The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-08-05
chinese
| OIL TOBE
/ BASIS OF
| CONTEST
Star Correspondent Explains
! What Disarmament Thing
Is All About

IL BY NORRIS QUINN
Special Dispatch to The Star
WASHINGTON, Aug. o.
IA child's plaything has be-
come the center of a three
kornered international con-
h est. 1t probably will play a
.ai4 part in the November
anference on disarmament
ard Far Eastern affairs here.
The plaything is Chinese
petroleum. Up to a few years
100 children were the princi-
bal consumers of the Chinese
|loil supply. They blew 1t
&thru straws and made bub-
bles as our children do with
soap.
Jaran. Great Britain and the
Eunised states see the possibilities In
Chinese oil as fuel for merchant
nhips. They're racing for control OF
#Chinese oil concessions For they
Eknow that supremacy In world trade
] n the future will belong 70 the ma
zion with the best mercantile marine.
and that the day OF oil-burning ships
~ here
L CHINESE OIL CONTROL
\ MUST BE SETTLED
II Chinese oil control win have to
|5no straixhtened out II the Far East
! ]eru question IL really solved AZ
{IPresidens Harding's coming tntcrnAr
! hIcnal conference
RI There are IL oii-producing prov.
lnces In China There are more than
~ districts where oil has been
Hound The surface Of Chlna's oil
resources has not even been
.u2krnkched-
NThe three pri cipai oEiprcducins
Uvtnces are kan-su, Shen-st and
s-chuan.
4Kan-su's oIl-productng district ID At
~ south OF the Gobi desert At the
49, Of the Nanchang mountains
| The field u not being worked to any
\ considerable extent
-Four families. descendants OF the
alsc0vercrs Of the wells. hold con
Y SESSIONS from the Chinese govern
ment. They collect each day oil
4 that gathers on the surface Of the
water and sell IL. They have made
no attempt to driri.
The Kan-su oil Is used only for
Burning In house lamps In It's crude
state
In shen-d. real rivulets Of petro-
1eum drop from great mountain
heixhts. Here several wells have
been drilled at the Joint expense Of
The national and provincial govern.
mentS-
SIX OTHER TAR EAST
&pROBIzEMS COMING UP
Aside from the oil question there
&nrc IT least six Far East Prob
1ems- on which will hinge the sue
1eess Of the disarmament meeting.
they are:
Y /. Mandates under the league OF
Nations, particularly that Of Zap.
ia. 8hantung.
). The open door In China
"a 4. Tho territorial integrity OF
China
s. The territorial integrity Of Ash
ATTIC Russia
s. Communications.
Once an agreement on these II
. reached, the matter Of getting to-
gether on cutting down the size OF
armies and navfes will be easy. But
this first necessary agreement. Of
ffciais recognize. VIII not be easy.
zap and shantung. Japan has in
dicated. she holds to have been dis
posed Of by the treaty Of Versailles
The United States. however. on
the basis that she, as one Of the
principal allied and associated pow
ers. was entitled to a voice In the
distrfbution OF the former German
islands In the Pacific. has protested
the granting of special rights IN zap
10 Japan
with respect TO Shantung. no Of.
fetal stand has been taken.
The unbiased view. however, has
I been that any dispute over soyer-
eighty in Shantung should be the
matter OF negotiation between China
and Japan.
- There Is indicated q considerable
M0e8lFc III SEVERAL guar tsf5 tfldt Inc
Yap and Shantung questions be
O|eliminated in advance OF the Wash
1ngton conference. That. IL Ii recog-
nized. would greatly simplify aues-
tons before the conference. This
government will not. however. con.
cede that the treaty OF Versailles--in
shs absence Of any acauiesence by
RMS country---couid dispose Of zap.
RIVAL CLAIMS TO
SHANTUNG PROVINCE
As to shantuna. Japan has con
tended that title to the former Ger
mas rights in that province was
legally vested in her and cannot be
1 disturbed so long as the Versailles
treaty remains international law.
China. on the other hand. con-
tends that her declaration Of war
against Germany restored 10 China
all rights previously granted Ger
many. That being 80. she claims.
there were no German rights in
China 20 be disposed Of at the YER
sailles conference.
The open door in China and
China's territorial integrity are, of
course. old questions. They are the
ones In which abe real statesmanship