The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-09-15
FACTS REGARDING sHANrUNG.

Former President Taft assumed recently to
tell the people of the United States how Shan
Itung came into the hands of Germany. The
exact facts in respect to the Shantung matter
have not been set forth as clearly and fully as
could be desired declared Mr.. Taft "What
Germany had in China was granted her by
China at the time of the boxer troubles by way
of an indemnity for the killing of her minister
Baron Kettler, and was one of the concessions
to foreign powers which grew out of the rising
against the foreigners in the time of the dow
ager empress.
Replying to this statement, Senator Knox,
secretary of state under Mr.. Taft, pointed out
that the boxer instruction occurred in 1900,
while Germany got the concession some three
or four years earlier as the result of the muir
der by Chinese outlaws of two German mission
aries, not diplomatic ministers, in 1897. This
gave Germany an opportunity to carry out
policy adopted in 1896 to have a port and
sphere of influence in China and that was to
be the bay of Kiaochow and the environment of
the Shantung peninsula. The indemnity de-
manded for the murder of Kettler was money
indemnity determined by protocol of 1901.
Technically China could not have been held for
the Shantung concession indemnity because a
government is not responsible for the acts of
declared outlaws.
If Mr.. Taft will read the treaty Of peace he
will discover, under article hundred and
ffty-six, the first paragraph relating to Shan
tung, that Germany renounces, in favor OF
Japan, all her rights title and privileges
which she acquired in virtue of the treaty con-
cluded with her by China on March 6, 1898, and
Of all other arrangements relative to the pro-
vince of Shantung'' This treaty was conclud-
ed two years before the boxer rebellion.
There is absolutely no excuse for such ignor-
ance on the part of Mr.. Taft, for at the time of
the boxer rebellion he was in Manila as COVER
nor of the Philippine islands, and presumably
intimately acquainted and in touch with events
in the far eastern theater of activities If the
remainder of his addresses to the American
people are based on information as incorrect as
that with respect to Shantung he is disquali-
fed in advance as the mentor of International
ism.
Some unknown nation forced President Will
son to surrender our right to pass our coast
wise traffic through the Panama canal free of
tolls; Colombia forced him to surrender twenty
five million dollars as the price of her friend
ship; Japan forced him to surrender principle
in order that Shantung might remain under
Japanese domination; the railroad brother
hoods forced him to surrender under threat of
destruction of industry in 1916; but now, with
out any apparent forcing, he voluntarily pro-
poses to surrender American sovereignty to a
league Of nations in which Great Britain will
have six votes to our one. Evidently he has ac-
quired the surrender habit so strongly that it
has become second nature.
William Randolph Hearst got out a special
edition of his San Francisco newspaper to well
come the Pacific fleet on its arrival within the
bay. If Germany had been successful in the
war, no doubt Hearst would have issued his
welcoming edition in German.
An exchange says that intervention will unite
Mexcans. Well, since everything else has been
tried without success it might not be a bad idea
To exnariment with a little intervening