Memorandum sent to PresidentWoodrow Wilson in letter, June 3rd. A.C.K.
A telegram from the Legation, at Peking, May 22:
“AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF CHINA REQUEST FOLLOWING STATEMENT BE GIVEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE:
Americans in China, view with gravest concern the decision of Peace Conference to give over to Japan German rights and interests in Shantung, irrespective of pledges which Japan will make to return these to China unless those pledges are accompanied with guarantees which make it patent to all that they will be made effective within reasonable time, otherwise all pledges regarding the maintenance of the open door or equal opportunities will become mere scraps of paper and China is endangered with a militarism controlled by Japan, which may involve the world in another great catastrophe.
American Chamber of Commerce.” |
I consider this a sound and sober view of the situation.The Shantung decision as it appears in the peace treaty involves vastly more than the awarding to Japan of economic privileges. Shantung must be considered with and in terms of Korea and Manchuria. Japan has in the course of twenty-five years defeated China in war, defeated Russia in war, occupied South Manchuria, annexed Korea, defied the United States, driven Germany from Shantung, coerced China into signing a series of iniquitous agreements, enticed Great Britain, France and Russia into immoral pledges and levie
THE AMERICAN COMMERCIAL ATTACHE AT PEKING, MR. JULEAN ARNOLD, SAYS IN A TELEGRAM TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE UNDER DATE OF MAY 19th,
“There is grave danger that the military party in China, depending on Japanese support freely give,n, will now enffect an alliance with the Japanese military party and as a result China from the Yangtse to the Amur rivers will pass under Japanese dominion, thereby seriously jeopardizing American trade prestige and interests and rendering impossible making effective the policy of the open door and equal opportunity. |
The American Minister at Peking entertains the same apprehensions. Your specialists on the Far East are absolutely in agreement with this view.In the Shantung decision, the Peace Conference has given Japan a full legal title to what Germany first took from China by force and Japan afterwards took from Germany and has held against China by force. As it stands in the Peace treaty, this decision leaves to the League of Nations the whole burden of safeguarding democracy in a region which at the moment of the creation of the League has virtually been surrendered to imperialism.
RVecommendation.
May I take the liberty of urging that you give consideration to the problem of securing in connection with the peace settlement and before the work of the Peace Conference is concluded if possible, guarantees such as do not now appear in the treaty and are not to be found in the pledges and assurances which the Japanese have made.On the basis of careful scrutinnever possessed any rights of property sovereignty in or over Shantung Province or any part thereof -- it is wholly within reason to ask that Japan make definite, official, documentary pledges as a part of the Peace agreement.Furthermore, in view of the evidences of the past five years that certain governments think very lightly of the rights of China and are not sympathetically disposed toward the principles of the traditional policy of the United States in regard to the Far East, it is both warrantable and essential that the United States endeavor at this time to establish all possible safeguards against the possiblity of future
