Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-12-17

Inc treaty ltSelr was Stlll IN the
hands Of state department officials
today and it was not disclosed when
they would send it to the White
House for the presidents delivery to
the senate.
Far Eastern Problems
The focal point of, the parley
negotiations appeared to be shifting
more and more today to the Far
Eastern discussions.
No session was scheduled today for
the Far Eastern committee, which
adjourned yesterday, subject to the
call of Chairman Hughes after China
had requested that the treaties re-
sulting from the famous twenty-one
demands be abrogated and considera-
ton of the question had been prompt
ly objected to by the Japanese dele
gates.
How the conference will steer it's
course on this new element of con-
troversy in the Far Eastern nego-
tiations was the subject of serious
elaboration by the other delegations
today, as they prepared for decis-
ion probably at the next meeting as
to whether the subject can properly
be taken up under the conference
agenda. In the view of Chinese rep
resentatives, however, the subject
actually is before the conference now
and must be disposed of one way or
another. The conference also faced
Nn additional complication in the Far
Eastern negotiations today as a re-
suit of China's request that it take
definite steps to abolish all claims to
special spheres of influence" which
have grown out of the several trea-
ties with China.
Japan to Keep Mutsu
Japan'S request for retention Of the
battleship MutSu in substitution for
an older ship as basis for her COM
plete acceptance of the naval plan
having been definitely agreed to by
Great Britain and the United States,
with. provision for equivalent con-
fcessions to those powers, official an
nouncement of the accord was held
back today solely by technical de-
tails yet to be determined regarding
the British equivalent. The United
States, under the arrangement, which
in no way departs from the $3.50
ratio. basis of the Hughes proposal,
retains the battleships Colorado and
Washington'in place of the Delaware
and North Dakota.
= 1t also has been definitely settled
that the naval agreement will EN-.
brace status quo understanding as
to naval tbases in the Pacific.
Another difficult question in the
Far Eastern negotiations remained
~ tnf I'D tod fIa@ Tt. I'd
Chinese delegates continued their
Shantung conference in an effort
to agree on basis for Japanese re-
linquishment of the Kiao-Chow rail-
way.
Russia has protested the discussion
Of the Chinese Eastern railway by
the Washington conference has
ference circles to the rather .compli-
Gated nature of this subject which
occupies a place on the American
agenda.
Russian Complications
The Chinese Eastern, as it is col
loquially referred to in the Far East,
is of the greatest strategic and
economic importance to Russia, ia
pan and China. 1t is the great con-
Meeting link across China of the
Trans-Siberian railroad from Vladi-
vostok to far-away Moscow and
Petrograd. 1t crosses the Chinese
province Of Manchuria which pene-
trates like. a peninsula into the
heart Of Siberia. When the car
Of all the Russians decided upon his
big project of building the trans
Siberian he obtained the right from
China to run the road across north
ern Manchuria from Pogranichiya
on the east to Manchuli, or Man
churia station, on the west, taking
in on the way the big city Of Har-
bin. This right gave the Russian
railroad immense value which it
would not have possessed had it
been built entirely in Russian terri
tory.
Legally speaking. the railroad is
regarded as belonging to Russia, but
both the United States and Japan
are said to have made financial out
lays for the upkeep of the line, the
guarding of which is entrusted TO
Chinese, because it traverses Chinese
territory. The directors include
both Chinese and Russians.
1t is the future status Of the Chi
| nese- that the conference may be
called upon to discuss.
ID.IHI.IL. W.O,I