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http://www.archive.org/details/orientalpolicyofOOchunrich
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Map showing, with those of other
Powers, the American possessions in the Pacific. The United States has the
longest coast-line of any nation on the Pacific, for its
protection the lerican Navy in these waters should be
second to oone. Islands formerly under German
control, held by the Japanese and British during the war. have been assigned,
according to terms of the Peace Treaty, to the mandatory of the Allied nations
as follows: "The German Samoan Island—The mandate shall be held by New
Zealand. The other German •itic posessions
south of the Equator, excluding the German Samoan Island and Nauru—the mandate
shall be held by Australia. Nauru {Pleasant Island)—the mandate shall be en
to the British Empire. The German Pacific Islands north of the Equator—the
mandate shall be held by Japan." The German Colonies in the Pacific Ocean
north of the r <:-.
M—i-n --» .
T I
The Oriental Policy of the United States
Compiler of Korean Treaties,
Korean Envoy to the
Paris Conference
With
Introductory Note by
JEREMIAH
W. JENKS, Ph. D., LL.D.
Director of Far Eastern Bureau Research Professor of Government and Public Admin■ istration ; New
York University
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New York Chicago
Fleming H.
Revell Company
London and Edinburgh
Copyright, 1919, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
H'
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
To
The Chinese
Students in A?nerica
/
whose mission it is to emancipate
their country from the
iron-bound traditions of the past and to instil the spirit of Western civilization into their ancient culture, so that China
henceforth will be
not a passive and self-contained nation but a
progressive and dynamic power taking its
place, along with the United Statest in
the family of the world }s
de7nocracies
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JEREMIAH
W. JENKS, Ph.D., LL. D.
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HE publication of a book on the
Oriental policy
of the United States is peculiarly timely.
In connection with the discussion and approval of the Treaty of Peace
with Germany, and in connection with the much discussed League of Nations, it
is essential that the government of the United States now determine its
Oriental policy. It seems probable that the former policy of the territorial
integrity of China and the Open Door, with fair dealing and justice, should be
stated anew with a more vigorous determination to give it positive effect. If
the policy is to be modified, the change should be made promptly and the world
should know it.
It is fortunate that this book is written by a citizen of the Far East,
a Korean. The people of the United States need to see clearly the view-point of
the Orientals. There is little difficulty in getting the view-point of the
Japanese. In fact, it is impossible for any reader of the public preSs to avoid getting the Japanese Government's
view-point. It is much more difficult to know what the Chinese are thinking
because of the great variety of opinions published in the press. Even the policy of the government of China is varying and undetermined, although the sentiments of the Chinese people now seem to be crystallizing. On the other hand, it has been almost impossible, owing to the Japanese censorship, to get an authoritative judgment or statement regarding Korean opinion.
This book is admirably written, and although I should not find it
possible to agree in all particulars with the policies advocated and the views
expressed, I believe it of very great importance to the American people that
this view be known and understood in America.
The book, aside from.expressions of opinions,
contains very valuable information. Public men in the United States will find
the documents published in the appendices of decided interest. They have not
been heretofore readily accessible, but they are important.
It is especially desirable at this moment to be informed as fully as
possible regarding the relations of Korea and Japan at the time when the
Japanese Government is asking to have its influence over scores of millions of
the people in China extended and strengthened. The whole civilization of the
Orient, as well as the relations commercial, political and social, between the
Orient and the West are swinging in the balance.
The public opinion of America and of Europe are determining factors.
Everything that can throw real light upon the situation is valuable.
This book contains much of importance. It should be widely read.
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HE world's greatest war has come to an end, and, in so far as we are able to judge, autocracy and militarism have been driven from Europe once for all.
Now the
all-important question is: " Is this the last war, or has the Peace
Conference failed to solve the problem, thereby sowing seeds for another world
war—perhaps more horrible than the one just concluded? "
Political cynics
all over the world are already beginning to criticize the work of the Peace
Conference as being no better than that of the Congress of Vienna; they assert
that all the statesmen of the leading Powers went to the Peace Conference with
the intention of getting out of it as much of material gain for their respective
countries as they could, and that they have obtained as much as they had
expected although not as much as they wanted; that the " Fourteen Points
" were made a political revolving door to admit whatever the Powers
wanted to have included, and to exclude nearly everything that did not serve
their purposes of nationalistic gain; and that "self-determination "
of weaker nations turned out to be selfish
9
determination of stronger Powers. These are extreme views, unpleasant to be reminded of, but, perhaps, they are not without
foundation.
The League of Nations is as yet nothing more than a mere experiment,
basing its strength upon the moral support of humanity. Will it be a new Holy
Alliance, or will it serve as the framework for a world organization that will
' bind humanity into a mosaic of lasting peace and mutual good-will? The Peace
Conference has virtually recognized the validity of secret treaties made prior
to and during the war. Will the Powers, under the guidance of the League of
Nations, abandon secret diplomacy and discontinue their economic exploitation
of less civilized lands, thereby surrendering the particular purpose of
individual states to the common will of mankind? Since the League of Nations is
a league of free nations, will it not, even if
it becomes a complete success, be but another nail driven into the coffin of
the already crushed nations, whose claims to the right of resurrection were
denied them at the Peace Table? It must be remembered that a right to revolt
against foreign oppression is an inalienable right—a right upon the foundations
of which ' the Fathers of the American Revolution built their nation. Peace at
any price—especially, at the price of the political aspirations of nations whose
people are crying for justice and free- dom—is the worst
kind of tyranny. It is, however, quite possible in this pregnant century, that a new international standard of moral rectitude will
be born of mankind, which will bring pressure to
bear upon the League so that this new world
organization will slowly succeed in disentangling
itself from the many things that have bound us
in the past, and be guided in its actions by a
sense of justice that plays no favourites.
These are more or less academic speculations that occupy the minds of
political students at the present as the aftermath of the war and the peace
settlements. But the most vital question that is bound to engage the attention
of the statesmen of the world is the Far Eastern question.
The open door in the Far East cannot be maintained permanently by a
balance of rival powers under the guidance of intrigue. China must not be left
to herself, staggering under the strain of " spheres of influence,"
as she has been during the last twenty years. The present Eastern question is
far more menacing to the future peace of the world than was the Balkan^,
problem ten years ago. And if the Powers of the world do not solve it now by
peaceful methods, then they must be prepared to solve it ten years hence on the
field of battle. It must be remembered that China has one-fourth
of
the world's population and an unlimited supply of natural resources—especially in coal and
iron —to be exploited for peace or
war. If this reservoir of power is permitted to be dominated by one nation—especially by such an ambitious empire as Japan—then it is obvious that the world cannot be made "safe for
democracy"; there
will be a drawn dagger at the heart of the United States and of the British possessions in the Far East.
Consolidation of Asia under Japanese
domination is the vision of the Japanese statesmen;
and toward the attainment of this
national goal there is unity of purpose among
Japanese leaders. With this in view, Korea
was annexed, Manchuria was absorbed, Inner
Mongolia and Fukien province are being overwhelmed,
and last but not least, Japan has obtained
from the Powers at the Peace Conference the official recognition of her
paramount interests
in Shantung. At the present rate of Japanese
aggression, China cannot last very long.
Shall she be left to her own fate, or will the Powers of the West take an active
interest in the
Far Eastern affairs and save her national entity? The United States is not interested
in any particular European or
Asiatic problem, individual in character. But the United States is interested in a problem that has
far-reaching effects
on the world's peace and the welfare of mankind.
What are her obligations, by treaty, by
policy, by moral rights, to her sister Republic in the East? These are some of the questions the author has in mind in presenting the
following chapters.
The author is not unaware of the possible criticism on the part of the
reader that Parts I and II lack coordination. But the opinion of the writers on
the Far Eastern questions are so often conflicting, even diametrically opposed
to each other at times between those who regard the Japanese as a " model
people " and those who regard them as "treacherous savages" masquerading
in the garb of civilization, that it is almost impossible for the average
American reader to have a clear-cut conception as to what the Oriental policy
of the United States ought to be unless he knows the subtle undercurrent that
directs, in a large measure, the course of public opinion in the West with
regard to Japan's foreign policy. In this respect the author feels justified
in considering the two parts as supplementary to each other.
In preparing this volume, the author had at his disposal abundant
Oriental sources. But he took pains to use as much as possible only those facts
that had been corroborated by Western historians and publicists of unquestioned
integrity, in order that the reader may have available references for the
fuller support of the present author's statements.
In conclusion, the author wishes to express his sincere appreciation of
the kind encouragement and constructive criticism given him by Professor
Hartley Burr Alexander, who has aided him to a deeper insight into and higher '
appreciation of Western culture.
