The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-05-26
JAPAN DESTROYS
OF RENEWING THE
ANGLO ALLIANCE
Sentiment Favors Re-Cement-
ing of Relations Under Pact
Which Expires July 20
Nv Hugh ByaS

BY Hugh Byas
Special to the International news
Service and London Daily Express.
Tokyo, May 26.-A vital question
I'm British world policy has to be an
swerer before July goth. After that
date the Anglo-Japanese Alliance be-
comes terminated by either party on
twelve months notice. An offensive
and defensive alliance that runs like
the lease of a house is unth1nkable,
and it is certain that the foreign Of
fees of the two countries have al
ready begun discussion of the Ques-
ton of renewal-and may have an
ewered it, though public opinion has
not yet been asked to apply the rub
Der stamp"
japanese opinion hopes that the
answer will be Eyes" Even the jim
20 newspapers that had so many
hard things to say about England in
1916 are agreed on the need for re-
newal. The jeers and taunts of the
dark days of the war about the one
sided nature of the alliance and Its
burdensomeness to Japan were mere
ly the. echo Of the military party's
cocksure admiration of Germany and
their open belief that Japan had put
her money on the wrong horse. They
need not be remembered forever,
hut Englishmen would be fools II
they forgot that the Japanese take
an entirely realistic view of such
commitments. They Judge an al
lance by it's value to them and they
will not complain If Britain apply
the same criterion.
The Anglo-Japanese Alliance can
be a priceless safeguard to the peace
of the Far East il in its renewal its
original purpose is clearly brought
out, namely:
The preservation Of the common
interest of all powers in China by
insuring the independence and in
tegrity of the Chinese Empire and
the principle Of equal opportunities
for the commerce and industry of all
nations in China.
That is now the only purpose left
for the Alliance to fulfill. The war
has abolished it's secondary purposes,
which were, first, the safeguarding
of Japan and India from Russian az
erosion. and, second, the security of
British interests in the Far East
when the German danger required
the concentration of the fleet in the
North Sea. The common purpose of
England and Japan now is the pres
ervation Of the integrity of China, so
that international rivalries shall not
be transferred to Asia and the spe-
eial interest of England is the preser-
vation of the "open door" of China
for our trade.
Japan loyalty fulfilled her obliga-
lions under the alliance so far as
they related to her part in the war.
There is a difference Of opinion about
her policy in regard to China at the
time when her ally was engaged in
the struggle with Germany. In 1915
Japan presented Pekin with the no.
torious twenty-one demands and en-
forced compliance with sixteen Of
them by an ultimatum. The alliance
calls for full and frank consulta-
ton yet the most significant Of
these demands were deliberately con-
cealed from England.
In 1916 two agreements were con-
Guided between Japan and Russia.
one public and one secret. The Sc
cret agreement, subsequently dis
closed by the Bolsheviks. was made
without the knowledge OF Great
Britain 1t was certainly not direct
ed against Neutrality-suspicious. be-
lieved it was aimed at them-but it
enga ged Japan and Russia in COM
mon policy regarding China without
the knowledge of Japan's ally. In
1918 military convention was
signed by Japan and China, the terms
Of which have not yet been disclosed.
Were these steps taken during the
war, when England was engaged in
a life and death struggle. compatible
with the declared objects of the An
glo-Japanese alliance, and did they
fulfill Japan's obligation to full and
frank consultation with her ally?
What is Japan's real policy in China
Ia is expressed in the actions of her
military party, which for two years
controlled the government, or in the
words and pledges Of the Alliance
Is domination her aim or the 'topen
door,"
The renewal Of the alliance gives
Japan an opportunity of revising
the mistakes her military party may
have led her into. A large part of the
nation is for liberal policy in
China. The war has disillusioned
them about the mailed fist" method.
The British foreign office has gold
en- opportunity to obtain from Japan
an explicit. declaration of her aims
in China.