Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-03-25
JAPAN GOT SHANTUNG
BY BLACKMAIL AND A
BLUFF, LANSING SAYS
CONTINUED from Page ons.)

dent never answered his telegram.
Because of the pressing need of
peace, Secretary Lansing, despite
his differences with Mr. Wilson,
continued to favor ratification of
the treaty and covenant without re-
seIvations. This he did as long as
there was a chance to secure an
early peace by this method.
President Wilson, according to
Mr. LansinE's belief, at one time
during the peace conference pur-
posed to negotiate u preliminary
treaty which would start the
league of nations functioning with
out laying the document before
the United States senate, and evi-
IDENTIFY was much perturbed when
his secretary of state told him that
the only way to change the status
from war to peace was by a rati-
fled treaty or a joint resolution of
congress.
A profound conviction that inn
mediate peace was the primary
need of the world, Mr.. Lansing i'm
plies, was all that kept him from
resigning from the peace commits
sion because of fundamental dis
agreements with the president on
principles. The former secretary
discloses that in 1916, shortly be-
fore O meeting in Washington Of
the League TO Enforce Peace at
which the president was to speak.
Mr.. Lansing wrote to Mr. Wilson
Directing TO the use of force TO
settle international disputes. In
this letter he pointed to the men
ace TO the Monroe doctrine con-
tanned in such a plan.
Objected TO Guarantees.
Alarmed at the complications of
war and foreign entanglements in
the guarantee of territorial integ-
rity and political independence of
members of the league, a guaran-
tee that finally was embodied in
article Y of the covenant, Mr..
Lansing says that at Paris he tried
to have substituted IL negative
pledge that the members would
not infringe upon each others ter
ritorial integrity or political indie
pendence. He became convinced |
that Col. Edward NJ. House, then |
President Wilson's closest adviser, |
1
gard to this question.
1t is in relation to Shantung Mr.. |
Lansing dlscloSes the sharpest diff |
ferences between himself and Pres |
ident Wilson. Mr.. Lansing gives as
his opinion that blaCkmail and
bluff by Japan impelled the presi- |
dent to agree to surrender to that |
country such rights in Shantung
as before the war We're held by |
Germany and automatically an
nulled when China declared hostil.
tiles. In his opinion only secret
diplomacy made it possible for ia
pan to threaten to leave the peace
unless its demands
were granted. a threat Mr.. Ian
sing believed could not have been
executed because of the apprecia-
ton by Japan that the benefits of
a new and powerful world position
could be retained only by member
ship in the league of nations
The Shantung Decision.
That other members of the
commission shared his
view that the Shantung decision
as rendered by the council of four
was a fragrant wrong and were
prevented from resigning only by
the critical conditions in the world
is clearly implied by Mr..
Lansing. He describes the indig-
nation felt by himself and by Hen
ry White and Gen. Tasker II. Bliss
and in this connection publishes
the letter written by General Bliss
to the president, in which Mr.. Ian
sing and Mr.. White concurred,
stating that to support the Jap
anese clail2 would be to abandon
Chinese democracy to domination
Of Japan's Prussianized militar-
SIN.