This phase, however, if it is seen in its proper
pers- pective will probably not have to be deplored in the long run in spite of the immediate perils and incon- veniences. So far as we can judge the Cantonese Nationalists are much the best organized, the most capable and the most substantial force in China. They would probably be better representatives of the rising Nationalism than anybody else.. This judgment, never- theless, will have to be entirely reversed if the Cantonese are not able to shake their feet free from the Russian net which at present entangles them. Sun Yat-sen, the founder and prophet of the Cantonese political faith, was not after all an extremist. Anyone who reads his " testament " can see that he was comparatively moderate ; he was above all things a democrat. And if democracy is put into full operation it provides safeguards for everyone all along the line.
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