The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-12-03

thousand who may think otherwise
is the adventurer who may wish to
get into the scrap, or perhaps he is
one of those who believes that jolly
little war will restore prosperity to
business in America.
In the first place few Americans ac-
tually know the rights and the wrongs
of the case. We are sympathetic with
China, perhaps, as we are always
sympathetic with the under dog, and
we are inclined to believe Japan is i'm
perialistic and we dislike imperialism,
but sometimes the under dog deserves
to be the underdog and sometimes an
imperialistic policy on the part of a
nation is necessary for its own pres
ervation.
After all, China has made pretty
bad mess of her own national life.
Her people have spent most of the
last 20 or 80 years fighting one an
other. That does not mean that ia
pan should take advantage of this
situation to crush China, of course,
but the feeble position of the various
Chinese governments has been so we'll
understood by the great powers that
for many years they have attempted
by the invocation of their so-called
extra-territorial rights to dominate
her national government.
We are informed that China is ris-
ing to new conception of integral
ed nationalism and that is hopeful if
true, but she has not, as yet, demon
strated her ability to govern herself.
Still she has the right to misgovern
herself if she cannot do otherwise.
But be that as it may, the other
powers naturally resent any attempt
on the part of Japan to gain domi-
nance of China. The white races
know instinctively that if the yellow
races were to be allied under the
leadership of Japan, the supposed ra-
cial superiority of the whites would
be endangered. Surprising that
through the alchemy of war or by
any other means, Japan with her co.
100000 should unite with China's
400,000,00O people, such union would
constitute a serious menace to the
white races of the world.
These are things that are in the
background of world politics just now.
They are not discussed by the diplo-
mats-will not be discussed by them;
just whispered.
But so far as the United States is
concerned this conflict is between two
Asiatic powers and that is all. Our
interests are not directly involved
and short of some actual attack upon
us, cannot we'll be involved. If Presi-
dent Hoover can reconcile the bellig-
erents, that is we'll and all his coun-
trymen will approve, but we will place
ourselves in peril by adopting any
course that could be construed as
meddlesome. This is conflict be-
tween two nations of race, not be-
tween races. And our nation except
for the dollars its citizens may have
invested in China or Japan, has no
immediate concern in the outcome of
the present difficulty, except that all
regret the fact that the nations are
at war.
The League OF Nations, in which so
happily the United States is without
membersip, is empowered to invoke a
boycott or even to use its armed
forces against nation tina. it consid-
ers to be the aggressor in war, but
this country is not bound by any such
agreement, and, it may be safely said,
certain of the powers that are men,
bers of the League would find it con-
venient not to use the boycott and
armed forces in this situation if the
United States were to sit apart.
The United States has big problems
of its own to solve and has not as
yet arrived at their solution. Our part
in the war in the Orient should be
limited to doing everything we can
to induce the belligerents to lay down
their arms; but if they insist upon
fighting, then it is not our battle.