New Britain herald., 1915-12-31
SUGGEST WAY ID
 DROP PHILIPPINES
U. 5. Might Strike Bargain With European Nations and Japan


 H. Sherrill. former United States Min
 ister to the Argentine Republic, il
 an address here last night advanced
 the suggestions that the United State:
 pean nations and Japan whereby
 American possession of the Philip
 pines would be relinquished if the
 Old World nations would give UT their few remaining colonial posses. sions in the Western Hemisphere. MT
 Sherrill was elaborating upon the views which he expounded some time ago to the effect that the Monroe Doc Urine should be completed, by having the United States purchase and set free all existing European colonies in the New World, except Canada, which is already self-governing.
 In last nights address. which was delivered at a banquet given by the Carnegie Foundation to the Am erican Institute of International Law and other societies MT. Sherrill said that to make sure of a continuing peace on the Pacific, the United States must act as though the Monroe Doctrine, It asked others to do. For nearly a century he said, the United States had preached to all the outside world against interference with the affairs of this hemisphere. and peace on the Pacific could not be assured until Japan was convinced that what we preach on the eastern shores of that ocean we are willing to practice on the western. ~.
 Protector of China.
 He said:
 There is no use disguising the fact that many Americans feel that We are and ought to be the natural protector of China against what they call Japanese aggression. Until we definitely exercise that international bogey We will never gain that com plete confidence of Japan which will spell continued peace on the Pacific.
 The roost of this dangerous non- sense of our being the natural pro- tector of China run back into the dis tant past, to the days when the New England clipper ships traded so profit ably with China, and brought back such cupidity stirring tales of the fabulous wealth of the Far East Thanks to that foolish legislation the Reciprocity Act of 1928, which took away protection from our merchant marine. our ships disappeared from the seas, but the memory of those Chinese profits and the stories of Chinese commercial possibilities per sisted. But what are the cold facts The foreign trade of Latin America is eighteen times greater than that of China and the foreign trade of Ar gentina alone almost equals that of China and Japan put together. and furthermore it is increasing at a greater rate.
 Chief Cause of Nonsense.
 "But the chief cause of this Ma tional Protector of China nonsense Is the very mistaken impression gen. erally prevailing in our country con- cerning the Open Door in China which it is believed MT. John Hay ar ranged by his clever series of com- munications sent September 6, 1899, to France. Germany. England, Rus sio. Italy and Japan through our di- plomatic representatives there mak- Ing an identical proposal to each, which he clinched by reporting to each of these governments March 20. 1900 that all the others had accepted his proposal. It was a brilliant di- blomatic stroke and was supposed at the time not only to have set the door open in China but to have fixed 1t open for all time. But what hap pened the very first time we starred to use that door, The third c1au~ of the Hay proposal dealt especially with the railroad situation in China and yet when Mir. Knox as Secretary of State attempted to effect the in- ternationa1 naturalization of the Man churian Railways, he found the open door locked and bolted. It is to be hoped that we shall always main- tain our treaty rights in China along with those of other nations, but those who still believe that we have an open door there which will give us special privileges are dreaming an empty dream
 And this brings us to our most Yexed problem-the Philippines and what to do with them. We hold those islands as the chance results of war and not because of the lust for ter ritory or any desire for foothold in the Orient. but what is the view point of Japan? How would we feel If Japan came into possession of the West Indian Islands ?-would it not affront the Monroe Doctrine? ? Why then should we be good Pan- Americans only in the Caribbean Sea and not ourselves practice the same stay at home and mind your own business policy in the Orient? It is but natural for the Japanese to won- der how we can continue persistently to object to foreign colonizotion i, the westeu Hemisphere while we are actually il possession of large colo- nies near the coast of Asia. This iraYai ie .-.