer, weapons of all kinds, swords, krisses, bows and arrows, flags, jewelry, costumes, and musical instruments. Every department of Chinese life was represented, from the palace of j the emperor to the hovel of the rebel. The white 1 brigands did their work impartially and the pro duce of their industry is now distributed through- , out New York as perpetual reminders of the pro- I gress of Christianity and the fate that overwhelms the heathen when he fails to recognize "who's who." Of course, there have been some protests, but they have been as voices crying in the wilderness. wilder-ness. A few newspapers have expressed their ( indignation that a United States embassy should I be used as a fence-shop, a sort of Fagin den, for the disposal of stolen goods, and that such goods shoflld be put upon the market with an official government guaranty that they are actually what they profess to be, really and truly stolen. Then, too, there have been plenty of individual misgivings misgiv-ings and shakings of the head over a proceeding that finds no apologists although plenty of ac- ceptors as of a fait accompli. "What," it is asked, "should we think if the positions were reversed, if ' we had accepted foreign aid to suppress a do- ; mestic rebellion, if those who were supposed to , help us had inaugurated a veritable reign of ter ror in our midst and had then advertised in their mm own capitals a public auction sale of plunder from the capital and the White House not to speak of spoils from private citizens, rich and poor, and from the churches of the city?" Such a situation would be precisely analogous, and if we want more homely parallels we can find them in any police court where thieves and receivers of stolen property are awarded equal condemnation and equal punishment. But of course in this case the victims were Chinamen, and that makes all the difference. But what must the Chinaman himself think of it all and how does it conform with the "superiority" of which we are never tired of reminding him? What, too, must be the reflections of the department of state that extends ex-tends its welcome to the new Chinese ambassador almost on the very day when the stolen property of the ambassador's imperial family is pubicly sold by auction in the American metropolis? The ambassador is not likely to sanything awkwardly, but his reflections must be interesting. FLANEUR. |
