Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-23
BRITAIN TO YIELD
EAST GIBRALTAR
Strategic City of WeihalWei
Is of Little Value to
Trade World.

m 0 preliminary agreement, Great
Britain announces her intention to re-
store Weihaiwei to China, and the mat
ter win soon be presented to Parlia-
ment
'weihaiwei is Britain's Gibraltar OF
North China" says bulletin from the
National Geographic Society. Like
Gibraltar, its strategic importance is
great; its trade Importance zero.
Its position on the tip end OF
6hantung Peninsuls makes WelhaiWei
o sentry box to the Gulf OF Chilli,
which Is the Mediterranean OF North
China. Across the narrow strait from
Weihaiwei is Dairen, where the Jap
alaeee have built populeus important
city out Of Russia's Port Arthur.
Guards North China's Sea Gate.
"All the trade Of North China passes
through this sea gate guarded by
weihaiwei and Dalren. Tientsin, port
of Peibing (Peking) and the largest
cttF within the Gulf Of Chilli, enjoys
O heavy maritime trade.
at Is really a patch Of pongee land
which Great Britain proposes to return
to China. TO most persons, no doubt,
silk means 4 fiber spun by domesticated
SUE worms fed on mulberry leaves.
But the silk industry is different In the
Weihaiwei neighborhood and other
parts OF Shantung. The pongee-by
which name their silk is known-un-
bleached and in Its natural color, Is
the product not of domestic, but Of
wild silk worms. And they do not eat
mulberry leaves, but browse, so 10
speak, on the leaves Of the scrub oak
trees Of the Shantung hills. Their co.
coonS are gathered in large quantities
and so the otherwise waste NIL lanos
are made to yield a relatively rlcn
harvest.
Powers Took Patches Of China.
"The years 1897 and 1898 saw the
high water mark of territorial acqulsl-
ton in China by foreign powers, ana
Great Britain felt impelled 70 Jake q
part in the procedure, she mas eX-
blamed, by way of protection.
Germany started the scramble IN
November, 1897, by seizing the M-fateo
Kiaochow Bay from which she was
driven by Japan during the World
WAR;. and by forcing China 70 grant
her q 99-year lease on the surrounding
territory. Almost Immediately Russia
forced from China 25-year lease on
Port Arthur, at the southern tip OF
Manchuria. Following this, Great
Britain negotiated for control OF Wei
haiwei exactly midway between the
German and Russian ports. She made
her reasons for the move plain by set
ting out in the agreement that the
lease was to run for IS years or so long
As Russia occupies Port Arthur The
lease was therefore nominally for 70
aJust as the Bay of Weihaiwei Is
valuable In strategic position, so 1t Is
valuable physically, for its harbor Is
deep and sheltered. But in the sphere
Of geography that lies outside naval
considerations the place is OF small
account. Germany's and Japan's Using
tao on Kiaochow Bay has rich hif1ter-
land behind it and has become rather a
prosperous port. But the low, sandy
coast lands and rolling hills about Wei
haiwei are not known to contain min
erals. and they fall short of constituting
n Garden of Eden agriculturally. The
regions two bids for trade are peanuts,
of which considerable quantities are
produced in the valleys-and pongee
I'm returning the wefhaiwei lease
hold to China, Great Britain viii turn
back a better region than she received.
New plants and animals have been in
troduced, considerable denuded areas
have been reforested, and good roads
have been built Weihaiwei has favor
able climate and during the 80 years Of
British occupancy has been used to q
certain extent as a Summer resort by
Europeans from Hongkong and the
southern treaty ports"