--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Tanner, J. M. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 1 number: 6 published: 1898-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'J. M. Tanner, "China and the European Nations," *Improvement Era* 1, no. 6 (April 1898): 419–424.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera16unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera16unse start_page: 419 end_page: 424 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1898-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera16unse publication_year: 1898 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1898, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # China and the European Nations CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN NATIONS. BY PROFESSOR JOSEPH M. TANNER, PRESIDENT OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, LOGAN, UTAH. Before the close of 1897 news came to us of the murder of two Roman Catholic missionaries, of Germany, by a Chi- nese mob. Shortly afterwards the diplomatic world was aroused by the announcement that the German officer in Chi- nese waters had landed his troops, and that later on Emperor William made a dramatic and somewhat bombastic address to his brother Henry who, by Imperial command, was to take his departure with two men-of-war to reinforce the small Ger- man squadron already off the coast of China. The immedi- ate result of this expedition was the demand on the part of Germany and the concession on the part of China of an im- portant harbor at Kiao-Chou. It does not appear that the Chinese government was in any way responsible for the action of the mob, nor that it was consulted, or that satisfaction was asked before the landing Of the troops, and China granted as freely as it was asked the port which the Germans demanded in reparation of the wrong done to its missionaries. Just what the reparation for the death of these missionaries will be no one can tell, and it does not appear to be a matter of much consequence. We are told that the occupation of this port is to be merely a temporary one; but from the experience of other nations we have learned what this means, especially whenever the occu- pation offers any prolonged advantages whatever to the power in possession. The French have a proverb growing out of their experience with provisional governments in France, which says: "There is nothing more lasting than the pro- visional." This action on the part of Germany has aroused the most intense feeling throughout England, and the German Em- peror is just now the recipient of those usual epithets with which the English papers so universally characterize him, such as, "William the Witless," "His Sacredness," "The Most Holy William;" epithets of derision that show the feel- ing of the English people in a very large degree towards the Emperor and his subjects, for the Germans very naturally resent such disrespectful utterances, from the very fact that whatever exuberance or unbounded enthusiasm may manifest itself in his utterances they are nevertheless united with him in the policy which he, by many of his statements, repre- sents. The most natural question, therefore, that one is led to ask, is why all this alarm in England? It is the commercial antagonism of the two countries, manifest in another quarter of the world. England is in possession today of seven- eights of the foreign trade of China, a trade that is variously estimated at from $75,000,000 to $150,000,000 a year. Ger- many is competing for a share of this commerce, and within the last few years has established a trade reaching something like $10,000,000 a year. has been said that during the It last seven or eight months of 1897this trade with Germany fell away to some extent; a circumstance that must have given some apprehension to the industrial classes of the Ger- man Empire. Competition in all oriental countries is very unlike the competition among civilized races. There it de- pends largely upon political influence, special concessions, and such opportunities as a nation may obtain by reason of its intrigues at court, and other political advantages easily secured among the corrupt officials of an empire like China. Just what the cause has been of Germany's losses in trade, no one can know precisely, and yet those familiar with orien- tal methods may very readily surmise that that factor which is called influence has had its bearings in favor of England recently, in spite of Germany, and to obtain this influence Germany must manifest her power, over-awe public officials CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN NATIONS. 421 and in some measure menace the empire in order to command that respect which will give to Germany the same influence and opportunities which England enjoys. The free port theory is misleading. It may mean much to a country like ours, or to any civilized nation; but it means less in a coun- try like China. seems quite fair on its It is very plausible, it face; but there is an old proverb which says: "When two things are the same they are not just alike;" and trade in such countries must take into consideration other factors which generally go under the name of national influence, whatever that may be or mean, in securing special or secret conces- sions from officials who enrich themselves by a systematic process of corruption. That influence is sometimes met by counter methods which obtained it for others, and very fre- quently by an aggressive policy and a threatening attitude to- ward the government itself. There are undoubtedly two distinct motives which have led Germany to this action. In the first place, Germany de- sires a foreign market for her over-production, and this trade induces her to act in such a manner as to force the Chinese themselves to yield, and then brings to the attention of those adventurous and speculative Germans the opportunities of commerce in the Celestial empire. With the