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Show MJ AN INSPIRING CHAPTER IN AMER- ICAN DIPLOMATIC HISTORY l We hear in these days bo much of what cl Huntington Wilson calls , , "highf alutin" M about" the recent introduction of altruism and idealism into our national and inter- m"'" national policies, that it is refreshing to M read in the issue of the Saturday Evening M ' Pdsl for August 24th, a clear account of H the service rendered by' John Hay to the - world when, as Secretary of State under in . McKinley, and later under Roosevelt, he Hi gave to the nations an example of that ffl'- true internationalism Which consists in S" recognizing the duties as well as the Wmf rights of nations, without sacrifice of na- ljffl:v tional traditions. mt" William Roscoe Thayer tells how John mmi Hay, Secretary to President Lincoln, all fl' his life a devoted Republican and sound K American patriot,, saved China from dis- me'mberment at the hands of land hun ifl .gr European pbwerg following the Box- HH ; -er uprising. When this incident occurred H, America' was fortunately near at hand ( with veteran Philippine forces. These H't'' tk Pai't in the joint expedition of the- v powers' for the relief pf the bsleaugered W legations' at PekinJ' Therefore the; tfhit- iHI -d States acquired the right to pattici- P pat&'ihW settlement of" the i penalties HIE'' tiie'civili&ed1 world deemed it necessary H .- to iinose ujion China for hostile action, Kl Jkn&wh1 'to lfcve been inspired by the Em- BB press 'Dowager. For years' China liad, BH ' beeh'fbrce'd to give' up her rights, pne by Wm p oneand her territory, piece by piece, to mm ' "European powers, greedy for land and KB ; loot, ,. At Inst a friend came to her as- B . " -sistance; the,first and the only disinter- K fas sted friend of China; a fact which is re- H rl cognized gratefully to this day by the Wti . -Chinese people, who know that arturism Km i in international relations is not a recent Wm invention so far as the United States is Hwlpjft,'?'" concerned. Bv, Early!inr the proceedings Secretary Hf Hay anhounced, that the United States U; . waspposed to the t dismemberment of H p. China and f avor.ed the open door in the HE v emph'e; "that is,, access tpChinaon equal WBfi ;l equalterm's toall nations, guaranteeing HP 4igai4t the domination (of China iby any , B;' one power. With consunUnate skill Sec- ; HI': '0" t ' xetarjr Hay playecl the rivhraiiibitions of Br js one European power against another, HK $" x until all were brought to-approval of the RPr American policy ol ref usingto -maketlie Hl k iBoxer uprising an excuse for the policy H of Chinese partition' which was the' real H K cause of the anti-foreign feeling in the HI Js, ' empire. "': Hl fj5 i As the result of the negdiiationSj Chi- HE; iV ?la was required to pay an indemnity -of Hr';' $30.0,000,000. Of this, amount the United K vh states received $25,000,000. This indem- H nity was supposed to represent actual ; f 4 4 damages for loss of life .and property ft. " y2 sustained. Other powers kept tlie entire ft ' r amount paid themi The United States m, ;, ?' ' settled the claims and then broke all pre- ', ', ( " cedents by returning the considerable H :". I balance remaining to China. China H ' a showed her appreciation by creating with K . this money a fund that is still being used H'i', - ' to educate Chinese students in the. col- I-1 ; ' leges and universities of the United ; J States. II l"Ji, . Tliis was the beginning of what a Brit-m Brit-m W'' ish writer two or three years ago de- ; JL, scribed as the "Americanization of Chi-H Chi-H W,- c - na" TnG Republican ideal which led to ftUtf hG overthrow of the Manchu dynasty mmc '; ' was derived from the United States; the" HI a'A'j n rfh'sr President of the republic declared BC, tit that his ideal character in history was PfT AGeorge Washington. The American HJS'! oupg Man's Christian Asociation car- 1.-0 ' HH Q:- t H'"- ried its work into all the larger" cities of the country, introducing athjietic games ; which have caught the fayor. jofall young China. American dress, American customs, cus-toms, American trade and American ideals have gone into China on the bright pathway of international good will bJaz-eH bJaz-eH by John Hay. i irbecame later the privilege and opportunity oppor-tunity of a Republican administration to brin about peace between'Japan and Russia, I'ully protecting, American rights , endjinterests in the Orient by preventing .the preponderance of any one power, etyh Asiatic or European, in the Far iLasi miimmMtmnki In concluding, his article, Mr. Thayer pay this deserved tribute to Johji.tfay: "In hjs dealings with China, John Hay for the'fijgt time, in modern, statesman-.ship statesman-.ship ;applie"d on alarge scale.theGoldeh, . .tuie. Here was. a nation of 400,000,000 people round whom wer,e gathered. the representatives of, the.European nations . dike so many 3hylocks ,each wth his long bladed keen knife, .intent oifrcutting .the largest .slice he could from' the stricken, (and apparently dying giant; arid the American Am-erican spokesman aniong them persuad-fed persuad-fed them, to stay their hands ,to allow China to live and, still more, to live un-!der un-!der such cor.dition3 that she might regain re-gain strength to control herself. The memory of this act! shall not pass away, land though statesmen may often fall below be-low that standard, the American ideal as realized by Hay will judge them and will rivts them to imitation. v "The gratitude of the Chinese, which endures after twenty years, completes a noble record. They still point to tliat (example of American statescraft as a mfldel of generosity, disinterestedness and justice and only recently they have erected a monument to John Hay us a thank offering, ' "'That this country, returned more jthan half of the indemnity, on finding it twas too large, deserves also to be remem-Jbered. remem-Jbered. . "Let us Americans hope that in the great diplomatic settlement-by which at , .the end pf-this war the. numberless tangl-led tangl-led and ugly racial, and political quarrels are, tp.be adjusted, the spokesmen of the , Inited States may worthily imitate their forerunner, John Hay. Only by so doing fcan they establish the Open, Door through which, Peace shall enter to, .bless and rule itiie, world." National Republican. ft -ft- |
