Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-04-15
CHAPTER XXXVII
(Continued)
For Helping China

For Helping China
"They change the whole faith Of
| international affairs, because after
you have read the much debated ar
| t:cle 10 Of the covenant I advise you
| to read article II. Article II says
that it shall be the friendly right
Of any member of the league to call
attention at any time to anything,
anywhere, that threatens to disturb
| the peace of the world or the good
understanding between nations upon
| which the peace of the world de-
ponds. That in itself constitutes a
revolution in international relation
ships. Anything that affects the
peace Of any part of the world is the
business of every nation. 1t does not
have simply to insist that it's trade
shall not be interfered with; it has
| the right to insist that the rights of
mankind shall not be interfered with.
| Not only that, but back of this pro-
vision with regard to Shantung lies,
as everybody knows or ought to
know, a very honorable promise
which was made by the government
of Japan in my presence in Paris,
namely, that just as soon as posi-
BILE after the ratification of this
tr eaty they will return to China all
sovereign rights in the Province of
Shantung. Great Britain has not
promised to return Weihaiwei;
France has not promised to return
her part. Japan has promised to re-
linquish all the sovereign rights
which were acquired by Germany for
the remaining 70 of the SO years of
the lease, and to retain only what
other governments have in many
other parts of China, namely, the
right to build and operate the rail-
way under corporation and to ex-
| plot the mines in the Immediate
neighborhood of that railway. In
| other words, she retains only the
rights Of economic concessionaries.
Personally, I am frank to say that
I think all Of these nations have
invaded some of the essential rights
OF China by. going too far in the
concessions which they have de-
manded, but that is an old story now,
and we are beginning a new story.
| In the new story we all have the
right to talk about what they have
been doing and to convince them. by
the pressure of the public opinion
Of the world, that different course
of action would be just and right. I
am for helping China and not turn,
ing away from the only way in
which I can help her. Those are
| the facts about Shantung."
Worried Over Shantung
OF all the important decisions of
the peace conference, none worried
the president so much as that relat-
| ing to the Shantung settlement, and
in a speech at Des Moines, on Sep
TENDER 6, 1919, he expressed his dis
satisfaction in the following words:
"There is the settlement. which
you have heard so much discussed,
about that rich and ancient province
of Shantung, China. I do not like
that settlement any better than you
do, but these were the circum-
stances: In order to induce Japan
! to cooperate in the war and clear
the Pacific of the German power,
| England, and subsequently France,
bound themselves without any quail
| fications to see to it that Japan got
| anything in China that Germany had
and that Japan would take it away
from her, upon the strength of
which promise Japan proceeded to
| take away Kiaochow and occupy
! the portions of Shantung province
which had been coded by China for
term Of years to Germany. The
most that could be got out of it was
that in view of the fact that Amer
lea had nothing to do with it, the
Japanese were ready to promise that
they would give up every item of
sovereignty which Germany would
otherwise have enjoyed in Shantung
| province and return it without re-
striction to China, and that they
would retain in the province only
the economic concessions such as
other nations already had elsewhere
in China-though you do not hear
anything about that-concession in
| the railway and the mines which
had become attached to the railway
| for operative purposes. But sup
pose that you say that is not enough.
Very well, then, stay out Of the
| treaty, and how will that accomplish
anything? England and France are
bound and cannot escape their obi
CATION. Are you going to institute
a war against Japan and Franceyand
England to get Shantung back for
| China? That is an operation which
does not commend itself to the pres
ent generation"
Quotes Ray Stannard Baker
Mr.. Ray Stannard Baker in his
book what Wilson Did at Paris"
says:
"Of all the important decisions at
the peace conference none worried
the president so much as that relat-
ing to the disposition Of the Shan
tung problems-and none, finally,
satisfied him less. Not one of the
problems he, had met at Paris, Sc
rious as they all were, did he take
more personally to heart than this.
TIe told me on one occasion that he
had been unable to sleep on the
previous night for thinking Of 1t.
"Those last days before the treaty
was finished were among the hard
est of the entire conference. AS /
have said before, the most difficult
and dangerous problems had in
evitably been left to the last, and had
all to be finally settled in those
crowded days Of late April.
Consider, for moment, the exact
situation at Paris on April 20, when
the Japanese Chinese crises reached
the explosive point.
at was on that very day that the
German delegates were coming
merely into Versailles, ready for a
treaty that was not yet finished.