himself, in a report to the American minister in Stockholm, pointed out that the despatch of foodstuffs to Finland would be the best and surest way to prevent the country from being drawn still more under German influence.

Finland is not asking for a gift, is not begging for alms. Fourteen million dollars are ready in New York

to pay for all we need. And concerning the recognition of her independence, Finland is asking no sacrifice from America, only justice, a moral support for a small people's centuryold fight for democratic freedom.

Will America's answer be yes or no? The people of Finland are once more anxiously pinning their hopes on the West.

big asset of modern imperialism, as China has known to her cost. Japan's realization of this inspired her to demand of China the missionary rights conceded Christianity as a part of the Group V demands of 1915.

THE CHURCH AND CHINA

The Roman Catholic faith has

played a large part in all this from earliest times.

While tradition has it that primitive Christianity soon found its way across Asia to China, the earliest record puts its introduction at 635. This Nestorian Christianity, condemned by the Church Council of Ephesus in 431, flourished in China until the imperial decree banishing its followers from Cathay in 845. It revived four centuries later under the Mongol rulers. Under the great Kublai Khan the Nestorians spread their work through Central Asia; but by the 16th century it had become

a memory.

The westward drive of the Mongols brought Catholic monks into

China from 1245 on as the representatives of European potentates seeking light on the Tartar purposes. The Jesuits, particularly the French, were increasingly active. The Manchu conquest of China, however, interrupted the spread of the faith at first. Eventually the command of western knowledge made the Jesuits the servants of the Peking emperors, makers of maps, drawings, books, instruments of science and war.

THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE

From the time St. Louis, king of France, sent William of Rubruck to Cathay in 1250, the French have been fostering the interests of the

Church in China.

The Portuguese at first were the protectors of missions in this quarter of the world. But by 1658 this control had been weakened in favor of France. Pledging that he would protect his subjects, the astute Louis XIV. sent over five Jesuits in 1685; and from this time on France developed her right to guard missions in China. This alliance of Church and state was often employed to the advantage of both.

Throughout the 19th century France steadily protected, fostered, and widened the rights of Christians in China. In 1885, during the vigorous pontificate of Leo XIII., the Vatican proposed to send a nuncio or legate to China, just as she is today. The French minister to the Holy See told the Pope that such a step would interfere with the protectorate France had so effectively extended to Catholicism in China. Not wishing to have relations with

France ruptured at that time, the Vatican did not insist.

THE CHURCH AND WELT-POLITIK

Through the German prelate Anzer, bishop of Shantung, lengthy negotiations with the Holy See resulted in the Kaiser's government having German Catholic missions in China

put under its protection. To this arrangement made in 1890-1891 France could interpose no objection, although it affected her political primacy in the Catholic missionary field.

This move paved the way for German political intervention in Shantung, the murder of two missionaries serving as a pretext for the occupa

tion of Kiaochao with results familiar to the world.

Italy followed the example of Germany, taking over the protection of Italian Catholic interests. But matters are not so simple because of the complications between the Government of Italy and the Holy See.

VATICAN'S MOTIVE?

Events have changed the situation which in 1885 prevented a papal representative from being sent to Peking.

France broke with the Vatican in 1907. The Germans have been ousted from China by the Great War which has so affected the international position of the Holy See. Aside from the pontifical diplomacy which has sought to make the Holy See the mediator of a war-torn Christendom, the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Great Britain in 1914 marks a step forward internationally for the Vatican.

It now has political intercourse

with the Central Powers, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain, and most of the LatinAmerican republics. If the declaration coming from the Holy See is correct, the appointment of a papal nuncio to China means that this re

public of Asia is to enter on diplomatic intercourse with the Holy See.

Nuncios or legates are sent only to countries with which the Vatican has political relations. Delegates have no more than an ecclesiastical position, being assigned to countries such as the United States and her dependencies, Canada and Mexico. Were this not the case, Monsignor Petrelli, now apostolic delegate to the Philippine Islands, would probably be dispatched to the Peking post

with his present rank to occupy an ecclesiastical position only.

With a papal nuncio at Peking holding a place in the diplomatic corps of China's capitol a new factor enters into Chinese diplomacy which may possibly raise interesting and important questions.

Will the Holy See's representative take over the protection of all Catholic interests in China irrespective of nationality? Will the Vatican claim for its nuncio the diplomatic precedence it used to hold to be a right at many courts? Will this diplomatic representation prevent the Church from again becoming the unwitting tool of an imperialism such as Germany unscrupulously used in 1898?

Before the House of Commons on August 7, Premier Lloyd George said:

"I believe in a league of nations, but whether a league of nations is going to be a success or not will depend upon the conditions under which it is set up. Some of us here have been members of representative assemblies for a generation. Every one knows that when any great decision is to be taken what determines it is not so much what is said as the fact that there is some power behind it which takes a certain view and has the power to enforce that view. It is the electorate here.

