Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-09-23
When Japan Won at Paris

Paris. His story, quite circumstantal, throw.
bright light on the quality of American
| diplomacy there exhibited. Leading up to tht
Japanese issue, Mr.. Gallagher recounts the set
| Element of the Adriatic controversy, including
Fiume On this he says:
| Both the Chinese and Japanese read the
| presidents Adriatc announcement with the
| deepest interest. 1t was the clarion call for
| the rights of man, as against the special in
terests Of powerful nations. The Chinese
were jubilant l sat with DR.. Wang and we
read over the statement, sentence by sem
tence. l met member of the Japanese dele
| CATION and he admitted to me that, particu-
Early remembering Wilson's word in present
ing the draft covenant at the plenary on Feb
ruary IA, it looked as if President Wilson was
claims. That night Mr. Wilson's fame and his
| power climbed higher than those of any other
man in the worlds history. He was the Paris
conference. Not merely had he dared to
challenge the basic principle of imperialism,
but he was in effect offering himself to the
peoples of the more chaotic parts of Europe
as their leader in the desperate struggle
against the other dangerous extreme, bolshe
vism
Two nights later Baron Maxine presented his
amendment providing for some sort of recogni.
ton along racial lines. How this was met Mr.
Gallagher thus recounts:
He trimmed down his amendment so that
it merely recorded acceptance of the prin-
clple OF the equality of nations and the just
treatment OF their nationals"
Every nation represented at the meeting,
with the exception of the United States and
Great Britain, supported Makinos amend
ment through their spokesman on the COM
mission for the League of Nations. | notice
frequent assertion in the newspapers that
Makino's amendment was defeated by mar
row majority That is utterly incorrect. 1t
was carried by sweeping majority, nclud-
ing China. DR.. koo very properly, made one
OF the best speeches supporting the Japanese
baron. Racial and national equality suffered
defeat at the hands of Woodrow Wilson, at
the behest of Lord Robert Cecil. After every
body had spoken. Baron Maxine asked the
president if his amendment was adopted
The president said, mo. That requires
unanimity'
In plain words, Baron Maxine and the
Japanese were tricked out of their just rights
and sweeping victory in the commission on
the League of Nations The Japanese were
seriously annoyed. The younger Japanese
newspaper men, who were present i'll Paris
IN strong force, were openly angry. l talked
with several of them and they complained
very bitterly that Maxine was too gentle and
too nice in his attitude toward the big
Three" Even some of the Older and wiser
Japanese journalists thought that Japan
might well mark its resentment of this mis-
treatment by some bold, dramatic act. At
that moment the Italian walk-out had every
body guessing whether or not the conference
of Paris was to end in disruption. On the
following night | dined with one of the very
wlsest OF the Japanese delegates. I said to.
him: We'll, how about it? If you are turned
down on shantung, will you pack up and go,
like the Italians?"
My Japanese friend laughed very heartily.
Mr.. Gallagher" said he, you know us too
we'll to put any stock in such silly gossip"
Then his face became clouded and serious as
he said with deliberation: mol Japan will
not walk out There is not the slightest
shadow of chance of Japan making a
separate peace with Germany. There is not
the least chance that Japan's allies will fail in
their pledges to US. We are not disturbed"
On the morning of April "a a young
Japanese newspaper man startled the various
correspondents with an announcement that the
Japanese were packing up, which was accepted
as sign that they too, were about to leave the
conference. The effect of this report most i'm
portant in its results, for it gave Shantung to
Japan. Mr.. Gallagher records:
The bright reporters rushed to the Bourse,
and the news was flashed all over the world
that the Japanese delegation was packing up
that Mr.. ljuin, the Japanese ambassador at
Rome, had called upon Baron Sonnino, the
Italian foreign minister, and pledged Japans
support to the Italian Adriatic position; that
the conference was collapsing, because Will
would not give Italy Fiume or Japan
Klaochow, or acknowledge the racial and ma
tona1 equality of the Japanese
Within the same hour Mr.. Odagiri, the ia
nous Japanese banker. mentioned casually
to Mr. Thomas w. Lament that there was
more than one side to the Chinese financial
consortium plans being pushed by the Amer
lean government and that it would be diff
cult for the Japanese to come in, if Japan
should leave the peace conference defeated on
all points Upon the same day Lord Robert
Cecil told Colonel House that while Baron
Maxine was loyalty eager to aid League of
Nations, it was becoming increasingly diff
cult to assure Japanese support on account
of the general attitude of the conference to-
ward Japan. A few minutes later Colonel
House learned about the trunks, and the
boxes, and the expected exodus of the
Japanese delegation from Paris. He got in
touch with the president at once Somebody
confirmed the wild rumors. The president i'm
mediately reversed himself in the matter of
Kiaochou, shut himself away from his far
eastern advisers and the Chinese, and as
seated to Baron Makino's solution. l am
in position to know that the Japanese con-
coded nothing nor did they bargain their
racial amendment for the Shantung articles.
They won upon their own terms and upon
facts. Mr. Wilson lost all the tricks upon silly
gossip.
The trunks and boxes at the Hotel Bristol
and the Hotel Meurice were piled one-upon
the other in preparation for transfer to the
magnificent villa at so Rue de Bassano that
had just been leased for the Marquis Saionji.
The marquis was not moving out He was