The San Francisco call., 1909-12-27
IRE OF NIPPON
FORCED MUkDFN
ENVOY TO QUIT
Former Consul F. D. Cloud Re.
turns on Liner Korea After
His Recall From Post


That there was dash of the bitters
of japanese diplomacy in the cup which
Fred D.. Cloud. former United States
consul at Dfukden, has been drinking
as he crossed the Pacific homeward
bound on the liner Korea, was the
opinion expressed yesterday when the
steamer docked, by the fellow pas
sengers of the returning consular Of
ficialA While Mukden is a Chinese sta
ton and one in which the Japanese
government is not presumed officially
to have say. that fact does not dis
credit the rumor of Clouds complica-
tions in the orient.
1t is pointed out that the recall of
Cloud may be a repetition of the Crane
incident. in which the japanese gov
ernment was reported to have effected
the recall of Crane, the newly ap-
pointed minister of the United states to
China.
Cloud is thought to have displeased
the japanese government by the frank
ness of his criticisms made TO the
state department at Washington of the
methods of the Nippon interests at the
Manchurian point. Extracts of the re-
port were published in a New York
Japan, where they excited considerable
adverse comment. So Cloud came home
yesterday. denying like a good diplo-
mat that international complications
had anything to do with his recall.
But the japanese, said Clouds fell
low passengers on the Korea, did to
him what they did to Crane
Cloud was ihclined to. believe that
his recall was in no way connected
with his criticisms of Japan. "Of the
contents of my report he said, Il can
say nothing. 1t was confidential and
intended solely for the information of
the state department. How the press
got hold of it do not know. The first
inkling that / received of the publicity
gwen to my report was when the
japanese papers came out with edi-
torial protests against my criticisms
and when l was ordered home they
suggested that had been recalled be-
cause 1 had displeased Japan.
"As a matter of fact Japan had no
grounds to criticize my report. as it
was confined to facts capable of proof
and with which ! thought it my duty
to acquaint the state department
have no reason to believe that there is
any connection between my report and
my recall AS far as know I will be
assigned to duty with the department
in Washington"
Cloud is from Des Moines, Ia, and
den was attached to the United States
legation at Peking as a student He
succeeded w. D. Straight and was sue
ceeded at Mukden by Gordon Paddock
who, was vice consul general at Seoul
The chief disputes against the Japa-
nese at Mukden which have been
started by the Americans there, have
been the liberal mining concessions
which the Japanese have secured in
preference. to, Americans and others and
which are said to have been in violation
of Secretary Hays open door policy,
and also the unfair treatment accorded
American shippers over the japanese
railroad in Manchuria.
AS long ago as July the Americans
in Mukden protested to. the American
consul there that the Japanese ship
pers proffted by secret rebate which
was given them on all shipments so
that the Americans were powefless to
compete with them in the trade of
which shipping was. factor. The for
eign shipments were at that time ex-
cluded from the railroad under the min
imum cargo regulations. The merchants
joined in a protest to the American
consul, and he in turn forwarded the
complaint to the state department
The chief difficulty arose in Septem-
Der over the mining concessions, aud
that was so serious that the state de-
partment initiated a protest to be sent
to Tokyo. Japan negotiated favor
liable convention with China. in which
American mining interests had no part
Later, in October. il developed that the
United States would make a formal
protest against the action of Japan and
China In arranging for the RECONSTRUCT
tion of the Antung -Mukden railroad in
such a manner that American interests
were sighted