Evening star., 1919-09-22
PRESIDENT LEAVES
COAST IN TRIUMPH,
|SLAWRENCE VIEW
Writer Says Senator Johnson
Has Much to Explain to
His Constituents.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
EN- ROUTE TO RENO, New, Septem-
Der 22-President Wilson leaves the
Pacific coast triumphant. That is an
extreme statement to make and Will
be disputed by those who look at the
league of nations as political Ques-
ton or as somehow akin to the pres
tfge or political fortunes Of Woodrow
Wilson. But the idea, not necessarily
the man. has triumphed. Not only
such demonstrations Of enthusiasm.
but such quick perception of the logic
Of the argument, such readiness TO
accept the plain language of the treaty
of peace rather than the inferences
and implications read into the docu-
ment by men who seek. not its re-
vision or perfection but its absolute
defeat: such spontaneous acclaim as
the Pacific coast has given editortally.
vocally, politically and otherwise can
have but one meaning to any one who
forgets the hypocrisy of both the
democratic and republican parties and
their respective demagogues and OBJ
serves mass impulse, mass reasoning
and mass demand.
Praises Speech.
In many respects the speech which
President Wilson made at the Audi
torium in Los Angeles was the best
of his whole tour. Not because so
many johnson men stood with him
and cheered. not because republicans
predominated in the meeting, not be-
cause California felt ,REepd that che
had cast the deciding e1zttoraf votes
which made Woodrow Wilson Presi-
dent, but because the sheer force OF
his explanations on AkkM@1nH. on the
question of! six votes TOR British to
Americas one. and the policy Of iso-
Iafion or partnership. caused a deep
reaction against the men who are now
believed to have misrepresented the
contents of the treaty itself. an un-
forgivable thing in an Intelligent elec-
torate like California.
Status Of MI. johnson.
Senator Hiram johnson is the
strongest political figure in the state.
We're there an election tomorrow and
domestic issues involved he would
carry the state. but his own friends
have told me that they feared he
would not be successful on the league
a Cy
they were not altogether sure some
permanent damage had not been done
to his remarkable prestige by his tao
tics in the league of nations contro-
versy.
Practically every argument but one
which Senator Johnson has made was
answered by the President while he
was in California. Mr.. Wilson failed
to explain why American troops stayed
in Siberia and why more Of them were
still sailing for Russia. The anti
league newspapers are offering that
concrete fact of the present as against
the Presidents promises of the future
and the President has not yet given
an idea of what the United States
government is driving at in its ST.
berian policy.
People Eager to Hear.
But as to the other points made bv
Mr.. johnson. while the President did
not mention the junior senator from
California by name, nevertheless his
audiences seemed familiar with the
senator's arguments and were in
tensely eager to hear Mr.. Wilson's
The President made even clearer
than he did at San Francisco the
background of the Shantung award.
Inasmuch as it was II pm in Los An
geles. and. therefore, 1 am. Sunday
morning in the east, the text of the
President's speech missed the main
editions OF eastern newspapers. So I
quote some pertinent Passages.
AFTER referring, for instance, to ia
pans solemn promise to return Shan
tung to China soon after that country
ratines the peace treaty. the -Presi-
Great Britain has not promised +o
return Wei-Hai-Wai. France has NOT
promised to return her part. Japan
mas promised to relinquish all the SOW
ereisn rights which were ACQUIRED NV
Germany for. the remaining seventy.
eisnt OF tne ninety-nine years of the
tease ana to retain only what. other
governments have in many other
parts of China. namely, the rieht tn
build and operate the railways under
a corporation and to exploit the mines
IN the immediate neighborhood Of
those railways. In other words, she
retains only the rights of economic
concessionnaires.
personaily I am frank to say that
think all these nations have invaded
some OF the essential rights OF chine
by going too far in the Concessions
wnlch " o56 faey stona have demanded: but that
a new story. In the new story we
all have the right to talk about VIA :
they have been doing and to convince
the them ,,ay by the a,p pressure Of public opin-
would be Just and right"
And in another place in his sneecb
the President asked dramaticaIiv.
Would Put to Test.
Let US put these gentlemen to their
test who are objecting to the Shan
tung settlement. Are they ready 70
fight Great Britain and France and
Japan. who will have to stand to-
gether in order to get this province
back for China? I know they are NOT.
And their interest in China is not the
interest of assisting China but Of de-
feating the treaty. They know be-
forehand that a modification of the
treaty in that respect cannot be OBJ
tained. and they are now insisting
upon what they know Is impossible.
But If thSy ratify the treaty and
accept the covenant they do put
themselves in a position. to assist
China. l am for helping China and
not turning away from the only way
in which can help her. Those are
the facts about Shantung. Doesn't the
thing look little different?"
II was not long after this that thn