The New York herald., 1922-02-11


submarines against merchant vessels.
The resolutions adopted by the confer
ence as to the use of submarines against
merchant vessels. and with respect TO
the use of poison gas, were put in the
form OF treaty which was signed on
February 6, 1922.
'You will observe that this treaty
does not undertake to codify interna-
tional law in respect of VISIT search or
! seizure of merchant vessels. What 1t
does undertake to do is to state the most
important and effective provisions of
the law OF nations in regard to the
treatment of merchant vessels by bel
ligerent warships and to declare that
submarines are under no circumstances
exempt from these humane rules for the
protection of the life of innocent non
| combatants.
when the conference was called there
existed with regard to the Far East
causes Of misunderstanding and sources
of controversy which constitute q Sc
rious potential danger. These difficult
ties centered principally about China,
where the Developments OF the past
quarter OF century had produced a
situation in which international rival
ries. jealousies, distrust and antagonism
were fostered.
The people of China are the inheri.
| tors of the oldest extant civilization of
the world. but 1t is a civilization which
has followed a course of development
different from that of the West 1t has
almost wholly ignored the material. the
mechanical, the scientific and industrial
mastery of natural resources, which has
| so characterized our Western civilization
| in its later growth and has led us to
! the creation of an intricate industrial
| system. The spirit of Chinese civiliza-
] tion has. moreover. been pacifist and
| lacking In consciousness of nationality
as we understand that term. In its po-
itical aspects the ideal of that civiIiza-
ton was to follow the principle of self
! government by the family or guild to an
extreme. The throne had imposed upon
the people virtually no authority and
exercised virtually no functions save to
preserve order and to collect taxes for
the maintenance of the throne as SYM
Dol of national or racial unity.
End of AngIO-Japanese Fact.
$50 long as China lived as a race
apart, as a self contained agricultural
country. such political ideal was pos
sible of realization: and we who are
the inheritors of so different a tradi-
ton can not but pay respect to China .
civilization.
"A situation had been created IN
which the Chinese nursed sense of
| grievance. and even. of outrage: and
the foreign nations found their rola.
tions complicated by mutual suspicion
and resentment.
Throughout considerable areas of the
territory OF China claims were made 10
so-called spheres of interest which not
only placed check upon the normal
economic dev rlopment of the country
and interfcred with its administration
but also sought to restrict the free COM
mercial intercourse of those. peoples
which, like ourselves considered that
| they had a full right. with the sane.
ton of treaty engagements, to dcai
without control or interference with the
| Chinese people in whatever part o'
China and In whatever sort . OF
| legitimate business or enterprise they
might find mutually profitable.
''Such was the unhealthy situation
that had come to exist In the ta'
East: and those who regarded 1t with
| n view to its effects upon the reia-
| tionships of the several nations con-
cerped could not but be conscious that
pIans for the limitation of armaments
| could scarcely have more than tenn
norary success IL IL were not possioie
| 10 dispel the growing sense OF uneasi,
ness and mutual distrust which hau
! arisen out of those conditions.
"without reviewing the reasons io'
tbia disnuietude IL was greatly III
creased by the state OF interhatio.,s. y.
| tension which had arisen in the fac,t,'
area. The question constantly recurreu
/ The original sources OF danger nsNin
taa, renewed against whom and FOL
,,hat nurnoses was the alliance main
| tanned? The difficulty lay In the rae
\ chat the treaty was not one that had t'
| he renewed 1t ran until IL was formahs
| denotlnced by one or the TWO pdrt.s
Great Britain accordingly found itseii
as Mr.. Balfour expressed II, petwee,
the possibilities of two misunderstanu
| ings-a misunderstanding II they re
| tanned the treaty. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
| thew denounced the treaty
"It was, therefore. matter OF TN
areatest qualification that the American
! delegation found they were able 10 oo
| tain an agreement by which the Ahslo
| Jspanese alliance should be iminediateiN
/ terminated No greater step couio ~
| taken TO secure the unimpeded influenc'
Of liberal opinion in promoting peace il
the Pacific region.
shantung Issue Settled.
's,rhe most acute question. perhaps, II
[ the fAf was NH'b ''''N''H
| ShantunE. and it was also apparentl!
the most difficult TO settle satisfactorily
'"rhe question could not be brought
technically, before the Washington con
ference, as all the nations represented
at the conference table. save the unite'
States, China and the Netherlands
were bound by the treaty OF versailles
Japan could. Of course, at once oppos
any action by any Of these Powers a
the conference which could be regarde'
as a departure from the terms OF tina
treaty. IL was quite clear, however
that the conference furnished a mos
favorable opportunity for negotiation
between China and Japan In which b.
mutual agreement a solution or tn
difficulty might he found. IN order tina
the parties might be brought together
the good offices OF Mr.. Balfour an
Mr.. Hughes individually, were tendere'
to both parties, with their consent. ant
conversations looking to settlemen
were begun. These conversations con
tinucd for many weeks and had tn
happy result OF complete agreement
which was embodied in treaty slgne
on the part OF China and Japan oi
February 4. 1922"
PRINCESS RADZIWILL ON TRIAL