New-York tribune., 1919-09-18

thing that America ought to have
learned more promptly than any other
country. 1t is that, being made up
out or all the ranks of humanity, in
serving itself it must serve the whole
human race. | suppose I could not
command words which would exag~
gerate the present expectations Of
the world with regard to the United
States.
I'VE cannot desert humanity. We
arc the trustees of humanity and we
must see that We redeem the pledges
which are always implicit in so great
trusteeship.
II cannot conceive motive ade
quate to hold men off from this
thing.
Let me take the point in which
my initial sympathy is most with
them, the matter Of the cession to
Japan of the interests of Germany
IN Shantung, in China. l said to nv
Japanese colleagues on the other
side of the sea that ! am not sat-
ished with this settlement. | think
1T ought to be different. But when
gentlemen propose to cure it bv
striking that clause out of the
treaty or by ourselves withholding
our adherence to the treaty they
propose an irrational thing.
No Excuse for What
Berlin Took From China
"lt was in 1898 that China ceded
these rights and concessions to
Germany. The pretext was that
some German missionaries had been
Killed. NY heart aches, l must say.
when I think how we have made an
nf
work a deep wrong. The central
government of China had done all
1t could to protect those German
missionaries. Their death was due
to local disturbances. to local pas
sions, to local antipathy against the
sforelgner There was nothing that
the Chinese government as whole
could Justly be held responsible for.
But suppose there had been? Two
CHRISTIAN missionaries are killed,
and. therefore, one great nation
robs another and does a thing
which is fundamentally unchristian
and heather. For there was no
adequate excuse for what Germany
exacted of China.
II read again only the other day
the phrases in which poor China was
made to make the concession. She
''Ao ''AeANS w Iii0hC tHdt Ill WORDS OlC
tated by Germany-in view Of her
gratitude to Germany for certain
services rendered, the deepest
hypocrisy conceivable. She was
obliged to do SO by force.
Russia Also Forced
Concessions From Peking
Then Russia came in and Obliged
China to cede her Port Arthur and
Ia Lien Wan, not for quite so long
period. but upon substantially the
same terms. Then England must
needs have Wei Hei Wei as an equiv
alent concession to that which had
been made to Germany. And pres
emily certain ports and territory
back of them were ceded upon SINH
lar principles to France.
Everybody got in except the
United States and said: II Germany
is going to get something We will
get something Why, no one of them
was entitled to it; no one of them
had any business in there on such
terms. And then, when the Japa-
nese-Russiar war came Japan did
what she has done in this war--she
attacked Port Arthur and captured
Port Arthur, and Port Arthur was
ceded to her as a consequence of the
war.
mo protest was made by the GOV
ernment Of the United States against
the original concession Of this Shan
tung territory 20 Germany. One Of
the ighest-mnded men Of our his
tory was President at that tin1e-I
mean Mr.. Mckinley. One of the
ablest men we ever had as Secretary
OF State. John Hay, occupied that
great office And in the message of
Mr.. Mckinley about this transaction
he said that inasmuch as the powers
that had taken these territories had
agreed to keep the doors open for
our commerce, there was no reason
why we should object. Just so we
could trade with these stolen terri
tories, we were willing to let them
ha ctolen