New York. HENRY CHUNG.
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T I
Introduction............................ 21
I. The Opening of the East
... 25
1. Japan.
2. Korea.
3. China.
II. China in the Twentieth
Century . 49
. " Spheres of Influence
" versus " Open V Door."_ "T.TKe
Boxer Uprising. ~37"TKe" Russo-Japanese Struggle.
. III. American Rivalry
with Japan . . 62
1. The American Fleet in the Far East.
2. American and British Policies.
3. " Dollar Diplomacy." /
4. The Twenty-one Demands. fV*9 v 5. China and the European War.
v/ IV. The Lansing-Ishii Agreement .
83
1. The Diplomatic Procedure. r
2. Reception of the Agreement. 3. Effect on Japanese Attitude.
j/V. Present Policies and
Opportunities . 100
1. Japanese Plans and Ambitions.
2.
American Duties and Opportunities,
PART II
An Undercurrent Shaping the
Policy: Japan's
Control of Publicity Introduction 113
I.
The Official Espionage . . .116
1. The Philosophy of the System.
2. Spies in Other Lands.
3. Espionage in Japan and Korea.
II.
The Government Censorship . .129
1. Press Censorship.
2. Censorship of Postal and Telegraphic Com
munications.
III.
Publicity Propaganda .... 144
1. Official Publications.
2. Government Agencies in Foreign Lands.
3. Manipulation of Foreign'Visitors in Japan.
Conclusion....................................... 167
Comparison
of Russian and Japanese Diplomacy.
PART III
-Va. Treaty Between the United States
and Japan . 177 —^B. The Emigration Treaty Between China and
the
United
States . . 1 . . . .192
C. Protocol Between China and the Treaty Powers
\ Respecting
the Settlement of the Boxer War . 198
D. The Hay Doctrine of the " Open Door " in China 211
E. The Anglo-Japanese Alliances , , .
F. Senate Resolution Requesting the President to
Transmit to the Senate the
Official Correspondence Between the United States and Korea . 227
G. The President's Reply.................................. 228
H. The Korean-American Treaty . . . .229 L Petition from the Koreans of Hawaii to President
Rodsevelt....................................... 241
J.
American Policy in the Cases of Korea and Belgium 245
K.
Korea Under Japan...................................... 258
L. The Root-Takahira Agreement Concerning
China 266 M. Count
Okuma's Message to the American People
Concerning China . . . . .270 N. The Twenty-One Demands . . , .271 O. A Resume of Japan's Procedure in
Connection
with the Twenty-One Demands . . .276 P. The Revised Demands Presented by Japan to
China 278 Q.
China's Concession to the Demands . . .285 R. American Note to China and Japan
Concerning the
Agreement ....... 286 "
S.
The Peking Petition....................................... 287
T. The Lansing-Ishii Agreement .
J . .289 U.
The New Sino-Japanese Military Agreement . 292 Selected Bibliography 296
Maps
Possessions of the Great Powers in the Pacific . Frontispiece
Spheres
of Influence" in China—1898 and 1918 . 49
Railways
in China, 1915...................................... 63
•*Trade
Routes of the Pacific............................... 83
China
in 1919, Showing Railways and Spheres of Influence 101
PART I
The
Development of the Policy
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OME years ago Ex-Premier Kang Yu- Wei in an address before a group of Chinese in California made a statement that if China had been a strong and
aggressive empire,
California would be to-day a part of Chinese
territory.[1] If
we reflect for a moment that at
the time of the American occupation of the
Pacific coast, China was nearer to it than any other great empire excepting Japan, and that travel between China and California was less difficult, before the time of
railroads, than that
across the continent, we shall see that this utterance from the wise Chinese is not an
empty remark. As early as 1860 there
were 34,933 Chinese
in the United States.1 And it would have been a comparatively easy matter for
China, had she been a powerful nation, to send colonies to the Pacific coast before that
part of the
continent became a part of the United States.[2]
It is also easy to believe that had the American Government, impelled
by imperial tendencies, encouraged its merchants and seamen by subsidy and
ample protection, the American " sphere of influence " would be to-day
larger than that of any other nation in China, and American merchants would be
enjoying the lion's share of the Oriental trade. The enterprising Yankees who
sailed to all parts of the globe as merchants and fishermen were not at all
slow in gettingtheir share of the Oriental trade.
Thus the first American merchant vessel appeared in Chinese waters in 1784 ;4
and the commerce of the United States in the palmy
days of its Oriental trade was second in volume among that of the Western
nations. But American statesmen of the early period believed that there was
" room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth
generation" on this
continent,5 and the
American Government was too
busily occupied with internal problems to safeguard the commercial interests of its
citizens in the Far East. The intercourse, therefore, between North America
and the Orient, inbuilt up at the close of the
eighteenth century, was
practically abandoned in later years, and so remained until the new efforts of the middle
of the nineteenth century.
The
industrial revolution of the nineteenth / century inaugurated indeed a new political regime in Europe and in America. By utilization
of steam, electricity, and labour-saving machinery,
an industrial nation can produce manufactured articles far beyond its own
needs. Two things
are essential to commercial expansion of a
nation—to find raw material either at home or abroad, and to find a market for
manufactured goods.
Commerce has become the greatest of all
political interests. Territories are sought to enlarge commerce, and great armies and
navies are maintained to enforce
commercial rights in foreign
lands. The United States, which had remained
hitherto a self-contained nation, could no
longer hold its isolated position. With the acquisition of the Philippine Islands, and
the coming of the " spheres of
influence " in China, the
United States was forced to become an
6
Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, Richardson, " Messages and Papers of the Presidents/' I; 321-24.
active participant in Oriental politics. From now on, American diplomacy was what the Jef- fersonian Republicans might have called aggressive
imperialsm.
THE OPENING OF THE EAST i. Japan
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HEN Commodore Perry reached Japan
in 1853, he presented to the Emperor
of Japan President Fillmore's letter asking for the friendship and commercial
intercourse of the two nations. The American
Government had long since wanted to open
Japan to American trade. In 1815 Secretary Monroe had planned to send
Commodore Porter
to open Japan to trade. In 1837 the American
ship Morrison had
arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, in hope of opening up trade, but
had been driven away by bombardment.
The motive of the American Government in its attempt to open Japan in 1853 was, as stated in
President Fillmore's letter to the Japanese Emperor, " friendship, commerce, a supply of
coal and provisions,
and protection for our shipwrecked people."
The American whale industry in the Pacific
Ocean about this time was estimated at about
$17,000,000. In several instances American whalers had been wrecked on the
Japanese coasts
and the crews had been maltreated by the Japanese officials, as in the case of the
Lawrence • 25 in
1846, and the Ladoga in
1848. Then, too, it was
quite necessary for ocean liners plying between California and China to stop
over in Japanese ports to provision themselves. In addiction
to all these material reasons, there was some sense of moral duty on the part of
Christian America to open up heathen Japan to the penetrating rays of Christian civilization.
Indeed, as early as 1816, John Quincy Adams urged the opening of Japan as a duty of
Christian nations.
Between 1854, when the first American-Japanese treaty was signed at
Yokohama, and 1899, when the Western nations recognized the full sovereignty of
Dai Nippon, many significant historical events happened in the Sunrise Kingdom.
It was during the early part of this period that the Japanese embassies
returned from Europe and America with the astonishing discovery that " it
is not the foreigners, but we ourselves who are barbarous." Japanese students
were sent abroad to learn Western arts- and sciences; foreign teachers were
employed to reorganize the school system; the army was organized after the
Western model, and the navy changed from fishermen's junks to iron-clad
men-of-war; and feudal barons were forced to give up their powers to the
central government. In short, Japan emerged from a state of mediaeval
feudalism into that of a modern constitu- tional monarchy, strongly centralized and highly efficient in its working order. In the Boxer uprising,
1900, she joined hands with the Western ^ nations, and in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5, she completely surprised the world with the efficiency of her military organization. It was the first time since the Turk had pounded the gates of Vienna that a heathen nation of the East had shown itself able successfully , to meet a Christian power of the West on the military field. With good reason did President Roosevelt pay high
tribute in his message to Congress, 1906, to the spirit and methods of Japan in her acceptance and promotion of modern civilization; and it was largely through the instrumentality
of President Roosevelt that the peace
negotiations at Portsmouth were brought to a
successful issue. When in 1908 Japan sent her first
envoy, Viscount Shuzo Aoki, to the United States
with the rank of Ambassador, it_ was the
culmination of the long friendship between the two countries.
