Peking, Dec. 28.
The article by Mr. Bruce Baxter which recently appeared in the columns of the North-China Daily, News" has excited much adverse comment in Peking, because it gives a quite inaccurate impression of what British and American business men are doing in China, an impression liable to mislead the Chinese, and &s0 to arouse in them those very feelings against us which Mr, Baxter properly regards as being greatly our disadvantage. He assumes that Peking is full of British and American concession-bunters, who, owing to the present unfortunate character of the Government, are making, or secking to make, transactions with selfish but powerful individuals detrimental to China.
He implies that their respective Legations are supporting these concession-hunters in. making good transactions that in themselves are bad. This is fallacy from beginning to end. It is the writer's business to know generally what is going on in the capital, and though he cannot tell what' mischief is being hatched, he can say definitely that nothing has been done recently British or Americans which not bear the light of day. Emphati cally he denies that either Legation has been a party to, or supported, any transaction damaging to China.
No Comparison Wim (Japan, If Mr. Baxter has any concrete case to produce as evidence of his contention, let him produce it. No doubt there are many of both nationalities in Peking at the present time seeking to do business with the Chinese. Very few are concession-hunters, nor need they necessarily be in the wrong if they are secking concessions. It is contended here that all transactions recently made with the Chinese Government by British or Americans are legitimate business, advantageous to China, and not in any sense comparable with many recent Japanese transactions, open to criticism because they involved China in debt without any—corresponding benefit. It is notorious that most of the Japanese money unconditionally supplied to China has gone into the pockets of the militarists and served only to perpetuate an evil system. As a resuit the Japanese have acquired various liens and privileges that affect the independence of China. Japanese interests, from the point of view of the aggressive Japanese, have been greatly forwarded, while those of China have been thrown to the winds. Hence the demand for the dismissal of the three "'traitors,"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.