Norwich bulletin., 1920-02-25
Marshall "aytme
 Tkeatre Thursday February 26

much.'' has been selected by President Wilson for the same post to succeed Dr. Paul ReinSch.
 MT. Cranes selection by the presi- dent reopened a chapter of diplomatic history which, although forgotten by many, was one of the most lively in cidents in American foreign relations.
 It was quite generally stated and believed by many in touch with foreign affairs that MT. Cranes recall in 1909 was at the instance of the Jap aneSe government.
 None of the real inside story of MT. Cranes recall appears on such diplo- nlatic documents as were permitted to become public and as the records stand President Taft changed his mind about Mir. Cranes fitness for the post in the Tar East after agreeing with Secretary Knox that MT. Crane had talked too much and been 'indis- erect" in some of his speeches.
 Mir. Crane came again into public notice during President Wilson's ad- ministration when the president offer
 ed him the post of ambassador to Rus sia which he declined.
 Of course, the Chinese government
 has accepted MT. Crane as being per
 soma grata, as it had in 1909; other
 wise according to diplomatic proceed
 ure, he would not have been select
 ed again, but whether the Japanese
 government knew of President Will sons intention to send MT. Crane to China can only be a conjecture. MT. Crane was appointed minister to China by President Taft in Sep tember, 1909, and in Chicago while
 on his way to San Francisco at complimentary luncheon quoted MT. Taft as having told him of Ameri ca S interest in China's welfare and hay ing added that whenever MT. Crane
 made a speech he ought to speak it out red hot" That utterance seemed to attract no particular attention at
 the time.
 The storm did not break until a
 month later, when in San Francisco
 AIr Crane got d brief telegram from
 Secretary Knox ordering him back to Washington. The reason for the sud den change was not made public at the time, and MT. Crane professed ignorance of it. It finally developed that story appearing in a western newspaper accredited to MT. Crane and representing him as attacking the 1 Manchurian agreements between | China and Japan, were the real cause
 of >his recall. This story also ap- peared in the Japanese press and
 caused a considerable reaction in
 Japan over the supposed views of the new minister from the United States to China.
 Secretary Knox issued a statement
 saying that while in the department preparatory to leaving for his post MT. Crane had learned from minor of ffcials that the government was mak ing an examination of those agree ments and without the knowledge o- authority of anpone connected with the department gave out d flew s1J- per story to the effect that this govern
 ment was preparing to protest against some of the features of the agree ments and that the promulgation of the protest only awaited the return of an official who was to formulate it."
 Secretary Knox's official statement added that MT. Crane had admitted having an indiscreet talk with re-
 porter and that he had reluctantly reached the conclusion that the good of the service demands that I shall inform MT. Crane that his resignation will be accepted and l have done so." MT. Crane announced at the time that he had never seen the offending article but assumed full responsibility
 for his connection with it. purely in- cidentaP as that connection was. MT. Crane was not the first Amer ican minister to China who failed to
 reach his post because some govern
 ment objected to something he had said before hand. In-the previous
 case it was the protest of China it. self which held up Former Senator Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire
 who was on his way to take up tho 1 legation at Peking because he had
 made certain yellow peril statements in the senate debates on the Chinese
 exclusion law which the Chinese felt made him persona non grata to them.