"In any league of nations let us

take care that it is not the sword. The same thing might conceivably happen to a league of nations unless you started under favorable conditions. You might enter it, the Germans not saying it in words, but saying in their actions, 'We have invaded your lands, we have devastated them, we have trampled you under foot, you failed to drive us back, you made no impression upon our armies; they were absolutely intact when peace was declared; had it not been for our economic difficulties you would never have won, and we will take great care next time that we shall not be short of rubber, corn and other essentials.'

Every time you came to a decision the Prussian sword would clank on the council table. What is the good of entering into a league of nations of that sort? We all want peace, but it must be a peace which is just. It must be a peace which is durable. We don't want to put this generation or the next through the horrors of this war. To be durable,

It must be more,

it must be just. there must be a power behind it, a power that can enforce its decrees, and all who enter that conference must know that inside that league such a power does exist. And when you have demonstrated even to the enemy that such a power does exist, durable peace will then come, but no sooner."

The future peace of the world rests largely upon the unity of purpose and action between the democracies of the United States and Great Britain, says Sir Robert L. Borden, Bart., Premier of Canada.

"As one of the free nations of the Britannic Commonwealth," he added, "Canada undertook her part in this war of her own free will, by the voice of her Parliament and under a compelling realization of her duty to that Commonwealth and to humanity. She fights with no aggressive or selfish purpose, but to secure the peace of the world, to safeguard liberty, and to maintain public right. She is thoroughly conscious that vast responsibilities will rest upon the Allied nations, and especially upon the British and American commonwealths, when conditions of peace come to be determined.

"I firmly believe that the future peace of the world rests largely, and

indeed chiefly, upon the unity of purpose and of action between these two democracies. Unless this tremendous responsibility is realized and met, we shall not have fulfilled our highest duty to this or to future generations. With nations, as with individuals, power is inseparable from responsibility, and duty cannot be fulfilled by declining a just call to leadership, however difficult its task may be.

"I trust that these two mighty democracies, united by strong ties of kinship, language, and ideals, may inspire each other with complete confidence and sympathy in earnest and unselfish purpose and action to command the world's peace and to secure safety and equality of opportunity for the smaller nationalities and for the backward races of the world.

"The supreme result would, indeed, crown all our sacrifice and would give us much to hope from a wider league. of nations."

General Joseph Mangin, who was in direct command of the Allied forces in the drive against the German right flank south of Soissons, has issued the following order of the day (reported August 7) thanking the American troops for their brilliant participation in the battle which caused the German retreat between the Marne and the Aisne:

"Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the First and Third American Army Corps:

"Shoulder to shoulder with your French comrades, you threw yourselves into the counter offensive begun on July 18. You ran to it like going to a feast. Your magnificent dash upset and surprised the enemy, and your indomitable tenacity stopped counter attacks by his fresh divisions. You have shown yourselves to be worthy sons of your great country and have gained the admiration of your brothers in arms.

"Ninety-one cannon, 7,200 prisoners, immense booty, and ten kilometers of reconquered territory are your share of the trophies of this victory. Besides this, you have acquired a feeling of your superiority over the barbarian enemy against whom the children of liberty are fighting. To attack him is to vanquish him.

"American comrades, I am grateful to you for the blood you generously spilled on the soil of my country. I am proud of having commanded you during such splendid days and to have fought with you for the deliverance of the world."

General John J. Pershing, commander-inchief of the American army in France, has issued the following orders (reported under date of August 27):

"It fills me with pride to record in General Orders a tribute on the service achievements of the First and Third Corps, comprising the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second, and Forty-second Divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces.

"You came to the battlefield at a crucial hour for the Allied cause. For almost four years the most formidable army the world has yet seen had pressed its invasion of

France and stood threatening its capital. At no time has that army been more powerful and menacing than when, on July 15, it struck again to destroy in one great battle the brave men opposed to it and enforce its brutal will upon the world and civilization. "Three days later, in conjunction with our allies, you counter-attacked. The Allied armies gained a brilliant victory that marks the turning point of the war. You did more than to give the Allies the support to which, as a nation, our faith was pledged. You proved that our altruism, our pacific spirit, and our sense of justice have not blunted our virility or our courage.

"You have shown that American initiative and energy are as fit for the tasks of war as for the pursuits of peace. You have justly won the eternal gratitude of our countrymen.

"We have paid for our success with the lives of many of our brave comrades. We shall cherish their memory always and claim for our history and literature their bravery, achievement, and sacrifice.

"This order will be read to all organizations at the first assembly formations following its receipt.

"PERSHING."

KING GEORGE'S GREETING TO UNITED STATES SOLDIERS

To every soldier upon landing in England is given an envelope with these words on it, "A Message to You from His Majesty King George." The inside of the envelope holds a sheet of paper with the royal arms engraved upon it. Under this, in facsimile handwriting, is the message of King George. It reads as follows:

"Soldiers of the United States, the people of the British Isles welcome you on your way to take your stand beside the armies of the many nations now fighting in the Old World the greatest battle for human freedom.

"The Allies will gain new heart and spirit in your company.

"I wish that I could shake the hand of each one of you and bid you god-speed on your mission.

"GEORGE R. I."

The executive committee of the Radical Party in France has adopted a resolution in favor of a Society of Nations.