The Foreign Powers, who must all along have realized the farce of their recognition, have been prompted to do so by the notion that they must have some entity, though it be a nonentity, with which to deal. However, by their action, they have given Peking moral prestige and financial support in the shape of revenues under foreign control so that the Peking Government has been enabled to exist by virtue of foreign recognition and by that alone. Uneonsciously perhaps, they have thus done something which they have professed they would not do, that is, intervened in China's internal affairs by practically imposing on_ the country a Government repudiated by it. They have by supporting a Government which cannot exist for a single day without such support, hindered China from establishing an effective and stable government which the Washington Conference agreed "to provide the fullest and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop and maintain for herself." They have by prolonging c' war, disorder, and disorganization, injured the interests of their own nationals whose trade and business with China have naturally suffered loss and inconvenience.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.