American relations with Japan in international questions have always
been fair, and Japanese. statesmen have looked up to the United States for
moral support in their struggle for recognition by the Western Powers.[3]
They
1 The
United States was the first of Western nations to withdraw the right of
extra-territoriality from Japan by a treaty signed Nov. 22, 1894. See Part III.
knew the American lack of sinister designs in foreign lands, and had the utmost faith in the American sense of fair play, until
the question of Japanese immigration
and citizenship in America came up. This embarrassing question was complicated by discriminatory laws passed by some of the western states of the American Union—especially California— against aliens not qualified for
citizenship. The labour element on the Pacific coast carried on a crusade against the Japanese on the grounds that the market for labour
was cheapened by the presence
of the Orientals. Politicians found a popular
issue in vehement denunciations of the Japanese.
For a time the Japanese question in California,
serving as a football in local politics, furnished a source of grave complications between
America and Japan.
It is not the purpose of this study to trace the historical relations
between the United States and Japan, nor to deal with the Japanese problem
within the United States. Many'excellent volumes have
been written on these topics.8
Suffice it to say here that the
present friendship between
the United States and Japan is largely traditional,8
although the recent Imperial .Commission headed by Viscount Ishii painted over the ugly spots of local friction with a
fresh varnish of alliance against the " Common Enemy,"4 and the Japanese question in the
United States is still
an unsettled issue. No unbiased student of
international relations will deny that a sovereign nation has a right to close
its doors to undesirable
immigrants, or that citizenship is a privilege
to be granted and not a universal right to be
claimed by every alien that comes to its shores.
But in the interest of fairness, the question presents itself, should the
United States, the
champion of world democracy, continue to deny its
citizenship, which is open to all other races,
including the blacks from the jungles of Africa,
to Asiatics permanently settled in this country, who have educational and financial qualifications for all the duties and
obligations of
American citizenship? The future affairs of the world must be settled by both the white and
Asia at the Door; " Harry Alvin Mills, "The Japanese Problem
in the United States; " Lindsay
Russell, " America to Japan;" Monta- ville Flowers,
*.* Japanese Conquest of American Opinion; " J. F. Steiner, " The Japanese Invasion."
8 Cf. K.
K. Kawakami, " Japan and the United States," Atlantic 119
1671-81, May, 1917.
* See Viscount Ishii's speeches during his
visit in America, 1917, together
with editorial comments on them by the American press.
the yellow races. Let it be known to the statesmen of the
world—especially to the American statesmen—that
the ultimate welfare of the human race depends largely upon the wise adjustment
of the relations between these two dominant
races, that the peace of the world cannot
be "planted upon the'tested foundations of
political liberty," unless this complicated problem is correctly solved.
Surely the American
public should not, through indifference, leave this problem to the hands of
agitators and propagandists, when a lasting solution can be made only in the light of its best
reason and
highest wisdom.
2.. Korea
Before passing to the Chinese question, it might be worth our while to
take a glance at the closing chapter of the least known nation—once a nation—in
Asia.
The United States was the first Western power to enter the gates of
Korea.6 The first article of the Korean-American treaty signed at
Wonsan, Korea, May 22, 1882 (ratifications exchanged at Seoul, Korea, May 19,
1883), reads as follows:
"There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the
President of the United States
"For early diplomatic
intercourse between America and Korea,
see Foster, "American Diplomacy in the Orient." chap. IX.
and the King of Chosen and citizens and subjects of their respective
governments. If other powers deal unjustly or oppressively with either
government, the other will exert their good offices, on being informed of the
case, to bring about an amicable arrangement, thus showing their friendly
feelings."9
Interpreting this diplomatic phraseology into every-day language, it
meant that America would stand sponsor for the political independence and
territorial integrity of Korea. And the simple-minded Korean Government from
the Emperor down literally believed in it. In fact, they had no reason to doubt
the sincerity of the United States. They saw the splendid work of American
philanthropy through missionary channels; the integrity of the American
Government was exemplified by the integrity of American citizens there. They
thought that there was at least one great nation that was unselfish and honest
and upon which they could rely for support, as it was provided in the
Korean-American treaty, whenever their national life was in jeopardy. American
citizens were accorded greater privilege than any other foreigners - in Korea.
The first Korean railway—Seoul-Chemulpo line—was
built and owned by an American concern; the first elec-
* Complete text of the treaty reprinted in Senate Document, No. 342, 64th Congress, 1st
Session.
trie plant
in Korea was installed by the Edison Company
in 1895. The first and largest electric road and water works in Korea were
built and owned by Americans.7
The richest gold mine in
Korea was given to an American firm. Dr.
Horace N. Allen, former American minister to Korea, thus describes the gaining of the
concession : "As the result of a long train of circumstances, it had
become known to me exactly which
district was considered the richest by the natives, and it was this district,
twenty-five by thirty
miles in extent, that I named in the concession."8 It must be
remembered that America did not
get all these concessions from Korea by force
as European nations got theirs in China. They were given to American concerns by the Korean Government in return for the good
will and friendship of the United
States.
Numerous other American industries in Korea might be mentioned, but it
is enough to say that while Korea was an independent nation, the American
business man had the best of the advantages open to foreigners in Korea. After
mapping out her imperial program, and through the clever use of her publicity
propaganda" Japan convinced the American public—espe-
TSee Horace
N. Allen, "Things Korean," chap. XIV; Thomas F. Millard, "The Far Eastern
Question," chap. XII, "
The Open Door in Korea."
8 Allen, " Things Korean," pp.
232-233.
• See Part II.
daily official Washington—that she must have Korea in order to preserve peace in the Far East. "Japan began and carried through
this whole matter," said Homer B.
Hulbert, an American
educator and for some time political adviser
to the Korean Emperor, " by clever use of misinformation and broken promises, which successfully hoodwinked the American public."10
The first obvious step taken by the United States in handing Korea over to Japan was at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War,
when Japan violated Korean neutrality
and exacted certain
concessions from the Korean Government under " military necessity."
The Secretary of State, John Hay, instructed the American minister at Seoul, Horace N. Allen, to
observe strict
neutrality and not cable the text of any agreement
that Korea and Japan might come to."
This was undoubtedly done to avoid recognition of Korea's appeal against
Japanese aggressions.
The next move the United States made to aid Japan in this game of Oriental politics was
the recall of Dr. Allen from Korea.
Dr. Allen had stayed
in Korea over twenty years and was highly
esteemed by both the natives and for-
10 Homer B. Hulbert, " The Passing of
Korea," p. 462.
"Cablegram sent from Washington, Feb.
23, 1904; recorded in Senate Document, No. 342
p. 11, 64th Congress, 1st
Session.
eigners. When
the Japanese began to tighten their
grip in the peninsula, he told his government a few unpalatable truths about
what the Japanese
were doing in Korea. Immediately subtle
influences were put in operation at Washington intimating that Minister Allen
was a persona non grata to the
Japanese. As a result Dr.
Allen, despite his unquestioned integrity and long years of loyal service to his
government, was summarily recalled, to the great surprise and indignation of
American communities in
Korea.
When hostilities began between Russia and Japan, America was officially
neutral, but her sympathies were with Japan. There were three possible reasons
for this: (1) Japan through her publicity propaganda created a favourable opinion of herself in America;" (2) Japan
borrowed vast sums of money from America for war purposes, and Japanese
success was naturally wished for by American capitalists; (3) at the beginning
of the war Japan was thought of by the outside world as an " under-dog
" trying to get loose from the brutal clutch of the Russian Bear. An
incident which happened at Chemulpo Harbour immediately preceding the naval encounter of the
two belligerents fur-
aaFor various
methods of controlling American public opinion
by Japan in regard to Japanese affairs, see Part II, "Japan's Control of Publicity."
See also Flowers, "Japanese Conquest
of American Opinion." nishes an illuminating illustration of American attitude toward
the three nations directly concerned in the war,—Japan, Russia, and Korea.
On February 9, 1904, Admiral Uriu, the commander
of the Japanese fleet, sent an ultimatum to the captain of the Variag, the Russian warship
lying in the harbour of Chemulpo,
that he would give the Russian ships until twelve o'clock to leave the harbour, and if they had not moved by four o'clock that
afternoon, the Japanese fleet would come in and sink them at their anchorage—in
a neutral port of a neutral country.
