New Ulm review., 1921-12-28

dlHlculty IN the way OF arriving at an
arrangement that would fully guarantee
this indebtedness. It is absurd to
question in our day national public
debt. Of slightly less than $3.50 per
capita, OF about $1.O0 per wage
Garner. q aisss 81 tsa
It would SEEM. however, that IT, is
tEeft very smallness Of the, Chinese
debts that lis attracting the cupidity3
of some members Of the Washingtont
Conference. 1t is not at all question:
Of fearing the loss Of the money loaned,
but entirely one of making more loans
on the basis of exploitation. China
can-easily support. foreign loans six
times as great as those already made,
and the Conference is in mood to
lay the foundation for that. The re-
suits of the World War have been to
make Europe, and America undesirable
fields for the captains of capitalism.
Returns while large are insecure and
subject to ever-increasing taxes. China
is a veritable Ell Dorado by commpari
son.
This was; realized quite early by a
group known as the Consortium. This
group consists Of British, French and
American fnanciers, who have are
Gently been Joined by Japanese in
terests, after the Japanese government
had succeeded in excluding from the
trust-pool the South Manchurian rail,
road, and Manchuria generally. The
.Consortium is now ready. to admit the
Italians and the Belgians. The Dutch
have been invited also, and the Por-
tugese are sort of ballast to the bark,
which the British skipper can shift as
he wishes.
Clearing tie fog Of propaganda, one
finds the following situation: Mr..
Roots plan is an affirmative reply to
the Chinese "ten commandments" On
the. surface of things, China, or what
ever will abe designated as China, will
continue free and independent ma
ton, to use this much abused phrase.
But the Consortium is to remain in
control. The plan Of this pool is such
that the Observation-Disclosures Of China
would result from it. That would be,
the first step China would be ex-
plotted as a whole. Instead OF there
being zones Of influences, the consor-
tium would make of all China one
great sphere of interest.
There can be no doubt as to the i'm
moral aspect of this scheme. Putting
the Chinese Republic in the hands of
the consortiun, the American parti-
cipants, SO ably represented by Mr..
Root, would make Of aChina another
Turkey. For some vars, the combina-
tion might be satisfied with simply
exploiting the Chinese, but in the end,
as happened in Persia and Turkey, the
bosses. in the consortium will drive out
the weaker members Of the ccmbina-
ton. After chat it would be simply
a question Of international politics.
The friction ensuing would lead to
another great war.
It must. be born in mind in this
connection that the consortium found
it would have to make concessions to
Japan. While the British, French and
Americans pooled their interest with
out reserve, Japan could not be per-
suaded into doing this and won in the
end.
1t is impossible at. this time to clas-
sify this eitheroasan element of strength
lor as one of weakness in the position
Of Japan. The concession made to her
by the consortium may be admissible
or .expedient. 4 At any rate it shows
that Japan occupies in the scheme the
position assigned Germany in the par
tition Of Persia, and sin the many ques-
tions identified as the Bagdad railroad
issue The similarity is striking, and
it would be nothing Short of complete
reversal of the course Of international
affairs did Japan get out of the maze
without undergoing the operation Just
just completed upon ermany. IS
However, it is all to possible that
the sacrifice ultimately will be a vica-
rious one. just as Great Britain and