The Countess Martinengo-Cesaresco sends to the Times of Monday a
letter from "a distinguished American officer" on the conduct of the Allied troops in China. Accord- ing to her informant, every house on the road from Pekin to the coast had been looted and vast numbers wrecked, thousands of people had been brutally murdered, and there had been great wanton destruction and other outrages on helpless people. Most of the officers had done what they could to prevent wanton murder and outrage, but the spirit of looting had carried away nearly every one. To sum up, the American officer declares the expedition to have been a very demoralising experience. "I hope and believe Anglo-Saxons have been less cruel and brutal than others, but they got their share of the loot." There can be little doubt that the discreditable behaviour of some European troops has greatly weakened the position of the Allies in demanding the condign punishment of Prince Tuan and the other leaders of the anti-foreign movement. In this context the summary of the Japanese newspaper comments on the conduct of the Western troops given in last Saturday's Times deserves attentive study. The Japanese are unanimous in placing the United States soldier at the head of the list, officers and privates alike being free from reproach in regard to looting and outrage ; the Germans stand second, and the British third. For the British officer they have nothing but praise, but the Indian troops are charged with looting on a petty scale whenever a chance offered. The Russians are put at the bottom of the list on both counts, and the French last but one. The candour of the Japanese critics lends value to these appreciations. They admit their own troops were not guiltless of looting, but claim that while the Indian, Russian, Frenchman, and sometimes the German stole individually, each man for himself, the Japanese stole systematically and in the public interest.
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