The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-20
LOSING A FO0TH0LD
AMERICAS COMMERCIAL INTEREST
 SUFFERING IN ORIENT.
rnformation from UnoaicIal sources is Accumuintfng in the state De-
 pnrtmcnt on Japan's AExres- z alHenAn. In nlnnnhurln

| Accumuintfng in the State De- partmcnt on Jnpan's AExres-
 siveness Ia Mnnchurin.
 Washington. Feb. 19.--Information from unofficial and individual sources evfdencing the aggressiveness of Ja7 pan in Manchuria. has been accumu- lating in the State Department for some time. That this condition is irritating Tn increasing degrees, to China. ia also
 matter of knowledge here. It Is stated with authority that in no man ner has the Chinese -Government brought the matter to the attention of the American Government. and no rep
 resentation on the subpect Is looked for.
 It Is frankly admitted by oficiais who cannot be quoted. that America is losing her commercial foothold fin the Orient This loss, however, Is not charged to Japan. Rather. 1t Is assert ed to be the effect of the growing ten- dency toward internal governmental regulation in the United States. Five years ago, flour in barrels was being shipped to thesOrient from the North west. steel rails from Pittsburg. and cotton in bales from Texas. These shipments were made possible because of an exceedingly low ocean freight
 rate arrived at by railroad combina-
 ton. This rate has been condemned
 by our courts as conspiracy against
 trade, and the development of this trade has been abandoned. The domes-
 tic war. as it is characterized against the Standard Oil Company, which 10 credited with the largest Oriental trade of any American enterprise. Is declar- cd to have been disastrously effective in the Orient, while the tobacco and cotton trades are said to have been dealt heavy blows through the opera ton of railroad regulation here.
 = From this standpoint, 1t seems easy for Government officials here conver- sant with foreign matters. to view Ja-. .panese commercial aggression in Man churia with a greater degree of com piaisance than would be the case In the face of an urgent domestic demand for Governmental assistance. Japan, it is asserted. can withont great diffi- culty, justify everything she has done in Manchuria as sanctioned by the "open door, policy. initiated by the late Secretary Hay and adhered to by the greater nations, including Japan. While Japan may justify these things in the strictest sense under the "open door, policy, ft has been charged that there exists evidences of her iuse of many methods and practices which might not bear the light of impartial investigation. Besides her clam to san equal footing with other nations in Manchuria on the "open door" basis. she has. it is asserted. obtained many valuable concessions through which her control of the railroad and teIegraphie facilities is practically complete. This control Is known to be used primarily in the interest of Japanese tradesnen and to the, detriment of all foreign competitors. These disadvantages are of course. being felt by, American tradezmen as well as by those of other foreign nations.
 There is nothing. 1t is pointed out. in Secretary Hays promulgation of the open door. policy which partakes of the nature of an. agreement with any nation looking to It's maintenance. For tli;s reason. 1t Is predicted that should 8 combination of protests be made and any movement initiated by foreign mas tiopS, the support which 1t would re- ceive from this couptry would be no more than moral.