Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-18
WILSON CLEARS
JAP QUESTION
IN CALIFORNIA
Shows How League VIII
Give China Protection
She Has Never Had.
BIZ DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial to The Argus.)

I
two main sources of opposition to
| the peace treaty, namely, the argu-
ment of the Irish sympathiZers,
who claim Great Britain has six
votes in the proposed League Of Ma
tiOnS to Americas one, and the
easily aroused antipathy to any
thing Japanese which has been
kindled anew in California by the
alleged impropriety of the United
States in sanctioning the transfer
of German rights in Shantung to
Japan. The president realized that
California wanted to know about
Shantung, and he gave the mosl
detailed explanation he has yet
made on the question of leased ter
ritory in China Mr. Wilson told
how Germany, making pretext OF
the murder of missionaries in or
der to seize Kiao Chow, practical
Iy forced China in 1898 to lease
territory and valuable mining and
railway rights for a period of SO
years. Those rights would have
remained in Germany's hands but
for the recent war, when Japan
alone undertook to drive Germany
from the far east.
No Protests Then.
But Just as the United States in
1898, when William Mckinley was
president, did not lift its voice in
protest against the enforced ces
sion of Shantung to Germany, so
the United States when Theodore
Roosevelt was president did not
say a word in objection to the
transfer of Port Arthur from Rus
sia to Japan at the close of the
war between those two countries.
That, declared MIR. Wilson, is the
historical truth.
The presidents point was that
the whole business of taking terri
tory in China began in 1898. when
John Hay was secretary of state of
the United States, but America did
no: object so long as the open door
policy was maintained. so long as
she was permitted to trade on even
terms in those leased territories.
Mr. Wilson openly condemned the
system whereby Germany, Russia,
France and Japan had N turn ob-
iained Chinese territory and the
plain implication of his remarks
was that America could not very
well ask Japan to give up her con-
cessions in China without ASKING
all the other powers 70 do likewise
Will Give Back All Rights.
But, the president rnveale5 the
system is going to be change. He
disclosed for the first time that he
had exacted at Paris a promise
from all the powers that they
would cede back to China the rights
they had obtained That, he de-
clared, was the service which
would be performed for China by
the League of Nations.
He insisted that the peace confer
ence had really taken nothing from
China, but had simply transferred
from Germany to Japan the rights
and privileges which in any case
China would not have gotten back
from Germany for 80 years. But
he added, significantly, that some
thing had been obtained for China
which she would never have OBJ
tanned from Germany, namely a
definite promise to surrender KiaO
Chau and rights of sovereignty in
Shantung.
Says League Ends Robbery.
Mr.. Wilson condemns the whole
system of robbing China of terri
tory but says the League of Ma
tions at last puts an end to it, for
under the famous article 10, where
by all the members promise to re
spect and preserve" the territorial
integrity of all nations signatOry
to the treaty, it will be impossible
for any territory TO be taken from
China without the unanimous vote
of the council of the League and
the United States by being a mem
ber of that council could exercise
veto over any proposal whatso-
ever which tended TO violate the
spirit or the letter of article 10.
Explains Votes IN League.
The presidents explanation of
the voting in the league was very
well received. 1t was easy to see
the intense eagerness of his audi
ence to have him discuss the al
legged inequality in voting strength
as between Great Britain and the
United States Earlier in the day
Mr. Wilson had answered specific
questions in this regard which had
been propounded by the San Fran
cisco labor council. He reiterated
to the big audience of women at
luncheon that Americas single vote
was equivalent to the six votes of
the British colonies for those votes
were given not in the council but
the assembly of the league. He
declared that voting occurred only
on the question of admitting new
members and in order to make
vote valid it must contain
in its number the votes of all the
countries which are members of
the council And of course the
United States by voting aye or nay
in the council can invalidate the
vote of Great Britain's six colonies