The daily times., 1921-11-02
ENGLAND PERPLEXED
1t Was Time to Renew the
Treaty Between England
and Japan and There Were
Strenuous Objections From
Important Folks, Conference
on Far Eastern Question
Times.
(By David Lawrence.
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily

(COpyrlSht, l9Z1, by me Dally
Times.)
Washington, Nov. 2.-The United
States has never liked the Anglo
Japanese alliance. Republican and
Democratic administrations alike
have felt that alliances only led to
dangerous MISUNDERSTANDING. Eu
rope has revealed the mischief which
a system of alliances develops. The
formation of an alliance in Central
Europe between Germany, Austria
ungary and Italy was offset only by
an entente cordiale between Great
Britain, France and Russia. 1t led to
war.
But the objection to the Anglo-Jap-
anese alliance has not been merely
that it sets up England, the greatest
avail power in the world as a working
partner of Japan with whom America
has been having in recent years some
troublesome disputes. 1t is that spur
red on by the knowledge of such a
partnership, the Japanese have as
sumed an attitude toward China
wherein American, French, British,
German and Russian interests were
likely to be permanently injured. OF
course, for the moment, Germany
and Russia are out of it but essential
ly it is the grouping of Europe and
America on the one hand and Japan
on the other. Would England stand
by her European friends and her
American kinsmen and would she
bring Japan within the circle of in
ternational concord and compel her
military leaders to refrain from acts
which spelled ultimate domination of
China and Eastern Asia? Would Eng
land help or hinder the task of MAX
| ing Japan play the game on plane
| of equality with other nations?
Would Japan pledge herself to help
restore the sovereignty of China
which has become the catspaw of ma
tions?
| Great Britain has insisted that her
alliance prevented her from making
protests to Japan. 1t has been left to
the United States alone to keep
vigilant eye on Japanese pretensions-
| The crisis came at the time the
Dominion premiers were in session.
The British government didn't want
to offend Japan by publicly refusing
to renew the Anglo-Japanese alliance.
What would be the good of that, it
was argued? 1t would only drive
Japan into an attitude of hostility.
/ Japan need not fear impoverished
Russia or helpless Germany. She need
jonly be concerned about Great Brit
lain and the United States. Financially
distressed as is the British empire,
Japan might feel herself capable or
lgoing it alone in the Far East. Brit
lain was too much absorbed in do
Imestic troubles to disturb Japan's S
pretensions while the United States
was not inclined to go to war over
China's plight. She was too far away
and her people were already sick OF
war expenditure. Japan, however, had
expended little money during the war
land was near enough to China to Of
fer the Japanese imperialist golden
opportunities for commercial gain
by exploiting China's resources.
Great Britain counselled against
the abrupt cancellation of the Anglo
japanese alliance Couldn't some 9th
er way be found to accomplish the
: same end and at the same time pre-
vent Japanese aggression? Diplomacy
moves in strange ways it wonders to
8 perform. Couldn't the United States
/ lend helping hand?
Just about the same time that the
e Imperial Conference was meeting in
e London and the premier of Canada
: was expressing himself frankly or
: the subject of renewing the Anglo
f japanese alliance, public sentiment il
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