The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-09-14
j. S. MAY EXERT
ITS INFLUENCE
Wants to See Settlement OF
Shantung Between China
and Japan
GLAD TO SEE JAPS f
PROPOSAL TO ACT
Possible Matter May Be Settled Before
Conference at Washington - China
Wants Open Agreement With Other
Nations Responsible for Its Observance

Nations Responsible for Its Observance
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Dispatch to The Reformer.)
~ Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1.-THE United
States government is taking a deep inter
est in the negotiations between China
and Japan over the Shangtung question.
There is even a chance that the good
offices of this government, or at any rate,
its influence will be exerted to bring about
settlement though it is not yet clear
whether the initiative taken by the Japan
ese was for the purpose of beginning
parley that would merge into the larger
conference at Washington in November
or whether it was an effort to put the
Chinese in the position before the world
of refusing settlement.
Japan has professed her anxiety on
many occasions to reach settlement with
! China. but the latter having refused to
! sign the Versailles treaty, declines TO en-
| ter into negotiations which have as thelr
| basis a confirmation of the action of the
| Paris peace conference in awarding Japan
certain rights in Shangtung. The United
| States did not favor the Shangtung settle
ment in the Versailles conference and
| the Harding administration having failed
| TO ratify the Versailles pact is free to IN
terpose it's influence for settlement be-
tween China and Japan on a disinterested
and unprecedented basis.
Washington Pleased.
| The larger aspects of the move on the
part of Japan in formally proposing at
! this time a settlement with emma nave
| appealed to the Washington authorities.
1t is the most significant step that has
been taken since President Harding Is
sued his invitation for a discussion OF Far
| Eastern questions in connection with DIS
armament. The Chinese are quite ready
to assume that Japan would prefer set
/ Element before the Washington conference
| begins. This looks impossible because
! Far Eastern diplomacy is of the slow and
demonstrating kind. On the other hand,
the japanese might try to persuade the
II Washington conference to keep hands of
while the matters between Japan and
China were settled directly. China, on
the other hand, is eager for the support OF
the outside world and wants all the pow
ers to be present when an agreement Is
reached so that Great Britain, France
Italy and the United States will be NOR
ally responsible for the fulhllment by
Japan of the promises she makes.
The japanese accepted Americas lnvl
| tation to a conference with the specific
proviso that accomplished facts would
not be discussed. This was generally
taken to mean that Japan would not per
nit the Shangtung issue to come before
the other powers. Now, however, hel
negotiations with China have reOpeued tht
question and there is good reason to be
lieye that Japan realized the tutllIty OF
! trying to exclude the Shangtung contro
yersy from the Washington conference
when she herself had made no progress to
ward direct settlement with China.
Japanese Little Understood.
The currents of japanese diplomacy arr
ALWAYS difficult to analyze because of thu
physical distance of the japanese govern
ment from European and American CAPT
tails but big business in Japan has beer
urging a settlement with China 50 tina
commercial enterprises which the Japan
csc have in mind may be developed with
out delay. The cOnSOrtium agreemen
Preached between Japan and the Unite,
States and other powers has little effec
| tivenesS if political relations between
/ China and Japan remain strained. Ih
/ immense opportunities for the develop
; ment of the resources of China are recog
nized on every side and the Japanes
need the cooperation of other countrie
in most of their plans. The effort to con
ciiate China and heal the open sore
which the Shantung issue raised ha
back of it not only political but Commercial
influences. Japan has been told that he
action in respect of the p demands a
well as her failure to restore Shantun
to China have adversely affected the pub
lie opinion of the United States. He
advisors have insisted that the time ha
come for Japan to remove the sources o
misunderstanding concerning Japan's me
tives and that most striking example G
Japanese rectitude would be afforded b
her course toward China in the Shantun
controversy. The United States is cage
to help along such a settlement, and it
not unlikely that the Chinese will b
urged to give serious consideration to tn
Japanese proposals in the hope that a
adjustment may be reached before tn
| Washington conference and thus TemOv
one big obstacle to progress at that meet
ing.
| SQUIRREL ISLAND FIRST.
1 ID, a