. There were at that time in the harbour four
other foreign war-ships: the Talbot (British),
the Elba (Italian), the Pascal (French), and the Vicksburg
(American). The commander of the British war-ship, notwithstanding the fact
that Great Britain was an ally of Japan, was indignant at the insolence of the
Japanese Admiral, and invited the commanders of the other foreign ships to a
conference on board the Talbot to decide what
action should be taken. "The British, French, and Italian commanders at
once decided' that Admiral Uriu was proposing to
commit a gross breach of international law, and they unanimously resolved to
give the Russian ships whatever protection they could. A message was sent to
the commander of the Variag informing him
of this determination, and ad-< vising him to
refuse to leave the harbour.1* But the captain
of the Vicksburg explained to the other
commanders that he had received explicit instructions from his government to
remain strictly neutral in the coming event. And the American war-ship
Vicksburg, with its proud name, skulked into the inner harbour
of safety. The Russian naval officers keenly resented this action of the Vicksburg, and the Russian press made bitter
references to this incident as well as to the
generally pro-Japanese tendency in America at that
time as a breach of the historic friendship
between America and Russia."
At the time of the Portsmouth Conference between Russia and Japan, July,
1905, the Koreans in Hawaii sent their two delegates, Syngman
Rhee and P. K. Yoon, to present a petition to President Roosevelt, asking that
he " see to it that Korea may preserve her autonomous government." 18
The delegates were received unofficially, and their petition was given a
sympathetic consideration. But this did not change
the President's settled policy toward Korea. When
the Emperor of Korea sent Homer B.
Hulbert to present his letter to President Roosevelt asking for aid against
Japan's aggression, Mr. Hulbert was refused an interview by both
the President and Secretary of State Root on
one excuse after another until it was too late.1'
" So far from pleading the case of Korea with
Japan, America was the first to fall in with
and give its open assent to the destruction of
the old administration. On the first
intimation from Japan it agreed, without inquiry and
with almost indecent haste, to withdraw its minister from Seoul.,,"
When the United States declared neutrality at the beginning of the
recent European war, the very men who ignored treaty obligations and handed
over, as far as America was concerned, the " Belgium of the East" to
Japan, Theodore Roosevelt and Elihu Root, were the
loudest in denouncing the Wilson Administration for not going to war against
Germany in defense of Belgian neutrality. There was no treaty binding upon the
United States to defend Belgium against the unrighteous aggressor as in the
case of Korea. The Democratic President and Congress retaliated by publishing
the ac-
18 For a
full description of Hulbert's mission, see Part III, J, "American Policy in the Cases
of Korea and Belgium."
" F.
A. McKenzie, " Tragedy of Korea," p. 131.
counts of the Roosevelt and Root Administration ignoring Korea's appeal
in the last days of her
struggle against Japan.18 For the first time the part played, or not played, by the United States in that tragedy in the Far
East came to light. When newspaper
reporters interviewed Root on the subject, he refused to comment on it. Alvey
A. Adee, who was the Second Assistant Secretary of State under
Root, and who is the star witness of
the Korean case at
Washington, also refused to comment on the matter, but said, "It is ancient
history, anyhow." 19
Korea was the bone of contention of the East for a number of years. It
was only through a favourable combination of
circumstances that Japan was enabled to occupy it. Russia gave her consent to
Japanese occupation as her war indemnity; England welcomed the expansion of her
ally's influence on the mainland of Asia to checkmate the Russian advance and
to protect the British interests in the East, so that she might concentrate her
navy in the North Sea to counteract Germany. But the United States, instead of
gaining something by the " deal," lost all the advantages she had
held before. Before the Russo-Japanese War, American business men enjoyed the
largest share of foreign
M Senate Document, No.
342, 64th Congress, 1st Session.
19 New York
Times, March 6, 1916.
trade in Korea and Manchuria.[4]
But now their place
is taken by Japanese. The American policy then, as now, was not motivated by material gains. The statesmen at Washington were convinced
that Korea was utterly " incapable of independence "—the same kind
of conviction that Metternich
had toward Italy, George III toward American colonies, and the statesmen of the Central Powers toward Serbia, Belgium, and all the constituent states of
Austria-Hun- . gary. The principle of " no people must be forced under sovereignty under which it does not wish to live "[5]
was as yet too far off an ideal
to be a common expression of American statesmen..
The Korean people learned too late that there is no such a thing as
international honesty, and that treaty obligations backed by no force are not
worth the paper upon which they are written. The United States was the first of
Western nations to enter Korea, the first to enjoy the preferential treatment
and commercial advantages in that land, and the first to desert her in the
time of her dire need of American friendship. Dr. Allen well sums up the case
of Korean-American treaty obligations in the following words:
" Korea has taken that treaty to mean just what the words say,
while we seem to have utterly disregarded the solemn promise we therein
voluntarily made, that we would lend her our good offices should she be
oppressed by a third power; thus breaking faith with a people who trusted us
implicitly, and who consented to the opening of her doors on this guarantee of
friendly aid."22
Thus the United States of America " sneered at freedom and lent
arms to the tyrant" in the demolition of a civilization that began long before
David became the king of Israel.2*
3. China
A prominent Western historian and scientist won distinction for a time
by his advocacy of a novel idea that a nation, like an individual, has its
infancy, maturity, senility, and final extinction.34 This idea was
supported by a few superficial observers of Oriental politics who maintained
that the Eastern nations had long since reached the summit of their evolution,
and that no further progress in the future was to be ex-
28 Allen, " Things Korean," p. 214.
"For antiquity of Korean civilization,
see W. E. Griffis, "Corea—The
Hermit Nation" ; H. B. Hulbert, "The Passing of Korea."
" See John William Draper, "
History of the Intellectual *
Development of Europe." pected.85 Interesting though these theories may be, they have
little historical foundation. A nation may have ebbs and flows of civilization
in the cycle of its life, but there is no reason for its predestined
maturity and decay except through its adoption of wrong institutions. Egypt in Africa,
Italy in Europe, and China in Asia furnish ample evidences to upset the theory of an
analogy between the life of a nation and that of an individual.
When China opened her gates to
the treaty powers
of the West, her civilization was
at its. ebb^ THeXhma that Marco Polo found in the thirteenth century was undoubtedly in a higher stage of civilization than the China of the
nineteenth century. The " foreign-devil " notion and the spirit of exclusiveness were
not the attitude of China toward forei^ners,in^th.<L-M.iddle Ajjes^ Orftlie
contrary, the alien then enjoyed in China
rights and privileges such as he could enjoy in
few, if any, countries of modern times. "
The imperial government placed the aliens practically on the same footmg,_as
its own subjects: it opened to them public employments and extended to them the fullest protection. Olopun, pne of the Nestorians who entered China in the Tang Dynasty, was raised to the rank of high priest and national protector
by Emperor Kautsung.
Marco Polo, though a Venetian
by birth, was appointed to the office of
prefect of Yangchow, which he held for three years."98
When the Portuguese first entered the Canton^ River in 1517,
they were received_in a kindly^spjnt.
But their greedy and high-handed methods in their relations with the
natives turned the feeling of amity intojone of
hatred, and caused the Mitig Emperor in 1545
to issue an edjctjo^attaclc the-foreigners. The gpan- iard§ made their appearance
in J.575, but they were asjcnije]jiTlcLgreedy-as-the-Bort u guese, and failed to restore the prestige of Westerners in the
eyes of the Chinese. The successive events of European expansion in the
East,—the conquest of the East Indies, and the forcible occupation of parts
of India and the Malay Peninsula by Portuguese adventurers,—awakened the
suspicions of the Chinese as to the ulterior motives of the foreigners rapidly
flocking to their shores. At this early period of European intercourse, China
unfortunately received a bad impression that all Europeans~wer
e Jb a r barians and
adventurers.
Commercial relations between ^England and China began in 3j>35„ when Captain John Wed- dell was
sent to China with a small fleet of
M V. K. W.
Koo, " The Status of Aliens in China," p. igt vessels. Later two missions^—one under the Earl of Macartney in 1793, and the other under Lord Amherst in 1816—were sent to China from England for
the purpose of arriving at a better understanding in regard to the trade relations
between the two countries. Lord Napier was appointed as Commercial Superintendent,of.the British Government in China in 1833, when the
control of the British trade at Canton passed out of the hands of the East India Company.
All the British had accomplished during the two hundred years of commercial
intercourse with China was the establishment of a trading post in Canton. Their attempt,to enter into a cordial relationship with China on the
basis of international comity and mutual understanding had been a complete
failure. The Chinese continued to suspect the motive of the
foreigner and treated him as a barbarian. This suspicion and hatred was intensified
when o^diim was foxfifidLupon^China through the
muzzles of the Britishjmenrpi-war, and the Chinese
Government was compelled to submit to the demands of the British.27 The treaty of
.Nanking, signed at the close of
27 The
treaty was signed in the close
of the " Opium
War." By this treaty, the island of Hongkong
wasceded to Great
Britain, an indemnity was paiofor the opium destroyed,^*
official correspondence was to be carried on on equal terms, and Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai were
opened to foreign trade as treaty ports, where foreigners could reside.
the first Anglo-Chinese War, did not settle all the pending issues between the Chinese and
the British. The constant friction
between the Chinese
and the British officials in regard to their
respective rights, and the continuance of opium smuggling by the British merchants at Canton and Hongkong,
furnished causes for another war. This time the French, actuated partly by the desire to seek reparation for
the massacre of a
missionary in West Kwangsi. and partly by the spirit of imperial
aggrandizement, joined
with the English in war
against China. The
allied forces took Canton, and
then carried war to
the north. The Chinese were forced to sue for
peace, and the war was brought to a close by
the treaty of Tientsiq. signed
June 26, 1859.
