Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-20
BROKEN CHINESE PACTS
/ ARE CHARGED BY FRANCE
Paris Feels London and Washington
Have Weakened Powers Force i'm
Orient by Separate Action.

agreed with China regarding the
I open door in that country and all and
| sundry herewith associated. France
| claims that such matters as tariffs,
| eXtraterritoriality trading rights and
all other questions in which foreign
| governments are interested in China
| We're dealt with at Washington in
| 1922 as subjects of common tmpor-
lance. Partisan statesmen, observing
the apparent determination of both
London and Washington to proceed
on the every-man-for- himself and the
| devil.take the hindmost principle, are
| inclined to think that the nine-poWer
| and the four-poWer treaties have gone
where the Woodbine twineth. Many
/ French authorities feel that that Is
not only unjust to the other signatory
| powers, including themselves, but de-
! signed to fill the Chinese with a di-
minishing respect for European,
| American and Asiatic craftsmanship.
In other words, France holds to
| the theory that in China, as far as
the outside world is concerned, there
| is strength only in union. She be-
lieves that the concert" which the
powers presented at Washington
should not be broken up on the occa- |
sion of the first real crisis to arise in |
the Far East since the 1922 treaties
were concluded. The other govern-I
ments, it is recalled in Paris, mani |
tested a good deal of impatiepce with |
France for so tardily ratifying the |
various Washington pacts dealing |
with China and the Pacific region. |
The French were the last to approve |
the treaties. 1t was their delay in do |
ing so that prevented the late lament |
ed Chinese tariff conference, provided |
for at Washington, from assembling |
at an earlier date.
Frances Eastern Interests.
France is a very considerable Far |
Eastern power. with extensive terrific
rial interests French Indo- China is an
area larger than the States of Mime
sofa, Iowa, the two Dakotas, Nebraska
and Kansas combined, and a popula-
ton of more than 20 millions. In the
Chinese province of Yunan, the rail-
road is French owned and French
operated. There is, of course, very
considerable French trade with China,
not only through Indo-China, but with
France directly. Hundreds of millions
of francs are invested in all sorts of
Chinese enterprises. For all of these
reasons the French consider that they
should have had the opportunity, along
with other interested powers, of join
ing in some united action TO meet
menacing Chinese conditions, which,
in the opinion of Paris, affect all ma
tions and not alone those of the two
great English-speaking countries
DIR. Gibbons found in Berlin that
Germany is, practically alone among
the powers. sitting pretty" as far as
China is concerned. China was one
of Germanys allied con1uerors and
took part at Versailles In imposing
victorious treaty terms upon her. But
that has not, DR.. Gibbons discovered,
prevented the Germans from re.estab.
fishing themselves economically in |
China.
I was told" he said, that German
trade with China in 1926 was as large
as it was in 1913, the year before the
outbreak of the war The Germans
have accomplished this commercial
comeback without CONCESSIONS with
out extraterritorial privileges, and
without any of the special rights to
which China's war associates now lay
claim. The lesson of all this, Berlin
is not being lost upon the new
leaders OF China, who may be found
arguing that If profitable trade in
their country can be carried on by Ger
many without interference with Chi.
nese sovereignty, other nations, which
protest that commerce alone is all -
they seek in China. ought to find 1t I
possible to do business on the same
basis"
fUht