=Intervention in China.=—­Nothing but the arrival of armed forces, made up of Japanese, Russian, British, American, French, and German soldiers and marines, prevented the destruction of the beleaguered aliens.  When once the foreign troops were in possession of the Chinese capital, diplomatic questions of the most delicate character arose.  For more than half a century, the imperial powers of Europe had been carving up the Chinese empire, taking to themselves territory, railway concessions, mining rights, ports, and commercial privileges at the expense of the huge but helpless victim.  The United States alone among the great nations, while as zealous as any in the pursuit of peaceful trade, had refrained from seizing Chinese territory or ports.  Moreover, the Department of State had been urging European countries to treat China with fairness, to respect her territorial integrity, and to give her equal trading privileges with all nations.

=The American Policy of the “Open Door."=—­In the autumn of 1899, Secretary Hay had addressed to London, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and St. Petersburg his famous note on the “open door” policy in China.  In this document he proposed that existing treaty ports and vested interests of the several foreign countries should be respected; that the Chinese government should be permitted to extend its tariffs to all ports held by alien powers except the few free ports; and that there should be no discrimination in railway and port charges among the citizens of foreign countries operating in the empire.  To these principles the governments addressed by Mr. Hay, finally acceded with evident reluctance.

[Illustration:  AMERICAN DOMINIONS IN THE PACIFIC]

On this basis he then proposed the settlement that had to follow the Boxer uprising.  “The policy of the Government of the United States,” he said to the great powers, in the summer of 1900, “is to seek a solution which may bring about permanent safety and peace to China, preserve Chinese territorial and administrative entity, protect all rights guaranteed to friendly powers by treaty and international law, and safeguard for the world the principle of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese empire.”  This was a friendly warning to the world that the United States would not join in a scramble to punish the Chinese by carving out more territory.  “The moment we acted,” said Mr. Hay, “the rest of the world paused and finally came over to our ground; and the German government, which is generally brutal but seldom silly, recovered its senses, and climbed down off its perch.”

In taking this position, the Secretary of State did but reflect the common sense of America.  “We are, of course,” he explained, “opposed to the dismemberment of that empire and we do not think that the public opinion of the United States would justify this government in taking part in the great game of spoliation now going on.”  Heavy damages were collected by the European powers