dominant poli- tical influence in the East German subjects would receive en- couragement to launch forth such enterprises as may redound to the advantage of Fatherland. Doubtless many more Ger- mans will soon seek investments in that country. In the second place, Germany seeks to establish a navy having some similitude to those of France and England. The opposition to this in Germany is very strong, and to overcome this opposition such demonstrations as these in which public sentiment is aroused, as well as national resent- ment against the taunts and reproaches of foreign countries, styling Germany's warships "tubs," and bombastically de- claring that with the slightest effort on the part of England they would all take their course to the bottom of the sea, must naturally create in Germany some national sentiment in favor of a strong navy. A navy, too, is a very great factor in oriental commerce. The advantages and concessions which the great nations, or the European nations obtain at the courts of oriental monarchs, depend much upon the military show they are able to make, and especially if they are a strong naval power. This influence secures in turn trade, so that the over-awing power of the navy is a necessary concomi- tant to commercial advantages in oriental countries. Hence, England's unprecedented and unparalleled influence among the Asiatics in this respect. England's navy has been a most powerful factor in the competition that has kept other coun- tries from this immense oriental trade. There is much speculation at present about apolitical di- vision of the Chinese empire, but for the present the division is confined to zones of influence. In that empire France, England and Russia have already been aggressive, and it may be that before many years this tottering fabric of oriental cor- ruptions and race contentions may fall to pieces. Like the Turk, the Chinaman is also regarded as a very sick man, whose estate must soon be distributed to his successors in interest. This fact makes it desirable that each prospective heir among the foreign nations be in a position to make valid claims to certain portions of the empire. It will be neces- sary for these heirs to be on the spot to command the great- est possible influence in order to secure the greatest estate of modern times, if not the greatest the world has ever known. The promises of reward in America were, and likewise those in Africa are, small when compared with the opportunities for national spoils which a division of the Chinese empire now offers. Commercial China is perhaps worth twenty Af- ricas. It is only within the last few years, or indeed the last year or two, that these conditions in China have been so manifestly apparent. China was thought rather undesirable any further than her small foreign trade offered advantages, and chiefly to England, whose claim nobody seemed to question. Since, however, the war with Japan demonstrated the lethargy and want of national sentiment in China, and whatever sentiment toward that country has arisen, the Chi- nese themselves do not appear to encourage that exclusive- ness which it seems to be the wish of a corrupt government to maintain. For that reason new enterprises and mam- CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN NATIONS. 423 moth undertakings are under way for the purpose of develop- ing the latent resources of commercial life in China. Great projects are afoot, and the commercial industry of so many millions of people must afford vastly increased opportunities to nations dealing with her. Russia is most there, for the part, to encourage territorial aggrandizement and obtain all the concessions necessary to promote the mammoth scheme connected with the great Trans-Siberian railroad. France seeks territorial advantages on the south; Germany and Eng- land are facing the center of the Celestial Empire as the two most prominent antagonists; for central China offers vastly greater opportunities for trade and commercial enterprises than either the north or the south. One thing is apparent, and that is that Germany is en- couraged openly by Russia and tacitly by France. Both of these countries would gladly curtail England's great com- mercial advantages in China. We have hardly come to rea- lize the commercial conflict which today is going on between Germany and England. It perhaps may seem unimportant when its present status only is taken into consideration; but it is marvelous when its unparalleled growth within the last ten years becomes manifest. To surrender the commercial advantages which England has hitherto exclusively enjoyed would be as menacing to the industrial life of England and the welfare of that kingdom as an encroachment upon its territorial domains, if, indeed, England could not afford to lose much of her territory rather than suffer an invasion of her markets. This is manifest in all English writings, echoed by the dailies, and soberly and conservatively set forth by her great magazines, of which the following from the pen of W. T. Stead is a fair representation: "It is that our industrial and manufacturing supremacy, the basis upon which the whole edifice of the empire rests, is now for the first time seriously threatened by the competi- tion of Germany on the one hand and by that of the United States on the other. Those who have studied the subject most closely are the most alarmed at the significance of the omens which in the present foreshadow the course of events in the future." The murder of these missionaries must have seemed to many a German a godsend to the commercial advantages of Fatherland. Germany's navy is today in Chinese waters not to measure arms with that of any great power. Germany would be a loser in a contest even with Japan. The squad- ron is there simply to dictate terms to the Emperor and offi- cials of China, and to secure for the German trade those se- cret advantages that come within what is popularly called the national sphere of influence.