El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-07-30

Wilson Had To @Give In
Had he at this juncture refused TO
consent TO the Shantung proposal he
believed, and those about him who
indicated by their expressions what
MS opinion was. believed that the
whole league OF nations project would
lie lost; that Japan and italy would
make common cause IN the confer
ence, and the result would be the
collapse OF the league OF nations plan
as a whole
Mr. Wilson had by this time recog-
nized that the sort Of peace he had ex-
. rected 10 procure AZ Versailles was
impossible Of attainment He had al
ready made concessions 10 the British
and 70 the French in the matter Of the
freedom d the seas and the Sarre val
ley, which armed both the Italians and
the japanese with claims for equal
tolerance IN matters as important to
them as We're these other questions to
the British and to the French
The president was warned by many
Amerncans that a surrender in the
matter Of Shantung would supply his
political enemies with an admirable
issue He had moreover to listen to
appeals from the Chinese themselves
which could not have failed 10 awaken
his sympathy and reach his sense OF
Justice
Only Temporary Injustice.
His decision TO yield in the matter
OF Shantung was due. so far as one
can judge, to a conviction that tenn
porary injustice in this case would be
remedied by ultimate reconsideration
and proper settlement when the
league itself was constituted. whereas
if he declined TO give his assent to
the temporary compromise the league
Of nations itself would fall
II is essential to recognize in the
Ehrrnfrrrrr~ flair . nf
cisely the sort that was made inevi-
table when the president undertook to Z
obtain a peace based upon the Il
points and at the same time to pro-
cure the creation Of league Of ma
tons
As the conference progressed he
found himself again and again COM /
PEELED 10 yield in the matters Of the
Il points in order to save the league /
OF nations.
Had To Make Concessions.
As the conference progressed he {
found himself compelled to agree to /
the program OF the representatives of .
those nations in order thereby to en-
list their support for what was his
essential objective. The Il points be-
came, in a certain sense, the material I
Of trades, Dy which the league Of ma 4
tions was purchased. The fact that j
the Italian people supported their gov
eminent against his appeal for justice {
was for Mr.. Wilson a establishment 4
which partly at least explained the /
Shantung concessions. It was the I
ultimate demonstration OF the value, /
relative and absolute. which Mr. will I
son placed upon the league of ma 4
tons
President Wilson's decision in the
Shantung matter. was, perhaps, the 4
greatest single surprise to the Amer
leans in Paris. There had been gen
eral belief that whatever other con-
cessions were made by him he would /
not yield in a question which far
more than any other point at issue
American interests and
touched American policy. The news
that the japanese claims had been
recognized in their entirety came then
as something Of q sensation
As for the Japanese, those IN Paris
celebrated their success around the
green table in something OF the spirit
which the Germans displayed in cele-
bratinE their victories in the early
stages of the war. They made 70 con-
cealment alike of the extent Of their
success and for them the more es-
seutial circumstances that they mad
triumphed over the United States
Copyright. 1919, by Mcclure Newsps-
per Syndicate