The treaty provided among other things the
right of residence by foreign ministers in Peking, the opening of fiye
additionaM;reaty ports, and the toleration of_ttie Christian
religion.88 The Chinese, later on, tried to evade the carrying out of these provisions. This caused the allied armies to make an
expedition to
Peking, where they burned the Summer Palace as a punitive measure,
and compelled the Chinese
Government to sign another treaty on October
22^1860. In addition to the terms of
"At this time the United States and
Russia also made treaties
with China, although they took no part in the conflict.
the treaty of Tientsin, Kowloon was
ceded to thejiritish and Tientsin was opened as a
treaty port. Foreign ministers for the
first time took up their
residence in Peking, AnsonJBurlingame representing the United
States.28
Repeated defeats and humiliations caused the Chinese Government to make
feeble attempts at reform. In ISj}7 the firstJChinese. embassy was sent to.fo.reignxotmtries for the purpose of winning for China
more favourable treatment from Western nations. The
embassy was headed by Anson, Burlingame, who had completed his term as
the first American minister to China. This was the beginning of Amencan-pr.es
tigeJn the Far East. Minister Burlingame, through his
personal integrity and diplomatic foresight, won the respect and confidence of
the Chinese. He convinced the Chinese Government that Jiis
country. ofjall Westernjriations
had uq.t
ulterior m.QJtives in Chinese territory.80
The most notable achievement of the embassy was the conclusion of the ti^atyjoLl^
" It stipulated the territorial integrity of China by disavowing any right to interfere with
its eminent domain or sovereign
jurisdiction over
MFor
Burlingame's career as the American minister to China, see U. S. "Diplomatic
Correspondence," 1862-68, China;
Martin's " Cathay," pt. II, chap. II.
10 See U.
S. " Diplomatic Correspondence," 1S68, pt. I, pp. 493, 502, 601; 1870, pp. 317, 332; 1S71, p.
166; Martin's "
Cathay," p. 374; Speer's " China," p. 429.
its subjects and property; it recognized the right of China to regulate its internal
trade not affected
by treaty; provided for the appointment of consuls; secured exemption from
persecution or disability on account of religion; recognized the right of voluntary
emigration; pledged
the privilege of residence and travel in either
country on the basis of most favoured nation; granted the privilege of schools and colleges; disavowed the intention to
interfere in the
domestic administration of China in respect to public improvements, but
expressed the
willingness of the United States to aid in such enterprise when requested by
China." w
All these outward signs of change and reform did not affect the core of
China. The depths of Chinese conservatism were like those of a vast ocean
undisturbed by the surface ripples of wars and treaties. The literati of China were as firm as ever in their
belief that China was the center of the world's culture—hence the name,
"Middle Kingdom "—and that all the foreign nations were barbarians.
When the first imperial audience for foreign ambassadors was held in
81 Foster,
"American Diplomacy in the Orient," pp. 365366. The voluntary
emigration clause of this treaty was revised
later, and exclusion laws were passed against Chinese labourers. For
voluminous findings of investigating committees, debates in Congress,
editorial comments pro and con on the
subject, see " Select List of References on Chinese Immigration," compiled by A. P. C.
Griffin, Library of Congress, Washington, 1904.
Peking in 1873, it took place in the " Pavilion of Purple Light," a hail used for
receiving tributary
nations. Something decidedly violent was
needed to stir the,
complacency of the Chinese
and upset their naive attitude of superiority.
Now Japan was, ready, to play her role in
Eastern politics.
For centuries China_CQiisideredJKarea, as a vassal nation 82
and Japanjas.an, archipelago^of barbarous tribes.
Japan patiently forebore the insolence of China
during the early period of Meiji Era with the anticipation of coming back at
her later. After the internal troubles were settled and the country was
thoroughly organized on a modern basis, the Tapanese
statesmen launched the program of imperiai_expajllion,
and hastened military and naval preparations with astonishing rapidity for what
they deemed to be the inevitable conflict with China. When they thought they
were sufficiently prepared, they struck the bl^v^oJLSM,
and China^was completely prostrated.88
w Korea
had her autonomy in all its essentials. Dynasties changed, wars and treaties were made with
foreign countries without
regard to China. See Bishop, "Korea and Her Neighbours ";
Griffis, " Corea—'The
Hermit Nation "; Longford, " The Story of
Korea "; McKenzie, " The Tragedy of Korea"; Hulbert, "The History of
Korea."
"For the causes of the war, see Sengman Rhee, "The Spirit of Korean Independence," pp.
164-173 (Korean); "U.
S. Foreign Relations," 1894, Appendix I, pp. 5-23; Williams, "History of China," pp.
437-444; Griffis, "Corea," pp. 460-462; Henry Norman, "The People
and Politics of
\
The United States performed an important mission during and at the close
of the war. When the war was declared, both belligerent countries intrusted the a£chiv.es„an&
property of their legations and consulates and the interests of their
subjects, in -the-enemy^country^to the care of theJQnited^States ministers and consuls in the respective
countries. At the close of the conflict, peace overtures were made through
American ministers both at Peking and Tokyo." Thus the United States
proved herself a disinterested friend to both China and Japan, and established
the foundation for further diplomatic achievements in the East. The Emperor of
Japan, soon after the close of the war, sent a letter to the President of the
United States expressing his cordial thanks for the good offices of the United
States during the war. • A similar sentiment was expressed by China through Li
Hung Chang on his visit to the United States in 1896.*5
the Far East," pp. 259-266; Curzon, "Far East," pp. 196208.
For the events of the war, see "
Foreign Relations," 1894, Appendix
I, pp. 44-104; Williams, "China," pp. 444-459; " Vladimir," " The
China-Japan War," London, 1896, pts. II and III, Appendix D, F-H. For results of the
war, see J. H. Wilson,
U. S. A., " China, Travels 111 the Middle Kingdom," chap. XX.
"For peace negotiations, see
"Foreign Relations," 1894, Appendix
I, pp. 29-106; 1895, p. 969; "History of Peace Negotiations Between China and Japan/'
officially revised, Tientsin,
1895; Williams, " China," p. 459.
* See "Memoirs of U Hung Chang,"
edited by W. F. Mannix, Shanghai, 1912.
|
|
|
|
Map I shows the status of the
various "Spheres of Influence" at the beginning of the
"Sphere" Doctri: it 1898). Map II illustrates the growth of
Japanese influence on the Asiatic Mainland (chiefly China and Korea) equent to the
Russo-Japanese and the recent European Wars. The United States has no
"Sphere."
II
CHINA IN THE TWENTIETH
CENTURY
i. " Spheres of Influence " vs. " Open Door "
|
T |
HE
position of China at the opening of the twentieth century was peculiar. The CfriflaJapapgge, re
vealed the utter helplessness.-of .China. When the
three European powers—Germany,-France, and Russia—seoticeioJapanjtojYithdraw
from the mainland of Asia and to return to China the conquered territory of the
Liaotung Peninsula, they did not do so with the altruistic motive of helping
China preserve her territorial integrity. Their action was motivated, as was
proved by subsequent events, by a desireJoxurb the expansion
of influence on the
Asiatic mainland, and to
appropriate forjhem- selves, in time, what Japan
wanted as a prize of her victory. The downfall of China was predicted, and the
partition of that vast empire among civilized nations was freely discussed.
Then arose the " sphere of influence
" doctrine. This peculiar modern doctrine,
paraphrased,
49
means that each nation that has some interest in China shall map out a certain district as
its own sphere in which it will have
a paramount influence,
and out of which other nations must stay. In
case of final partition, each district thus
mapped out will become, a territory of
its respective owner. Even in far-off
China, as in Europe
proper, the spirit of European rivalry was
based on the theory and practice of bal- anceof^gower. And
every incident was utilized as a
pretext to press upon the Chinese Government claims for leases, concessions,
and privileges of one kind or another.
Germany fired the opening^gun in this European
lease scramble in China. In 1897 two German missionaries were killed by a
Chinese mob, The German Government lost no time in seizing this opportunity.
