Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-23
PRESIDENT GREETS
JAPANESE ENVOY
Viscount Ishii Presents Mes
sage of Good Will From
Emperor of Nippon.
OFFICIAL CALLS ARE MADE

call OF NlscouHt iSnll, dihudSSaooi ca
traordinary and head of the mission. on the
President The ambassador presented
citation to President Wilson from the
emperor and the people Of Japan.
The first full day of the mission in this
city was devoted to making formal calls
on officials of the administration. pre-
liminary to the opening of conferences at
which questions involving mutual cooper
alton between the United States and Ja-
pan in the war are to be discussed.
The program for today included calls
by the mission on Secretary Lansing by
Maj. Gen. Sugano and Lieut. Col Tani-
kawa on Secretary Baker and by Vice
Admiral Takeshita and Commander
Ando on Secretary Daniels. dinner
at the White House by the President.
with Viscount Ishii the guest of honor,
will round out the days activities.
Go to Discuss Shipping.
Among the most important war
measures which the mission is:expected
to discuss with officials are the dis
position of japanese shipping. with ?
view to making it of the greatest aid
in the conduct of the war; ocean
freight rates and the enlargement OF
Japans naval activities.
Members of the mission today ex-
pressed themselves as greatly pleased
over the cordiality of their reception
in the United States and at the many
evidences of good will shown.
Dine Informally With Ambassador.
Last night the members of the mission
dined informally with the Japanese
ambassador.
The mission, it is authoritatively ex-
planned, has not come here on a COM
mercial or political errand. but to greet
the United States as a brother nation
fighting for a common end and to de-
eide after consultation how best the
two nations can cooperate. both In an
economic and military sense, in carry
ing on the war. While viscount Ishii Is
vested with pienipotentiary powers,
the questions to be discussed will not
be political but those of expediency and
mutual assistance.
There is a field of work under the
head of cooperation in the war SUI
ficient to consume all of the time which
the commission has planned to spend in
Washington, making allowances for
the Inevitable official and semi-social
ceremonies which must take place.
Among the most important problems is
ping, with the view to making 1t of
the greatest assistance in the conduct
of the war. Already Japanese mer-
chant vessels have been carrying all
sorts of war cargoes in all parts OF
the world Nearly all of the enormous
shipments of munitions and supplies
for the Russian army from the United
States have crossed the Pacinc TO
Vladivostock in Japanese bottoms.
Japanese ships have carried cargoes OF
&t,s hx
British Indian armies from the far east
to the ports in the Mediterranean near
est the locations of these troops on
European battlefields.
Further Aid in Sea Traffic.
But the entente allies are looking to
Janan for still further assistance in solv-
ing the ocean transportation problem.
which ranks as first in Importance in the
war. 1t is understood that Japan stands
ready to render this additional assistance
within her abilities, and to contrive
means to do so is one of the prime OBJ
iects of the special mission.
America becomes an important factor
in meeting this demand because the
JAPANESE cannot build the great number
OF new ships needed for the trade with
out an adequate supply of structufa al steel
from the United States, the only country
now in a position to export any consid-
erabIe amount of this material. Such ex-
ports of steel can be made by America
only by self-sacrifice, for the tremendous
building program of the shipping board
promises to take the entire available do
mestic product Consequently II the
Japanese shipyards. now running in
very limited way, are to be supplied with
American steel there must be an agree
ment that the new Japanese tonnage is
to be devoted to war uses The definition
of this term war uses" VIII In itself con-
stitute difficult task for the commission.
Generally it is assumed it will include not
only vessels carrying munitions of war and
army supplies, but cargoes of foodstuffs
and material for clothing for the civilian
popula tions of the entente allied coun-
tries which must be maintained at full
productive capacity TO keep the vast al
lied armies in the field.
To Discuss Ocean Freight Rates.
An important secondary considera-
tion is that of freight rates, and 1t
remains to be seen whether the Japa-
nase shipowners can be induced to
content themselves with more moderate
profits than they have been making
in the past, thus conforming to the
scale of ocean freight rates which the
alr,as and the United States are ex-
nected to lay Aewn. Jar-a has a total
merca ntile tonnage of 100000 and is
addinp to this at the rate of 500, 900
tons per year. OF this total. about
four and a half per cent now is in the
entente war service.
Another war measure which the COM
mission is expected to discuss will be
the enlargement of Japanese naval
activities. Already Japan has been of
great service to her allies in relieving
them wholly of the necessary and
heavy task of patrolling the seas in
the far east. covering the Pacific from
China to Hawaii. and in assisting in
keeping down German and Austrian
submarines in the Mediterranean. It
has been suggested that these Japa-
nese naval activities might be extend
ed still farther to include patrol of
the whole north Pacific from shore to
shore. thus releasing the American
naval forces in those waters for serv-