Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-08-07
THE ISHII MISSION
By OOREMUs sCUo0GR

japan Is on the ttptOe OF eAp6Cta
, ton over the mission OF hlSCOunt ISM
ana MS suite TO Washington Inc
hopes conferred IN this sperlal emba>-
sage MlrIUr the Two rcaI parties into
which the nation is divided. Oall one
OF these the Germanlzed, or mllltarls.
TIC, or JlEgO element, OF whatever
name YOU VIII TO signify The ueN OteeS
or the principle OF the strong arm.
But yeSUerda! II was dominant mere
| and slgnanzed It's power by capturing
against It's better Judgment the gov
ernment headed by Marquis Okuma.
But that spectacular victory marked
its downfall for II could not endure
the turning OF the limelight OF the
worlds puDlic OPINION upon its dis
credited morality. But though no
longer ascendant in Japan IL is by
no means dead IL stlll controls some
OF the journals.
Ibis element in the nation which
forced \lscOunt katO to issue the ia
nous Il articles, which wants to hold
klauChOw, is bound 10 incorporate
south ManChuria formally into the
| empire, and hankerS even alter the
control OF North China IS the author
OF the phrase, The AsiatiC Monroe
DUCtrlne, ana loves TO eXpatla.e up
on the analogy which the situation
or China and Japan bears to that OF
MeAlcO ana the Uniteu States. And
not a few Americans, carried away
by the phraseOlOgy, are taking up
these rallylng cries as though they
were the maXimS OF political wisdom
! as we'll as OF international square
dealing. They tail to see that the
point Of view represented by these
fOrmulae leave China entirely out OF
consideration as though she were No
party TO the policy they propose.
The Monroe Doctrine was a perfect
ly simple declaration and concealed no
Interior aims. 1t warned Europe that
the United States would tolerate no
territorial exploitation OF any Amer
lean state by European power. What
ever COrollaries TO ;IIs nave been suO-
seQuently added as in the cases Of
Hayti and SantO Domingo, the United
States never claimed that it had the
right to seize territory or fOreclOse
thereon where IL mad forbidden other
powers, nor did it claim for itself spe-
Cial or paramount interests or spheres
OF influence in North or South Amer
lean states outside of its own do
main. If the "AsiatiC Monroe Doc
trine means LOT eastern ASIA exactly
what the Monroe Doctrine has meant
for America, the United States should
be the first to stand behind Japan in
declaration that no territorial az
OronRi1nnont CHI hnnooTOrf, ho 70
Grated at the expense of China This
would neCesSitate Japan's refusing to
do what all the rest of the world
would be warned to refrain from do
ing. That would involve the restOra-
ton of kiauchOW and end the claim
of any foreign power to special or
paramount interests or spheres of in
fluence in the great Aslatic republic.
AS matter OF fact the United States
never dreamed of limiting in the
slightest degree the freedom Of the
other American countries, the trade
of many of which with Europe far eX
ceeded that with Uncle Sam.
1t may be we'll to consider for a
moment the actual facts behind this
phrase paramount interest" Which
nation has the right historically to
claim this in China, Japan or Amer
lea? For nearly 100 years the United
States has been flooding China with
the best it has had to give. 1t has
dotted the country with schools and
colleges, has commissioned thousands
of its most unselfisn and highly Cul-
tured men and women to give their
lives in helping the Chinese to a
higher plane of civilization and pros
perity, and of late it has planned a
hygienic campaign Of the largest sig
nificance for the nation and is back,
ing this movement with uneXampleG
generosity. In addition to this it has
freely educated large numbers Of
young Chinese in its choicest towns
and leading universities, and signaled
it's unselfish interest in its neighbOr's
welfare by returning a large part of
the Boxer indemnity. Furthermore, it
has freely extended to China both
sympathy and backing in helping her
rid herself of the opium curse. All
this constitutes a special interest, or
If you will, sphere of influence the
like of which no other nation can for
moment claim.
What good has Japan rendered
China either in forcing from her the
lease of certain parts of Manchuria or
in appropriating Germany's steal Of
Kiauchow that can for a moment be
compared with this record of the
United States?
Is it not time for nations of the al
lied group to stop thinking in terms
of the nineteenth century and to begin
using the concepts with which the
world war has replaced these ancient
symbols?
The only interest or influence in a
nation to which any other has a right
to lay claim is that created by friend
ly service. The very nature of this
interest forbids it's use in selfish eX-
ploitation. But the noisy element in
Japan which is sensitive over the ma
tons influence on the AsiatiC CONT.
nent and which demands that other
powers concede to it special privileges
in that republic, privileges which no