German men-of-war appeared promptly in Kiaochow Bay,
occupied the city, demanded, as an indemnity, the lease^of
Kiaochow for ninety-nine years, and the recognition
of a German sphere of influence in the greater part of Shantung Peninsula.
These demands were complied with by the Chinese Government in the treaty
signed March 8, .1898.
This move of Germany turned loose the pent-up ambition of European
nations to exploit China. Russia, who had already heldjrail-
road franchises in northern Manchuria, now approached China with cajolery,
intimidation, and promi&e&jafjaicLin case of further aggression by other European nations,1 and succeeded inJeas- ing.J£ort_Arthur, Talienwan, and the adjacent waters as
naval, bases. The Manchurian Rail- wayjSompjmy under
Russian control was given the right to
construct a branch-line-to Port Arthur. England
forced China to sign a Ijgase of_ Weihaiwei together with the adjacent waters, July^
l, 1898. In like manner France occupied Kwangchow: J3ay under a
ninety-nine yeasJease; and Italy obtained the right to develop the port of Sgnmup. In Apjril,^189.8, England and Russia made an agreement that Russia should have her sphe^eofiflfluencejo the north of the GreatJVJfall of
China, and England to have hers to thejsouth. XThe movement for the partition of China was thus well under way. Unless some counteracting influence
was introduced, China no longer could maintain
her national entity. The United States with her
newly acquired insular possessions in the East could not afford to be indifferent
to the partition of China. There were two courses
open to her: She had either to deviate
entirely from her traditional foreign policy and
seize her share of land and commercial advantages in China, regardless of
justice and fairness to the Chinese, or to exercise her
1 For
Russian intrigues in China, see Rhee, "The Spirit of Korean Independence," pp., 173, ff.
good offices to preserve the integrity of the Chinese Empire. She chose the nobler way.
On September 6,1899, the Sec£gtaxyjc£S^e,
John Hay, addressed notes to England, Germany, and.JRussia,
and later to France, Itajy, and Japan, dedaring the. " open door " doctrine
in China.' This formal protest of the UnTted States
in behalf,ofChinajrequested the Powers to give their
official assurances to the effect: (1) that they would not interfere with any
treaty port or vested interest in their respective spheres of influence; (2)
that the Chinese tariff should continue to be collected by Chinese officials;
(3) that they would not discriminate against other foreigners in the matter of
port dues or railroad rates.* England expressed her willingness to sign such a
declaration, and other powers, while carefully avoiding to commit themselves,
showed their accord with the principles set forth by Mr. Hay. These
principles, together with the principle of the territorial and *
2 For
full discussion of diplomatic intercourse between the United States and other powers and the part
played by John Hay,
consult W. R. Thayer, "Life and Letters of John Hay," 2 vols., 1915.
8 This
doctrine is being violated by Japanese in Manchuria now. Japanese merchants through government
subsidies, special
railway rebates, preferential customs treatment, and exemption from internal taxation, have
monopolized the Manchurian
market. Consult Millard, "The Far Eastern Question," chaps. XV-XX; Hollington K. Tong, "American Money and Japanese Brains in China," Review of Reviews, 53:452-455, April, 1916;
"Japan, China, and American Money," Harper's Weekly, 62:298-299, March 25, 1916.
administrative integrity of China, were emphasized by the American
Government in the settlement of the Boxer trouble in China, and since then the principle of the " open door
" in China has
become an American doctrine,
recognized as such by
the Powers just as the time-honoured Monro„eJDoctrine is
recognized.
2. The Boxer Uprising The rapid foreign exploitation of Chinese territory, the introduction of Christianity
into China, the constant bullying of the natives
by foreigners, aroused the Chinese to concerted action. To the fogyish Chinese mind, everything
foreign was repulsive. They could not distinguish
the work of an American missionary from the
opium traffic of a British merchant. The only
way, they thought, that they could enjoy
again the undisturbed peace of the old times was
to drive all the " foreign devils " out of the country. Prince Tuan, an influential reactionary, formed an organization known as the Society of Boxers to expel all
foreigners from
China. This movement was secretly encouraged by the Empress Dowager, who was holding the supreme power in China after the coup d'etat in 1898,
and by all the reactionary officials
under her. The movement spread like wild-fire,'
and the army of Boxers joined by imperial forces occupied Peking. Foreign repr^- sentatives fled to the British Legation.
Many tragic incidents occurred to both
the Chinese and the
foreigners in China during the struggle/ Promptly
an expeditionary force composed of English,
French, German,6 Russian, Japanese, and American soldiers marched to Peking and lifted the siege. The imperial court fled
westward, and later appointed Li Hung Chang as its representative to negotiate with the Powers.
This was the most critical period of Chinese history in recent times.
China had incurred "well-nigh universal indignation," as Minister Wu
expressed it, when he was presenting a cablegram from his emperor to President Mc- Kinley, asking for American
aid in settling her difficulties with the Powers. The Powers, with good reason,
looked upon the Chinese Government as hostile, and many of them—especially
Russia—were willing to consent to the partition of China. But the United States
insisted on regarding the outrages as the work of insurrectionists, and
remained on friendly terms with the constituted authorities, thus firmly upholding
the territorial and administrative integrity
4 For
full account of the Boxer War, consult Paul Henry Clemants,
"The Boxer Rebellion,!" Columbia University Studies in History, Economics, and Public
Law, vol. 66, 1915;
Rhee, "Spirit of Korean Independence," pp. 175, ff.; " Foreign Relations," 1900, pp.
77, ff.
6 The
German troops remained at Kiaochow and took no part in the expedition, although the allied
forces were led by Field-Marshal
Count von Waldersee chosen as Generalissimo to satisfy the Kaiser.
of China. Then, too, many a wise statesman in the world saw a condition of general anarchy and the possibility of world war over the
spoils, in case
China were partitioned. It was much better
for a nation like England, which enjoyed the largest foreign trade in China, to
restore the
status quo, and enjoy the commercial privileges,.
than to take the chance of losing them by partition. Thus the Powers finally followed
the lead of the United States in
preserving China as a
nation and maintaining there the principle of the " open door."
The final protocol settling the difficulties conSequential
to the Boxer Uprising was signed on September 7, 1901. China agreed: (1) to punish
those who were responsible for and who took part in foreign massacres; (2) to
adopt adequate measures to prevent recurrence of such disorders; (3) to
indemnify the losses sustained by foreign nations and individuals; (4) to
improve trade relation with foreign nations.
During the lengthy negotiation prior to the signing of this protocol the
United States threw the weight of its influence on the side of moderation,
urging the powers not to make the burden too heavy'for
China. The total indemnity ($333,000,000 approximately) imposed upon China was
far in excess of the actual losses sustained by the powers. The share that was
assigned to the United States was a little over $24,000,000,
whereas the actual loss sustained by the
American Government and its citizens was only about
$11,000,000. Once more the American
Government deviated from the grab- it-all spirit
of modern diplomacy, and in 1907 returned the
amount in excess of actual losses. The Chinese
Government, in return, sent Tang Shao Yi as its
special envoy to thank the United States, and
decided to use the money thus returned by the American Government to educate Chinese students in American colleges and universities.'
This step taken by the American Government was
an act of simple justice, and it remains to be
seen whether the European Powers who
took advantage of China's prostration to demand far heavier indemnities than their claims justified will yet take similar action/
3. The Russo-Japanese Struggle After the protocol was signed, other nations withdrew their forces from China, but Russia retained her forces in Manchuria-and
gradually strengthened
her position in eastern China. She not
only retained all vantages gained prior to and
during the Boxer Uprising, but was
® There were 679 Chinese students (male
alone) in American colleges and universities in 1916, according to the Directory of Foreign Students,
published by the Committee on
Friendly Relations Among Foreign Students. International Y. M. C. A., New York
City.
1 Washington Post June 19,1907; opinion of Judge Charles Sumner Lobinger of
the American Court in Shanghai, China, Nebraska State Journal, October 11, 1917.
secretly pressing upon the Chinese Government for further concessions. This serious
situation , led to
the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 to put a
check upon Russian influence. The United
States entered a formal protest at Petrograd
and succeeded in getting a definite promise
from the Russian Government not to oppose
the opening of two Manchurian cities, Mukden
and Antung, to foreign commerce by China.
This did not, however, check the outstretching clutch of the Northern Bear,
and Russian influence in Manchuria
kept on increasing.
