The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-05
Ry PHILIP. FRANCIS.

y TnIlAT NhlNOIo.
There Ia an old diplomatic trick
which consists In loudly demand
Ing something OF secondary import
ance In order to trade that for some
thing OF greater Importance.
When the Japanese went TO the
Paris peace conference their hearts
were set ON getting permanent pos
session Of the rich and populous
Chinese province, Shantung. This
purpose was In direct conflict with
Mr.. wilson's high sounding declara-
ton aEains. forcisle annexations.
And that particular one OF his four
teen p-yints which asserted that
hereafter the people of every nation.
great and small. should be guaran-
teed the right 10 govern themselves
by their own consent. The japanese
problem was to get Mr.. Wilson to
surrender this giitteripg morality.
OF course. IL Wilson surrendered
thi: point he BETRAYED ~ the rest est
the japanese had ON hand to get
the reluctant consent of Mr.. VIII
son to this gigantic robbery Of Chi
ma was one that required all OK
their diplomatic skill.
How They Did IL.
The Japanese went about II I'm this
way. They already had the Sc
cret treaties with England and
France by which those two
powers had agreed to let japan
rob China of Shantung. SO they
kept quiet about Shantung and
began to make a very loud clamor
about racial equality and about the
equal right Of japanese immigrants
to enter the United States upon the
same terms as white European i'm.
migrants. They knew very well
that Mr.. Wilson would not and could
not consent to this demand. They
were very well aware that Mr.. Will
son was a politician and that he
would never agree to wreck the
Democratic partys chances in COM
Ing elections by consenting to un.
restricted Japanese immigration. 80
they kept on insisting with more
and more determination that Japan
would not agree to enter Mr.. VIII
sons League of Nations unless ra-
cial equality and the unrestricted
right OF japanese to emigrate to the
United States were embodied In the
articles OF the League.
Wilson Made Ill.
Thus confronted with q demand
which he could not possibly grant
without wrecking the Democratic
political organization at home, and
with the alternative Of seeing his
League of Nations scrambled by
Japanese refusal to endorse 1t.
MIR. Wilson was In the position
where the Japanese wanted him.
They then put UP to him the trad
ing proposition which they had in
mind all the time. They proposed
to drop these demands for racial
equality and join the league with
out that guarantee, II Mr.. Wilson
would consent to their stealing
Shantung from China
Mr.. Tumulty has revealed that
Mr.. Wilson took to his bed with
violent stomach attacks and "A
profuse diarrhea" while wrestling
with this second Japanese proposal
for unrestricted highway robbery
In the place Of unrestricted immi-
grafton. But the distinguished pa
tient finally recovered from his
stomach attacks, etc. and con-
scented to trade Shaptung TO the
Japanese for their adhesion 10 the
League Of Nations and their aban-
donment of their loud and insistent
demand for racial equality.
Now all that IL an old story,
even though Mr.. Tumulty has been
trying to dress 1t up in explana-
tons and apologies to make IT
look like a now one. But II Is q
story well worth recalling now that
another japanese delegation Is In
Washington trying to play on Mr..
Harding the same old trick which
bamboozled Mr.. Wilson.
What the Japanese really want
to do here in this Washington con-
ference is to clinch their hold on
Shantung and to remove the
threatened obstacle Of American
interference with their far-reach-
ing designs upon the rest OF China
and their >wholly illegal occupa-
ton Of Far Eastern Siberia.
Need Trading Material.
In order to get this fatal conces-
sion from our delegates to the
conference they must have some
thing to trade for that concession.
In Paris they took advantage OF
Mr.. Wilson's obsession about his
league of nations. In Washington
they are taking advantage OF Mr..
Hughes obsession about his associa-
ton of nations, and his proposed
Limitation Of naval armaments. Just
as they bamboozled and finally out