Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-07-06
How About Japan
BY Frederic Y. Haskin

to do the work is China at liberty to
act as she pleases." It was this par
ticular clause that moved the far
sighted John Hay to build upsthe intri-
cate series of agreements which con-
stitute the open door in China. Now
this privilege Of Germany's passes to
Japan.
In the case Of Germany the prefer
entail rights involved In the clause
were not much Of menace to America
or to European powers. because Ger.
many soon found that they constituted
doubtful benefit. II she tried to
shut the door in Shantung. England
shut the door in the rich Yangtze val
ley, France closed her out of the far
south, and Russia and Japan could
exercise their similar privileges
against her in the north. So the door
was kept open all around to the great
benefit of the United States, whose
, merchants ask nothing more than
. fair field and no favors. 1t is highly
improbable that Japan will continue
the German policy In the matter, If she
, succeeds permanently to Germany's
! privileges.
Japan guaranteed the territorial in
tegrity and sovereignty of Korea IN all
, her treaties and proclamations up to
, the second renewal Of the Anglo
Japanese alliance Then the point was
unobtrusively dropped, and today
Korea Is an integral part OF the Jap
anese empire. Japan also guaranteed
the territorial integrity Of China ind
the open door doctrine in Chinese ter
ritory; today the great Chinese rrov-
ince of Manchuria is absolutely dom1n-
ated by Japan, and American trade Is
falling off rapidly. Judging the future
by the past, as we'll as by Japan's &C
lions in Shantung in the past year, 1t
! is only reasonable to deduce that the
door will be closed in Shantung also
Such a course affects the United
States gravely in two ways. In the
first place, the stability OF an arrange
ment such as the open door doctrine,
by which all of the powers agree to
treat foreigners on an equal basis with
their own nationals, even in those
Chinese provinces which they domin'
ate, depends for it's stability entirely
on the good faith of all concerned. II
J one of the parties violates the spirit
of the contract, self defence compels
all the others to do likewise. II a
number of merchants establish fixed
price for -four and agree not to sell
below that price, the scheme works
so long as they all hold by it. II one
! of them cuts the price, all the others
have to follow suit. ~ .
So in China, II one power again sets
up sphere Of influence, the others
will have to drop the open door and go
back to their own respective spheres.
| The establishment OF sphere of in
! fluence is opposed to all American
theories of commerce and information
al relations. The American wants the
government to stay out of business.
Give him fair chance and he can
look out for himself. The American
government, moreover, does not want
to establish sphere of influence to
dominate in a helpless nation. Such
a proceeding is repugnant to all our
ideas. The United States proposed and
established the open door policy.
Even IL the United States should
make virtue of necessity and enter
the scramble for sphere of her own,
China has practically nothing left to
give. Russia and Japan in Manchuria
and Mongolia, now Japan in Shantung,
England in central China, France in
the south, leaves nothing but the
metropolitan province Of Chilli, the
heart of the Chinese government, the
seat Of Picking, over which China can
certainly not be expected to give up
any rights. So a return to the sphere
of influence doctrine would be a death
blow to American commerce in China.
1t has been said that our commerce
to China does not amount to much.
We are told that our trade with Japan
is much greater, that our logical
course is to cooperate with Japan in
trading with China-or, as it might be
put less euphemistically, in exploiting
China Aside from the ethics OF. the
case, such an idea ia extremely short
sighted. The development of the
tremendous natural resources Of China
has hardly begun. She is one of the
richest countries on earth. Her four
hundred million people are just gin
ming to demand the products of west.
ern industry. When that demand rises
China will be the greatest market the
world has ever seen. For the United
States to resign her right to free COM
petition in that market would be a
costly and colossal blunder.
! One other aspect Of the Shantung
situation is worth careful considera-
ton. Japan's course points to an
elimination of Germany from the trade
of the orient. The allies have already
declared their intention Of forcing
German trade from all their domin-
ions. That means India, Australia,
Canada, most of Africa. There Is moth
ing left but South America. In other
words, if Germany is to be eliminated
from the orient, the merchants of the
United States in building up their care
fully planned and much desired trade
with the Latin-American republics
will have thrown against them the full
force Of the most efficient and scien-
tiflc export organization Of the modern
world. Germany will put up terrific
fight for trade wherever she can get it
\ when the war Is over.
BY entering the world conflict,
Japan has created whole set Of new
issues and problems. 1t is unfortunate