Sept. 6.
The closer one studios the. records of anti-foreign demonstrations, from the time of the first Cantonese riot against the Portuguese in the early years of the sixteenth century down to the present, the more one is convinced that the Chinese people, in spite of inherited prejudices against the alien, have never been spontaneously hostile. Every demonstration has either been officially inspired or has been given an anti-foreign turn by official manipulation, This rule may not seem to apply to some of the incidents traceable to Soviet agitation, but we believe that history will eventually prove that their work hay never yet come to anything except Where it was at least officially tolerated; and no official will aver tolerate a riot unless he sees some advantage for himself in it. The abrupt end that was put to anti-foreign labour demonstrations here in April when the local Kuomintang leaders had decided to break with Hankow and withdraw from the Red agents their charter to make unlimited trouble, is evidence in support of what we believe to be a hard and fast rule. The complete suppression—within twenty-four hours of supposedly spontaneous and uncontrollable student agitation in Peking after the withdrawal of Feng Yuhsiang's commanders in the spring of 1926, is another ea point. is with these facts in mind, therefore, that we must consid the news that is reaching us of anti-Japanese demonstrations in Manchuria, We published ye: terday an account of a huge process: in Mukden which closed an anti-Japanese demonstration by wrecking a Japanese place of business. Experience has taught us that if the authorities had not wanted that parade, with its closing act of violence, it would never have started.' We all know that the Bolshevists have been preparing for some time for concentrated agitation in Manchuria, and that dozens of the their "expert" trouble makers from other parts China have gone there, including the notorious Li Li-san, The Fengtien authorities must have been aware of this tion as soon as we were. if not earlier, and if they had not wanted the kind of trouble that the Soviet agents can always guarantee to make, they would e been more than usually watchful of public gatherings and would have had sch a performance as this reported procession under rigid contro! before any considerable number of persons had assembled, We
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.