The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1919-07-25
SENATORS AND
SHANTuNG
AND


forceful of the younger writer's noe
moulding the public thought OF the
nation.
The following article is from his
pen and as it is a clear exposition Of
the "Shantung affair" we hope that
the readers of the Banner will give
it a careful and thoughtful perusal:
Senator Borah, who is a passion
ate exponent of the literal text Of
Washington's farewell address, an
unyieIding advocate of the policy of
isolation, and an uncompromising OPP
ponent of the league of nations on
the ground that it would involve the
United States in European and Asia
tic policies, is quite willing, however.
to go to war with Japan over the
question of Stantung.
THE senator from Idaho is not
satisfied with the torrents of blood
that have been shed during the last
FIVE years AS he expressed his SEN
timents in the course of his attack
on the Shautung provision of the
treaty of peace. If war is the only al
Tentative, I am ready to face it, and
we might as well settle it now
That is precisely what the Borah pol
icy means-war and more war and
still more war. That is the direction
in which the opponents Of the treaty
and the league Of nations are trying
to lead the country.
"Borah and Lodge and Norris and
other republican senators have open
ed the fOodgates OF their eloquence
in protesting against the provisions
of the treaty which transfers to jap
an the rights that Germany formerly
had in the Shantung peninsula. Their
hearts are wrung by the wrong done
who would vote to modify the law
that excludes from the United States
any Chinaman who might wish to
come here to- earn a living. If the
United States senate has ever wit
messed cheaper exhibition of ire
sponsible demagogism than that stag
ed by these eminent gentlemen, we
can find no record Of it.
Nobody pretends that the Japan
csc government has shown great ger
crosby in the matter Of Shantung,
but at worst the treaty merely recog,
nizes an accomplished fact. japan
was already in ShantUng, and her
rights there were identical with our
own rights in Porto Rico. She lad
driven the Germans out and taken
over the German possessions precise
ly as we drove the Spaniards out Of
Porto Rico 1t was military pro-
cedure. What is more, it was mill
tary procedure that exerted an enor
nous influence upon the winning Of
the war, for it shattered the German
power in the Far East.
There has been no secret about
the Japanese demands for the Ger
man possessions in Shantung, and
the senators who are tearing passion
to tatters knew it as we'll when the
United States went into the war as
they know now. They have saved
all their indignation, however, for al
time when it could be exploded
against the treaty Of peace, and are
glibly talking about going to war
with Japan over a matter with which,
as opponents of the league of nations,
they insist that the United States
should have no concern whatever.
Knowing how they managed to
get elected, some of the senators nat
urally believe that the American peo-
pie are fools, but 1t is doubtful i'll
many of them can be fooled on this
issue. The American people. are not
going to permit the treaty of peace
to be wrecked because the Japanese
government behaved at the peace ia
BILE in exactly the same way that re-
publican critics of the president in
sisted that the United States should
have behaved. ~
But if there are senators who sim
cerely believe that the territorial in
tegrity of China is in jeopardy and
that this country should take steps to
safeguard it, they will find the one
sure weapon of protection in the
covenant of the league of nations.
The league is the only instrument by
which the selfish exploitation Of
China can be prevented; yet the sem
ators who now pretend to be the dis.
iYfnroGfad fwsonI1p