The Washington herald., 1907-07-09
secretnrr Roots Warning.

| Secretary Root. when he discussed, in
/ his vigorous and searching way, before
the American Society OF International
Law the questions at issue IN the Japa-
/ nese school controversy of last spring. de-
nounced the war talk Of that time as
purely sensational and imaginative"
Then he pointed out the real matter at
issue in language that, with but slight
changes in phrasing. might be uttered
to-day with equal force and effect:
'The question was What state Of feeling would be
created between the great body Of the people Of the
United States and the great body Of the people Of
japan as a result Of the treatment given to the
japanese in this oountryf What was to be the effect
upon that proud. sensitive highly civilized people
the Pacific of the dscourtesy insult imputa-
tons Of inferiority and abuse aimed at them in the
columns q American newspapers and from the plat
forms Of American public meetings' What would
be the effect upon cur Own people Of the responses
that natural resentment for such treatment would
elicit from the JAPANESE
AT Kurihama. in Japan. stands a monument 10
Commodore PerTy. raised hy the japanese il grateful
appreciation upon the site where he landed and
operod negotiations for the first treaty Japan ever
made with a Western power. Was that monument
henceforth 10 represent dislike and resentment Were
the two peoples 10 face each other across the Pacific
in future years with anger and resentful feeingsl
Al this inevitable Il the process which seemed
20 have begun was TO continue and the government
Of the United States looked with the greatest solicit
tude upon the possibility that The process might
continue.
in this modern day, through the columns Of the
myriad press and messages flashing over countless
wires. multitude calls 10 multitude across bounda
Ties and oceans in courtesy insult in amity in
defiance. Foreign Offices and ambassadors and min
isters no longer keep or break the peace. but the
conduct Of each people toward every other The
people who permit themselves 70 treat the people Of
other countries with discourtesy and insult are
surely sowing the wind to reap the whiffwind.
The great question which overshadowed all dis
cussion Of the treaty Of 1894 was the question: Are
the people Of the United States about 10 break
friendship with the people Of Japan' That question
believe. has been happily answered in the mega
tive"
Answered in the negative? Then why
send a fleet of sixteen battle ships to
avert a war by preparing for il" and so
arouse all the latent passions Of two ma
tons which were. but The other day, IN a
800 veg Va ottttNnbl1 tNl4llDoLIE jill ulLr
ferencesF Why should the navy tear
down, by senseless and unnecessary ma
neuvers, the edifce of amity which Secre-
tary Root so ardently labored 10 pre-
server
What rlust be the effect upon that
proud, sensitive, highly civilized people
across the Pacific" Of the threat implied
in the dispatch of Q powerful feet to the
Pacific; of the assumption by a part Of
the American press and people that this
fleet is intended as a naval demonstration
Of our predominance in the Orient: of
Dewey's truculent remark that when a
chief Of police hears of a riot he calls
out the reserves?
When Secretary Root spoke. the State
Department looked with the greatest
solicitude" upon the possibility that the
process of engendering international IL
feeling might continue until the American
and Japanese peoples faced each other
across the Pacific with anger and resent
full feelings" With how much sollcltude
must Secretary Root now view the re-
sumption OF that process which he so
much deplored-a resumption wholly due
TO the ill-advised action Of the United
states government itself.