American River Gunboat Programme: False Sense of Security Induced: A Problem Which Must be Solved From An American Correspondent.
Peking, Nov. 23.
Foreign trading communities in China are always keenly interested, with good reason these days, in the naval forces maintained by the various Powers on the China Coast and more especially on China's. inland waterways. In this country it does not matter a great, deal of what nationality a boat ig because they are all faced with the same problems, have the same work to do and have established a remarkably fine tradition of ce-operation which the diplomats might well study in all humility. Nevertheless each of us would like to feel that his own Government is contribution, its share towards the internation: water police system in China, not only in providing a sufficient number of boats but also in providing the right type with the right equipment, With all the Home Governments so very busy with Home problems the China communities cannot expect. any of them to keep their naval equipments up to requirements without strenuous and consistent wailing. The American communities have been more painfully conscious of this than any others and tke time has come when they must again be reminded that they will get nothing front Home that they do not ask for and continue to ask for.
Announcements of American naval increases in the Far East during recent months may have the effect of creating within the American communities a false sense of security. It has been made public, for instance, that the United States Navy Department has included in its budget the construction of four thoroughly modern river gunboats, designed to navigate almost any navigable waterway in China at any season. The inclusion of this item in the budget does not mean, however, that Congress has endorsed it. The indications, indeed, are all the other way, for the only news of the Navy budget whioh has recently come through to the Far East is that Congress is preparing to clip a very generous percentage off of it. Any reduction means the automatic elimination of an appropriation for gun boats for China and ne pressure in Washington could possibly keep these four prospective gunboats on the budget unless the American communities in China were to send in a most strident demand for them through every possible channel.
'TWO MINESWEEPERS, As a stop. gap, pending the construction of the new boats, and as a salve to injured American sensibilities in the Orient, the Navy Department has sent out from Honolulu two minesweepers, the Pigeon and the Penguin for duty on the rivers. These boats, which ought to arrive in Shanghai on November 26, are probably excellent boats, with very fine personnel and with the best equipment, but any tyro in Chinese river navigation can judge of their usefulness when he learns that they draw 14 feet of water. During the Spring floods they could get up to Ichang on the Yangtze, possibly to Changsha, and probably to Wuchow on the West River, They are an asset therefore if the Chinese, when they make trouble are obliging enough to move in a short propitious season, During the major part of the year boats of this type will either chug around Shanghai or Hongkong or will find deep holes off Hankow or Canton dnd hibernate in them, helpless and useless in an emergency. This really is not good enough, Because we all lean upon one another in China, all nationalities have a perfect right to say that it is not good enough, but no one but an American can say so and hope to have it gracefully accepted in the American commanities in China. Recently, four new Japanese river gunboats appeared on the Yangtze. They are finely appointed and well adapted to their work except that they are 180 feet long, which happens to be at least thirty feet too long. Since these boats serve the interests of foreigners at large no one but a Japanese can point out gracefully the mistake that has been made in providing 180-feet boats for winding shallow waterways; but if these boats failed in an emergency to execute an allotted task of their length all nationalities would wail about it. For the same reasons it devolves upon the American communities to let their Government know that they appreciate the shortcomings of America's nova] equipment in China and to demand improvements before American ships fail ignominiously in an emergency and give nationals good reason to cry out about it.
RED CROSS ROAD SCANDAL, Complaints continue to come into Peking from Chefoo of the misuse of the new Chefoo-Weihsien highway from both Chinese and foreign firms as well as from the foreign consuls. Although the new road was very largely built out of Red Cross funds to provide work for famine victims in Shangtung it has been virtually appropriated by an_officia} og private property and a strict monopoly upon its use is enforced by this clique. Not only is other motor traffic excluded but even private ricshas are forbidden the use of the road. The official company runs a fleet of six Fords from Chefoo to Loongkow and a similar fleet from Loongkow to Weihsien on the Tsingtao-Tsinan railway. The six Chefoo cars set out every, other day in a file, nose to tail, and run to Loongkow, about eighty miles, returning the next day. The driving is thoroughly reckless, accidents are frequent and no compensation is paid to the countryfolk who are run down. The unsatisfactory system, founded upon foreign charity, is nominally under the direction of the Ministry of Communications, so many efforts have been made to persuade this Ministry that it would not only be the most decent but the wisest thing to do to throw the road open to normal competition. Such appeals have hitherto made no impression.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.