New-York tribune., 1922-01-15
China's Case Against Japan
Clearly Stated in New Books
China Japanese Treaties Which Followed the
Twenty-one Demands Analysed and
Severely Condemned

as 3 British sphere Of commercial
penetration.
BY the fourth set Of demands China
is forbidden "to cede or lease to q
third power any harbor or bay or island
along the coast Of China" There is,
1t may be noted, no prohibition directed
against the alienation Of TERRITORY to
Japan.
The fifth group Of demands Ia bv
far the most drastic and extreme in
its character. 1t seems designed to
subordinate China to Japan politically,
economically and financially. Accord
ing to the demands in this group, the
Chinese government was to cmplov
Japanese advisers in various admins
trativc departments; to employ Japan
ese officers in the police depa rtments
OF its important cities; to set up an
arsenal under Japanese control and
management; to use no foreign capi-
tai other than Japanese in developing
the resources of Fukien province.
This fifth group of demands has
never been accepted by China: but the
previous four groups. under the pres
sure Of a Japanese ultimatum, we're
embodied in the Chino-Japanese
treaties Of May, 1915.
Mr.. Wood attacks the validity Of
these treaties upon May grounds. He
contends that they were extorted under
duress; that they never received legal
legislative sanction; that they come
into conflict with previous internation-
al obligations assumed both by China
and by Japan; that they violate the
"open door, principle which has so
often been accepted by tho great
powers In their agreements relative to
China; that they are incompatible with
China's sovereignty and her right Of
self-preservation and acknowledgment.
These arguments, fortified with many
appeals to precedent and citations
from the works Of recognized authori-
ties on international Law, arc devel-
oped at considerable length in "The
Chino-Japanese Treaties.'
The Anglo-Japanese alliance is now
a matter Of ancient history, as it has
been supplanted by the recently con-
cluded four-power agreement among
England, America, France and Japan.
Mr.. Wood predicts that some such ex-
| pansion Of the original alliance might
come as result of the Washington
conference, but seems to assume that
China would necessarily be included in
any new Pacific entente.
China, in Mr.. Woods opinion, Is
tired of being coddled with empty
phrases about respect for her sover.
eighty and territorial integrity. She
! desires actions rather than futile
words. She wants Japan and the Eu.
ropean powers to stop seizng more and
moro Of her territory and of her natu-
ral resources by the old familiar
method of establishing leaseholds and
spheres of influence. She wants to see
the treaties embodying the twenty-one
demands definitely abrogated and she
wants Shantung restored.
From the standpoint Of internation-
al ethics China's case is, and always
has been, excellent. But from the
standpoint of international politics it
seems unlikely that she will attain her
objectives until she develops sufficient
national unity and sufficient military
and industrial strength to hand her un-
welcome guests their hats and to fol-
low up this gesture by throwing them
out, if nece ssary.