Japan was now ready to make an active resistance. Her attempts to
negotiate with Russia the question of neutrality and the " open door
" in Manchuria and China were fruitless.8 Feeling that she was
strong enough to combat her rival, and that the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
safeguarded her from the attack of a third power in alliance with Russia, she
struck the first blow on February 10,1904. Secretary Hay promptly sent
identical notes to Russia and to Japan, expressing the wish of the United
States that the neutrality and administrative entity of China should be
respected by the belligerents. In reply both Russia and Japan agreed to re-
•For the complete diplomatic correspondence
between Russia and
Japan prior to the opening of hostility, see "Russo-Japanese War," published by
Collier & Son, New York.
spect
Chinese neutrality outside of Manchuria. On January 10, 1905, Hay addressed circular notes to the powers to the effect that it
was the wish of
the United States that the war would not
result in any concession of Chinese territory. This note met with the hearty
approval of
Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain,
and Italy.
The greatest single stroke of diplomacy that established American
dignity and prestige in the Pacific basin since the declaration of the "
open door " doctrine, was the mediation of President Roosevelt on behalf
of the two belligerent nations. Russia was completely prostrated, and Japan,
though victorious, was at the end of her financial resources. On June 8,1905,
President Roosevelt made a formal appeal in the interest of the civilized world
to the emperors of Japan and Russia to cease hostilities and open direct
negotiations. Both nations complied with the request and sent their envoys to
the United States to open a peace conference. The conference began its regular
sessions at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on August 8th, and the treaty was signed
September 5th. More than once during the negotiations, the envoys came to
points of controversy and were unable to reach an agreement. The Russian
commission was headed,by the astute diplomat, Count
Witte, who made a most favourable im-
pression and drew to himself the sympathetic interest of the public. In presenting the cause of his country, he capitalized the situation created by his striking personality. He conceded every
demand made by Japan, but refused to pay a
single ruble of indemnity. President Roosevelt
unofficially advised, restrained, and urged the
envoys to compromise their differences. Russia finally agreed to recognize Japan's paramount interest in Korea; to transfer, with the
consent of China, her lease of Port Arthur, Talienwan, and adjacent territories to Japan; and to evacuate Manchuria and leave its doors wide open to the trade of the world.
By the result of this conference Japan, perhaps, got as much as she had
expected, although not as much as she wanted. The Japanese envoys went home
somewhat disgruntled—at least outwardly so—and when they reached home they had
to have police protection from howling mobs. Japanese dailies made bitter
comments to the effect that Japan won all the battles in the war, and lost all
the spoils on the green table. Later, when the anti-American feeling was high
as an echo of the anti-Japanese sentiment-in California, more than one periodical
in Japan referred to the diplomatic " loss " sustained by Japan at
the Portsmouth conference as the result of American intervention.
The close of the Russo-Japanese War marks the
beginning of new political relations between the East and
the West Up to this time the Western
nations—especially the United States— looked upon the
East with sympathetic regard. But now, one of
the nations of the effete East had proved
herself equal to a Western Power in the field of
military operations, and able to give as well as take
blows. From now on the West must
necessarily change its attitude toward the East from that
of patronage to one of recognition on the basis of honour
and equality. The United States has the proud distinction of having opened Japan and Korea to modern civilization, and of having saved China from disintegration after the Boxer rebellion. Japan knew the honourable intentions of
the United States in the Orient, and looked up to her for moral support, in her struggle for recognition from the Western Powers. And the United States regarded Japan as one of her brightest proteges and took pride in having played such an important part in bringing a secluded mediaeval nation up to the first rank among the modern civilized nations. All this era of good feeling and mutual trust ended with the Portsmouth
conference. Henceforth Japan was to be a rival of
the United States in the theater of Eastern
commerce and politics. Japan, a new recruit in the
field of commercial and political expansion of
the world, must necessarily in- fringe upon
the rights of the pioneer nations of the West,
including the United States, in order to
realize her dream of greatness. And the United
States, for the safeguarding of its interests, was
compelled to lay certain restrictions upon Japan, such as restriction of Japanese
immigration into the United States and its ^insular
possessions, and vindication of the principles of the " open door "
and the political integrity of China. Japan in turn resented these restrictions as an obstruction of her imperial progress. But she is at present in no position to make a vigorous protest to the United States. Economically, the United States is her second best customer, China being the first; and from a military standpoint, the United States is far superior both in man-power and in resources. Japan feels that she must " eat worms " for the time being. She prefers to have all negotiations not
satisfactory to her postponed indefinitely until such time when she will be in
a position to make demands as well as to make " appeals." She must be content to cover her wounds with diplomatic grace. In 1914, when Secretary Bryan handed the American reply to the Japanese note concerning the pending California Alien Law question, Ambassador Chinda said, "Will this be final?" Secretary Bryan replied, " There is nothing final between friends."
/ .
AMERICAN RIVALRY WITH
JAPAN
i. The American^P^eet
in the Far East
|
S |
UBSEQUENT'American policies in the Far East have been along the path laid down by John Hay. The Root-Takahira agreement
exchanged at Washington, November 30, 1908, outlined the mutual position of
the United States and Japan regarding
China as follows:
(1) to encourage the free and peaceful development
of their commerce on the Pacific; (2) to
maintain the status quo in the
Pacific, and to
preserve the principle of equal commercial opportunity in China; (3) to reciprocally
"respect the territorial possessions belonging to each other in said region "; (4) to
preserve and maintain
the independence and integrity of China;
(5) the two governments will communicate with each other in case the
status quo or the principle of equal opportunity is threatened
as above defined, f
It was not a formal treaty but merely an agreement—a " gentlemen's
agreement "—rely-
62
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ing upon
the mutual trust and honour of the contracting parties for the observance of
its provisions. Japan was anxious to convince the United States that she had no sinister
designs on the
mainland of Asia, and the United States was
desirous of assuring Japan that the result of the. RussorJapanese_War
did not change J:he "
open door " status in China. American policy I toward both China and Japan has always been non-aggressive. In trying to befriend both,
the United States has,
unintentionally, in minor matters,
played into the hands of the more clever
and aggressive of the two nations. The visit
of Jthe. American Jleetto
Asiatic waters Ja 190& may be cited as illustration of
this. } In 1907
when President Roosevelt decided to send
the American fleet around the world, the Chinese
were anxious to have the fleet pay a visit
to China, j They had looked up to the United States for moral support, if not
active assistance, in their struggle for
national stability. Their
attitude was not_without foundation. During the Boxer settlement, the United
States was China's one friend among the
nations of the
West, and it was through American effort that a
degree of moderation in the demands made
was secured. \ln October, 1907, Secretary of War William Howard Taft said in his
speech at Shanghai that " the
United States and others who
sincerely favour the ' open door' policy ^ will, if they are wise, not only welcome,
but encourage this great Chinese
Empire to take long
steps in administrative and governmental reforms,
in the development of her natural resources and the improvement of the welfare
of her people."[6]
}This statement, though unofficially made, assumed somewhat of an official nature, as it was from a great American
statesman who was to be the next president of his country and as it was made before a large gathering of both foreigners and Chinese in that great metropolis of the East/\ The
Chinese wished
to reciprocate the good will of America in
refunding the balance of Boxer indemnity, by welcoming the American fleet to their
shores.^^ As soon
as this move in China was known at Tokyo,
action was taken with the characteristic Japanese
celerity to checkmate the Chinese attempt to gain American favour and
recognition. The
Japanese Government immediately dispatched an invitation which reached Washington
one day ahead of that of the Chinese Government. Subtle influences were
exerted to defeat
Chinese expectations. The Japanese had apparently
three reasons for their attempt to frustrate
the plans of the Chinese Government in
inviting the American fleet to Chinese waters:
\ (1)
After the war with Russia the Japanese had created among the Oriental nations an impression
that their ^fighting forcejwas
equal, if not superior,
to that of any Western nation, and they
did not want a first-class foreign fleet to anchor off Chinese waters and destroy that
impression. (2) They wanted to make the Oriental peoples feel that Japan was
the only Asiatic
nation recognized on the basis of equality by Western Powers; and if the
American fleet
visited both Japan and China it would elevate
China_to Jhe .same plane
with Japan. (3) The
Japanese wanted: to keep the~relation between China and the United States as
distant and
non-intimate as possible, so that they could allude to China as a backward nation that
must need the tutelage of Japan, while
to China they could
intimate that her aspirations for recognition and equal treatment by Western
Powers were
useless except through Japan, and that, indeed,
China's solution of her national problems must be in following Japanese
leadership.
