Evening star., 1919-05-03
|SAYS PRESIDENT
| FEELS FOR CHINA
Overseas Writer Presents
Point of View in Japanese
Settlement.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER-
Cablegram to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1879


Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 18l9b
PARIS, May 2.-Herewith ] am
able to give President Wilson's point
of view in the Chinese-Japanese set
element. The Presidents sympa-
thies are almost wholly with China.
He believes that China only accepted
Japan's twenty-one points under
menace and that Japan's pretensions
are somewhat exaggerated. AT the
same time he realizes that Japan Is
overcrowded and to give no outlet to the
surplus population is almost to invite q
future war.
Given the fact that Britain and
France already hold concessions in
China similar to those now claimed
by the Japanese. and that the United
States and Russia also hold minor
concessions. 1t would be difficult log
ically to refuse the former German
concessions to the Japanese without
at the same time asking the other
concess!onaries to surrender their
holdings. The President hopes the
day will come when everybody Will
give up the Chinese concessions. but
that day has not yet come.
Japan Would Have Quit Farley.
II President Wilson had decided
against Japan 1t is a practical GER
tainty that the Japanese would have
followed the Italians and left the
conference. Moreover. Britain, bound
to Japan by treaty and realizing that
the refusal of concessions to the ia
panese would morally weaken her
own holdings in China. was abso-
luteiy opposed to the Chinese point
Of view. Japan's withdrawal from
the conference would perhaps have
driven Britain to relax that close CO.
operation with American policies
which she has hitherto manifested.
With Italy out and with Japan out
the league of nations would run the
risk of simply becoming an alliance
to which would gradually have been
the japanese. Russians. Germans and
possibly even the Chinese. A renewal
Of balance Of power means future
wars. The only hope Of avoiding this
fatal combination of circumstances
lies. in tho Presidents opinion. in
making the membership in the league
OF nations as inclusive as possible and
animating it with spirit of real
good will and international solidarity.
Wants League to Be Success.
If, therefore, the Chinese-Japanese
decision does not seem to coincide
with the Wiisonian principles it is.
| first, because of the great practical
difficulty presented by the fact that
the other powers already hold con-
cessions In China and second, because
the President is more anxious to
| make the league of nations a sue
cess than he is to uphold any single
| principle at the cost of possibly Of
| wrecking the league.
This statement of policy bears out
, what I have repeated in several re-
cent dispatches The turning point
F.: in the peace conference came during
| the Saar crisis The President had
then to decide once for all whether
he would stand hard and fast on
! principle or whether while keeping
as closely as possible to principle he
would accept concessions necessary to
| the maintenance Of good relations with
| the present allies.
President Compromises.
| The settlement made few days
| later Of the French claims was com
President offered to Italy In his mem-
orandum of April IA was compro-
mise, for he promised Italy the Dalna-
! tian Islands, Lissa and the Albanian
port of valona His public appea! =; u
issued, first, because he knew that
! France and England were with him
| at least regarding Fiume. and. second.
because he had compromised as Tar
as he saw AT. Reasoning. therefore.
tlement, the italian negotiations and
the Chinese Japanese settlement it is
safe to assume that the remainin 6
! questions of the peace conference viii
| be resolved along similar lines: that
it is to say, maintaining the Amer
ican principles in theory but in actu-
ality accepting whatever minimum
compromise that seems essential to
keep the allies together and have q
league Of nations.