Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-10
OUR Far Eastern Problem
Bv Frederic j. Haskin

treaty was negotiated for the express
purpose of maintaining the doctrine OF
equal opportunity, an absurdity which
is not at all improbable then Wash
ington may insist that its interpreta-
tion of the Hay agreement and of the
Mukden treaty mining provisions are
not in accord.
By this method it is possible, per-
haps, to enter a protest against the
Japanese gobbling of Manehuria with
out placing the American nation in the
attitude of impugning the motives of
Japan. There is reason to believe that
the decision to take some action has
been reached, although the working out
of the details will require much time.
1t is a very delicate situation.
The Japanese diplomatists are dis
turbing the peace and calm of the dip
lomatic world no little. They have no
respect for a great many diplomatic
conventions which have been unwrit-
ten laws for centuries Procrastination
is the chief virtue in the code of con-
duct of the conventional diplomatist.
These Japanese have no respect for
that virtue.
One of the reasons why the United
States has been placed in such an
awkward situation with respect to up
holding it's own Chinese policy and it's
own Hay agreement is that the Jap
anese have rushed things so rapidly as
to take away the breath of some other
people. The most eminent diplomatic
authority at Peking said in May that
the Manchurian question pending be-
tween China and Japan could not come
to a settlement within two years. The
treaties were signed in August. 1t was
in March that China had asked that
these questions be submitted to the
arbitration of The Hague tribunal, and
o14 INok nefx ,aDf, Nv
Japan with an indecent display of tenn
per, that same eminent diplomatist in
May still believed that the questions
could eventually go to The Hague after
another failure of China and Japan to
agree. But he did not count on the
force of soldiers thrown along the
Antung- Mukden railway which made it
impossible for China to refuse to
"agree" to anything.
1t is said in some quarters that Am
bassador Takahira was recalled from
Washington because he was unable to
bring the Washington government to
accept the Japanese assurances con-
cerning their position in Manchuria.
Other authorities have it that he was
recalled because he has become very
deaf The new Japanese ambassador
certainly will have to deal with the
Washington government on this sub
ject.
Another factor in the situation prob
ably will be Ransford S. Miller, jr.,
who is now on his way home from
Japan to become chief of the division
Of far eastern affairs in the department
of state. Mr.. Miller has been for many
years the Japanese secretary of the
American embassy at Toxic. His
knowledge of the Japanese people, lam
guage and affairs is not eXcelled by
any other American. He is in hearty
eNy with YNann1n
and yet at the same time he is a good
American. He probably will have much
to do with directing the details of the
diplomatic handling of the Manchurian
situation, although he will devote the
greater part of his time to trade ques-
tions.
The discussions of these questions
with the Japanese government may or
may not reach the stage of a formal
protest by the United States under the
Hay agreement The discussion may
or may not become public. 1t may or
may not cause a renewal of strained
relations between Japan and America
But at any rate the atmosphere in
Washington is distinctly unfriendly to
the Japanese in Manchuria at this time.
There is a general disposition to suspect
the Japanese of Interior purposes in
everything they do or say. The Jap
anese habit of Immediately reporting TO
take with regard to the East Asiatic
situation has long served to disarm
adverse criticism, but there is now
disposition to discredit this apparent
candor
At the very time when the state de-
partment was forced to inspect the
Mukden treaties and listen to the storm
of protest against the Japanese game
of grab, the American people were en-
tertaining two distinguished Japanese
parties. Prince and Princess Kuni of
the imperial household were receiving
marked attention while the delegation
of Japanese business men headed by
Baron Shibusawa was being wined and
dined and toasted in all the industrial
and commercial centers of the country.
1t is very embarrassing to be forced
to question the sincersity of such de-
lightful people as the Japanese. The
American government, if it shall decide
to back up the Hay agreement and the
traditional American policy in East
Asia by protest against the japanese
blanket mining concession in Man
churia, has before it one of the most
delicate diplomatic problems with
which it has had to deal in years.
TOmorrow-The Disciples Of Christ.