To the Editor of the "NontH-Cuixa Dany News Stt—Your correspondent "Ps {tate "expresses wonder that the Chinese, in spite of their pretended dislike of the foreigner and Sis ways, display so astonishing tendency to adopt not only his costume and what they pansider to be his manners, but also his name. Should he ponder a moment. hho would remember that in all ages like phenomena have characterized periods of decadence when a nation's ral fibre has weakened, the con-jousness of which has always been jecompanied by loss of self-respect and the sping of foreign fashions and mariners Greece and Rome their latter days wuffared similarly.
While this is true of d civilizations, the same observed of primitives who hope that by imitation they may raise themselves more to the level of the white man. Among our American negroes are Lincolns and Washingtons galore, and I doubt not but what we might also find a few Wellingtons. Caesars, Pompeys jand Napoleons are out of date. I consider it strange that the Chinese have not Washingtons and Lincolns high place. The "Christian" General is also a puzzle to me: he is s0 often referred to as the Chinese Cromwell, that we might reasonably expect to find him blossoming out 'a5 General "Oliver Cromwell" Feng. A Chinese "Christian" Gene [should certainly bear a "Christi Our Indians can lay claim to a chief "Joseph," and "Henry." Mr. Stanley, in his Central African ex: lorations encountered a King ihey. Tt may thus be noticed that the Chinese are not alone in fad; it is simply that the whole world pays tribute to the ineffably superior qualities of the conquering race. The Japanese, strong in their national pride, have not yet sunk so far as to desire any names other than their own.
We foreigners must own to more than a little responsibility where the Chinese are concerned, for America is full of dubbed Willy-Nilly, Charlie and John by patrons too lazy to bother themselves about their real names, while "John Chinaman" been applied to the race as a whole. And ore not mission schools in China filled with Lucys, Helens, Graci One of our local universities once boasted even a Xavier V.P. Nail, Not bad.
There is, however, left for us poor foreigners, a consolation. No Chinese has yet been born who can wear a pincene:
Tam, ete.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.