Evening star., 1928-05-22
.JAPAN'S DEMANDS
CAUSE CHINA CRISIS
Proposal to Stop Nationalists
at Great Wall Concerns
Other Nations.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

great Chinese province of Manchuria
The demand takes the shape of for
bidding the advancing Nationals
Chinese armies from carrying thei
war across the great wall. which forms
the southern boundary of Manchuria
Japan is willing that the Nationalist.
shall establish their control over Peking
She is content to have them dethront
Marshal Chang -TSo-Lin, the Man
| churian war lord, who has ruled at ths
! ancient capital since 1926 But Japar
| has decreed that there shall be M
| Chinese military operations that woulC
extend their scope beyond The great
wall
Set Up Therm0pylae. -
At the promontory of Shanhaikwan
on the Gulf of Liaotung, where thC
great wall of China meets the sea, the
| JapaneSe-like the Spartans OF old
have thus In effect set up Far Eastern
Thermopylae. Beyond It, they say Il
the Chinese-Southerners and North.
erns alike-''Thou shalt not pass" The
position created by the japanese atti-
| tude is literally immeasurable at thi,
| hour, washington diplomatists declare
The new factor In the kaleidoscope
Chinese puzzle completely overshadows
| in American official opinion, the queS-
| ton of recognition of Chinese govern
ment which will arise the moment
| Pekirg falls into the nav of the Ma
tionalist armies. The foreign powers
Nationalist dispatches already indicate
will be called uoon forthwith to declare
| themselves. There is confidence In
Washington that the recognition issue
will be met by the powers with relative
promptneSs and In spirit Of accom-
modation based on the de-facto situa-
| tion. Everything depends upon the ma
ture of the proposals the new Peking
government may put forth.
There will be no Sdueamish inSistence
--as far as the United States Is con-
cerned-upon adherence to existing
treaty arrangements with China. The
American attitude remains that which
Secretary Kellogg proclaimed 1t to be IN
January, 1927. and as 1t was reafhrmeu
in March. 1928. by Minister Machiurray
in settling the Nanking massacre affair
with Gen. Hwang-Fu, the Nationalist
foreign minister.
In a nutshell. the United States is
ready to negotiate for revision OF the
so-called unequal treaties"--the bone
of Nationalist China'S contentious with
foreign powers-tlle moment there is
something resembling an authorized
Chinese government to deal with. This
covers the controversial question OF
tariff autonomy. customs and extra
terTitoriaiity.
Former u. S. Action Recalled.
The United States led the world In
recognizing the Republic of China after
the revolution which overthreW the old
imperial government In 1911. 1t Is well
within the range Of possibilities that we
shall again be In the van, in the i'm
pending overturn at Peking.
Everybody In Washington conver-
SAINT with the Chinese situation recog-
nizes the dilemma with which Japan
win confront other powers IL she really
asserts ''protectorate" rights over Man
clnuria. who win venture 70 bring TO
bear against any such Toxic program
ANYTHING but moral" or diplomatic
uressure2 Would that kind of pressure
really avail? VIII the Soviet Russian
bear. which long has been scowlic.g at
,Japan. throw itself athwart Japanese
pretensions In the territory that abuts
Siberia? These are the questions
which are going TO. give the foreign
ofIices and state departments OF Europe
and America plenty Of food for Thought
hencefOrward.
The United states consistently has
fynwned uf,on the idea of handing
Manefnuria over 10 any single power.
such a transfer would violate the open
door principle for which America has
consistently stood for 30 years. Four
or ffve years after Japan. following the
Treaty Of Portsmouth, inherited al
the rights Russia formerly had ~
South MISUNDERSTANDING especially
the South Manchurian Tailway-PnlI-
ander C.. Knox. American Secretary OF
state. proposed his celebrated plan for
naturalization of railways In Man
churia. It provided that the interested
! countries. including Russia and Japan
which both had railway lines there
| should pool their interests with view
| To establishing a single railway system
| 10 be operated by an international syn
| dieate. The Knox plan failed. II wa
supported only by Germany.
"Consortlum" Proposal.
In fa20. III years after the Knox neu-
traIization plan. the United States came
| forward With q proposal for an Anglo
| FRENCH Japanese American "consortl-
| UNI" devoted not exclusively TO rail-
WAYS In China, but 10 loans Of all sorts
either to Chinese governments or in-
| dugtriai enterprises. On that Sunject
writing in "Foreign Affairs" in April
| 1925. John v. A. MacMurTay, now
American minister at Peking, said:
"For a time there was determined
orposition 10 the consortiun proposal
! on the part Of the japanese govern
| neut. It declared itself unwilling q
| authorize It's nationals TO enter into thif
form OF International cooperation un'
Less Manchuria and the adjacent por'
ton Of Mongolia were excluded from
the activities Of the new consortium
The ensuing consultations among ths
interested governments involved con.
gideration Of Japan'g claims 10 special
interests in the area In question. But
IN the end, when It had been made
clear 10 Japan that the proposal did mol
contemplate the surrender OF vested
interests In railways which were AL
ready In operation as going concerns
the Japanese government gave It's con-
sent 70 the participation Of It's bankers
In ife e0nsortium"
How far the nine-power and four.
power treaties negotiated al Washing
ton during the 1921 1922 armament anc
Far Eastern conference, 10 which Japar
was q signatoTy, will restrain her am
billions I'm Manchuria now remains u
be seen That she looks upon the prov
ince ss her natural and legitimab
sphere Of influence is undoubted. Tha
the outside world looks anliss up0f
formal japanese sovereignty over Man
chuTis is almost equally certain
fEoDsnght 1891
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