New-York tribune., 1921-02-24
Japan Admits
Wrongs; ails
To Right Them
tconupuss from page onc)


sions of error for years. But we have
never seen redress. And repentance
never serves to prevent repetition.
There was sharp public criticism of the
been conceded by China.
The twenty one demands were fol-
lowed by the wringing of concessions
from China, paid for by bribe: to the
corrupt government in the form of
pseudo loans. The Cabinet under
which that was carried o1t repre-
sented the party loudest in its criti-
cism of the twenty-one demands.
There was again criticism Of the
loan campaign, and then Japan in
sisted ON it's pound of flesh in Shan
tung. There has been confession Of
wrongs in Corea, but Corea's treatment
is bettered only on the surface. And
both are followed by the methods of
the Siberian expedition. The confess
sions are never made by the guilty.
They can never be Of any value until
the guilty come under public control,
which is far off. 1t is the existing
OF first Importance in this situation
is China. There can be neither orderly
development of China nor peace for
the world so long as any one power
holds political ambitions there. The
Western powers have shown that they
have learned that, after seventy-fiye
years of destructive folly. Japan has
not.
Much of China's present disastrous
state can be analysed as the logical Sc
quence Of the blunders and injustices
of the Western powers in the eigh-
teenth century. Its worst aspects can
be directly traced to Japanese inter
terence in the last five years. That in
terference, with it's subornation of
treachery, corruption of government
and resulting moralizstion, has set
China back two decades al least. The
continuance of such tactics by any
power must bring on complete chaos,
with the whole world entangled.
Loses by Present Attitude
Now, believe 1t to be demonstrate
that Jaran will profit most by an aban-
donment of its present attitude toward
emma and by a speedy upbuilding Of
China. Japan loses most by it's pres
ent attitude, In the first place, g policy,
however weak, which permanently an.
tagoni2es 400,000,000 people must be
paid for in armaments. Aa antagonistic
China Japan must forever keep weak
or itself face destruction. And how Bit
terry hostile China is already few
Japanese understand. They cannot
realize that it is the one sentiment
that binds the Chinese of all classes
higher than the coolie
In the second place Japan is in the
position of slapping its best customer
IN the face. If that customer goes
elsew here Japan cannot industrial ize
itself completely If II cannot indus
trialiZe, it will starve
The alternative to paying this two
fold price is the abandonment Of ter
ritorial or even political ambitions ia
China, and the adoption OF a straight
out commercial policy. Propinquity
cheaper cost of production, better un>
derstanding of the market every adj
vantage is in Japan's favor in a race
for China's trade. The last few years
nave shown Shat ultimately Japan must
capture the bulk Of China's trade.
Western nations must play a minor
commercial role.
The two stock arguments made
against this are Japan's need of room
for its increasing population and its
lack of raw materials. / do not see
why the surplus that will be left above
the increase industrialization provides
for cannot be settled on Asiatic oil
without political sovereignty. And the
time when there will be so heavy q