Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-05
CAUSES OF THE WAR
AN ISSUE WITH MR.. w. E. CURTIS
STATEMENTS.
Complaint of What He Did Not Saw,
Viz, That Japan Wants
Korea
To the Editor of The Evening Star:

| To the Editor of The Evening Star:
In The Evening Star Of August % last
appears statement of the causes of the
war now raging between Russia and Japan.
by your correspondent. William T. Curtis.
Ii 1t Will not occupy too much time and
| space. | hope you will publish the follow
| ing suggestions of In the statement
| of Mr.. Curtis:
Mr. Curtis states as follows. viz: Russia
agrees to leave. The United States and
Great Britain united with Japan In sup
| porting China against the exorbltant de-
| mands of Russia. and for some reason
| never explained the latter was Induced
| 10 sign a treaty agreeing to withdraw her
| troops from Manchuria I'm three INSTALL
| ments Each step OF evacuation Was to
| take place upon fixed date. and through
| the nited States ambassador at st. Pc
| tersburg and the Russian ambassador at
| washington, the ears government re-
| peatedly renewed the assurance that II
| would fulfill the engagement. But when
| the LIST or October. 1893. arrived the date
| of evacuation. Russia behaved exactly as
| IT no promise had ever been given and
| instead OF withdrawing her troops and
| abandoning her Notifications as she had
agreed to do, her minister at Picking de
manded additional concessions which prac-
ticaily amounted to the transfer of the
entire territory of Manchuris from China
| to the car
| This entire paragraph is Mr. Curtis own
| individual statement of official action TAX
en- by three nations. namely, the United
| states. Great Britain and Russia-If the
statement Is correct. the note memoran-
| dunn or draft of such action can be given
| just as well Mr.. Curtis understanding
| OF such note or draft, or as we'll as Japan's
TOUR proposals. are elsewhere In his
| ticie given by Mr.. Curtis. These there
| were five Of themp proposals were made by
Japan and are no more or less accessible
| than the documentary evidence of other
action, showing
treaties. etc.
Some of your readers are not satisfied
to accept Mr.. Curtis statement as con-
elusive evidence that such action as he
says was taken by those three nations was
actually taken by any Of them: and the:'
! cannot understand why Mr. Curtis did not
when undertaking to instruct the public
on the subject. give copy of the record
of them. If there Is such record just
he partially. and not altogether correctly.
presents the copy of 'Japan'S proposals"
Many of your readers Interested I'm
this question and would be highly Gratiied
to have evidence of the alleged action OF
Russia. England ct al. of the same charac-
ter az that produced by Mr.. Curtis i'm the
case of Japan's propositions. Some persons.
are OF the opinion that Russia never
agreed or considered the subject Of agree
ing. to give up any of her leasehold rights
under her treaty of April -. 1898 with
China. to or with anybody. any nation or
any power. These persons hold this opin-
ion because. while fully understanding Rus
STA lease from China of Port Arthur and
| other Manchurian territory for ninety-nine
years from April -. 1898. they have never
seen any evidence whatever that Russia
ever gave up. abandoned or qualified her
rights under that lease In any way: and
because China. who made. executed ana
delivered this lease OF this part of her
territory to Russia. has never expressed
the least dissatisfaction with #. or with
any Item of Russia's action under H. but
wishes Russia TO continue to hold the
leased property under this lease as she
d.
time. except as she has been interrupted
therein by the unauthorized and unwar-
rantable intrusion of Japan into the mat
ter. by demanding of Russia that she shall
give up her lease of Port Arthur and
abandon her property and rights there
under.
1t is evident that Mr. Curtis has access
to the records of this Russia n japanese
quarrel which not vOuminous
hard to understand. as he quotes from
them four of Japan's five proposi:iOns TO
Russia. made and formally presented when
Japan was endeavoring. during the latter
half of the year 1903 to induce Russia to
cornoiue with hei In the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of
the Chinese empire.
japan twice during the pendercy of these
negotiations expressly offered In writing
to allow Russia to take. to have and to
held Port Arthur and all the rights and
territory that China leased To her. if This-
STA would allow her Uapan) to absorb
Korea. and to have exclusive domination
over II. These propositions by Japan APP
pear on the same page of the record
tie four propositions printed by Mr.. Cur
It's. Why did he not give your readers the
whole record?
Mr. Curtis takes these four propositions
Gnaccurately) from the official report ~
th"m by the Baron liomura Jutaro. japan
miHiste: of state for foreign affairs. 10
tie Japanese diet in March 1894
This report has been published and cir
culated by the Japanese embassy in Wash
ington broadcast in the United States, and
gives Japan's statement of the negotla-
wi a he
The entire negotiations. fully appearing in
snail pamphlet of about seventy page
show. as stated above. that Japan tried
her best to coax, bride and threaten Rus
sra into agreeing to allow her to take
Korea from China. and that she went u
var with Russia because Russia firmly
rcfused to join her In her pundfTir =
scheme. 1t would not have occupied any
mere of your space to have printed all Of
JaIan's propositions. to Russia upon This
whole subject-there only five OF them
and all of Russia 8 counter propositions II
japan, OF which there are only eight. tn
Is occupied by Mr.. Curtis communication.
even IL he had printed verbatim each
proposition. counter proposition and modl-
flcation of each and all of them. while
y,ur readers would then have seen for
TIE nseves that the insurmountable OBJ
stacle in the negotiations. which drove
Japan to this war. and is nothing
more less than Russa's Deremptory
and positive refusal to join Japan In dis
Wondering China. and her refusal &c ALLOW
make 1t part of the japanese dominious
The exact words. which Mr.. Curtis takes
care not to print. of Japan In making this
demand are follows: ARTICLE L.
by Russia of the exclusive
right of Japan to give advice and assistance
to Korea. In the interests of reform and
good government
Neither does Mr.. Curtis in his lette'
you allude to the fact that Japan. within
three months after she began this war
declared a "protectOrate' over Korea.
which "protectorate" she has maintained
by force of arms ever since. nor to that
other fact that she issued decree ''tlat
every vessel sailing from Japan TO Korea
shall. carry $50 japanese men and - lap
anese women. who are to settle as colonists
n Korea
The official statement from Count Kat
sllra minister of state of his ma testy, the
OF Nippon. for foreign affairs. as
I'm the far east for August. 1924
~ the express authority of the emperor.
8 instructive reading upon this point.
Mr. Curtis Is doubt well acquainted
With this deliverance by the count on tho
.ause of the war" but probably thought
,e had better not publish 1t. as it Is not
It all in accord with his CMr C.'sl state