European residents in China, who were none too eager to have American
prestige in China and the cordial relation between China and the United States
enhanced, heartily encored Japanese sentiment. Through W. W. Rockhill, the American minister to China, who Was then in
Japan on his way back from America, official Washington was informed of the
in- advisability of sending a fleet to China. The original plan was revised and a part of the American fleet visited Amoy instead of Shanghai—the
original city designated by both the Chinese and
American residents in China for the welcome of
the fleet. This was a great disappointment to both the Chinese and the Americans in China, who had planned an elaborate welcome
to the fleet in the greatest center of
communication and commerce in the East. The
"number two fleet and number two admiral are coming to China, while the
number one fleet and number one admiral are going to Japan," said the Chinese papers. All their enthusiasm was dampened, and the reception was perfunctory. The news of the Chinese reception of the
American fleet was scattered abroad through
the channels of Japanese publicity as being cold and unappreciative, and as showing the backward condition of China.
2.
American and British Policies With the
incoming of the Taft and Knox administration,
the American policy in the Orient
assumed a more active form. Both President
Taft and Secretary of State Knox had some
knowledge of what was taking place in the East
subsequent to the Russo-Japanese War. After
singeing the outstretching paws of the Northern
Bear, Japan occupied her place in the sun with
other first-class Powers of the world, and was
ready to play the role of mistress of Asia.
England^ jeacand^suspicionjpf Russian domination in the East, which had been the nightmare of English statesmen for the past half a century, now faded away. In place of
the Russian phantom stalked the
ever-threatening figure
of the German Superman with Kultur in one hand and Weltpolitik in the other. German industries were monopolizing the markets of the world by both business efficiency and " dumping," and the German navy
was growing by leaps
and bounds.8
In the
Anglo-Russian rivalry it had been merely a
question of protecting British possessions and commercial interests in the
East; but now the
very existence of the British Empire was
threatened by the Weltpolitik.
English statesmen
realized the vital need of readjustment of their policy to meet changed
conditions. They
buried the hatchet with Russia by allowing her. a free hand in Mongolia in
return for the
safeguarding. of-British interests, in China.
* Many excellent books have been written on Kultur, Welt- politik, growth
of the German navy, "dumping," Anglo- German rivalry, etc., leading up to the war.
The following are a
few typical references: Reventlow,
"Deutschland's auswartige Politik";
Tardieu, "France and the Alliances," von Bulow, "Imperial Germany" ; Bernhardi, "Germany and the Next War " ; Rohrbach, " Der Deutsche Gedanke
in der Welt" ; Dawson, "
Evolution of Modern Germany" ; Price,
"Diplomatic History of the War of 1914"; publications of various
governments engaged in the war.
In European politics, Russia and Great Britain regarded each other as allies ; and in
matters of Asiatic
policy they cooperated, as illustrated in the division of Persia into spheres of
influence assumed
by their respective governments.' The Anglo-Japanese
Alliance of 1902, defensive in character,
was renewed in 1905 and again in 1911.
Japan promised to protect British possessions in Asia, and Great Britain in
turn consented to the free hand of the Japanese in Manchuria, and to support
Japan,—or at least, not to
oppose her,—in whatever measures she deemed
necessary in firmly establishing her sphere
on the mainland of Asia. England also settled
all differences with France on an amicable basis, supported her against
Germany in the
Moroccan question in 1907, and formed an entente to offset the Triple Alliance/ The
protection of British interests in the Mediterranean was left to the French just as the
possessions in the
East were left to the care of the Japanese. Thus the British fleet was able to
concentrate in the JNortlx,Sea to meet any exigency that might occur, and to bottle up the German
fleet
•The Anglo-Russian Agreement of August 31,
1907, regarding Persia has never been made public. See Review of Reviews, 45:49-53, January, 1912, "Persia,
Russia, and Shuster."
• For England's part in Moroccan question,
see J. Holland Rose,
"The Origins of the War," chap. IV, "Morocco"; Perseus, "Morocco and Europe: The Task
of Sir Edward Grey/' Fortnightly Review, 85:609-624, April, 1906.
in case of hostility, as was so
effectively done at the
opening of the great war.
This
realignment of British policy produced two
outstanding conditions in world politics: the isolation of Germany, and the ^supremacy
of Jap>an in the East.\ Germany
was not in favour of
having Japan dominate Manchuria and Korea
and occupy the primer commercial position on the Asiatic mainland, but she was
too busily engaged to oppose the
Entente Powers in Europe
to make any effective resistance against Japan's
encroachment in China.AThe^only^na- tion that
was in a position to assist jChina to preserve
her autonomy against foreign aggression was the UnitedJStates.
The United States has
political reasons and commercial interests as well as a sense of moral obligation which should lead her to help China preserve her
national integrity. The HayJiopen. door " doc-v trine, promoted by the American Government and agreed to by other nations, provided
equality of commercial privileges in, and the preservation of the political
independence and territorial integrity of China."| By virtue of its
origin and of the leadership of John
Hay, the United States
was made an unofficial sponsor for this doctrine,
which is still in existence. Politically, domination of China by one power means tlie lessening
of American influence and prestige in the Far
East, and a direct menace to the Ameri-
can insular possessions. Commercially, the monopoly of the Chinese market, or of the
market of one province, as in the case of Manchuria, signifies the driving out of American trade
in the monopolized territory. There
were ample reasons
for the United States to propose to neutralize
the Manchurian railways.r But the immediate, occasion that enabled
Secretary Knox to make
the neutralization proposal was a concession to build
the Chinchow-Aigun railway
given hy the Chinese Government to an American
concern. Thus by neutralizing all railwaysTh"Manchuria, America had its share of monopoly to give up.
The proposal provided " to
take the railroads of
Manchuria out of Eastern politics and place them under an economic and impartial administration
by vesting in China the ownership of its railroads;
the funds for that purpose to be furnished by the nationals of such interested powers as might be willing to participate
and who are pledged to the policy of
the open door and
equal opportunity, the powers participating to operate the railway system during the
period of the loan and enjoy the usual
preference in supplying
materials. . . . The advantages of such a
plan are obvious. It would insure unimpaired Chinese sovereignty, the
commercial and
industrial development of the Manchurian provinces,
and furnish a substantial reason for
the solution of the problems of fiscal and monetary reforms which are
now receiving such earnest attention of the Chinese Government. It would afford an opportunity for both Russia and Japan to shift their onerous jduties, responsibilities and expenses in connection with
these railways to the shoulders of the
combined powers,
including themselves. Such a policy, moreover,
would effect a complete commercial neutralization
of Manchuria, and in so doing mak* a large contribution to the peace of
the world
by converting provinces of Manchuria into an
immense commercial neutral zone." 5
On November 6,1909, Secretary Knox sent a formal note to the British
Government, asking British cooperation in the American proposal. On November
25th, Sir Edward Grey sent his reply, expressing the approval of his government
of the principle involved in the plan, without, however, committing itself to
any definite agreement. Secretary Knox presented his proposal simultaneously
to Russia and Japan on December 18,1909. There was a general cry of "
confiscation " in both countries, despite the fact that the plan provided
a legitimate compensation for their Manchurian railroads properly and
impartially appraised. Their charge of " confiscation " is ironically
amusing when we
"From a statement given to the press by
the State Department, Washington, January 6, 1916.
recall that their titles to the
Manchurian railroads were based on nothing short of their own confiscation of Chinese property.
Russia rejected the plan on January 22, 1910, and Japan on February 24,
1910. Great Britain and France stood by the decision of their respective
allies—Japan and Russia. The American public, instead of supporting its
statesman in his attempt to give a legitimate protection to r American
interests abroad, condemned the Knox policy in China and also in Central
America as " dollar diplomacy."*
3. " Dollar Diplomacy
"
This
" dollar diplomacy " was soon changed with the coming in of the Democratic administration
in 1913, and the American Far Eastern policy
was correspondingly weakened. The new government
of the Chinese Republic, after the revolution
of 1911-12, was in dire need of funds, and
decided to borrow money from the bankers of the
United States, Great Britain, France, Germany,
Japan, and Russia. The terms of this loan—commonly
known as the " six-power loan
"—were none too agreeable to the Chinese. They provided how the money thus borrowed should be spent, and what measures the
creditor nations
should take to collect the money in case
"See Fish, "American
Diplomacy," p. 459; F. C. Howe, "Dollar
Diplomacy," Annals of American Political and Social Science,
68:312-320, November, 1916.
China failed to meet her part of the agreement as provided in the terms. The Chinese were afraid that such an arrangement might Egyp- tianize their country; yet they had no alternative.
Money they must have to pay the soldiers and to
meet foreign and domestic obligations incidental
to the revolution. The loan nations were
withholding recognition of the Republic of China to press their terms on the newly born republic.
President Wilson promptly reversed the policy of the previous
administration, and led the way, on March 18, 1913, to the recognition of the
new Republic of China. He withdrew government support of the " six-power
loan," declaring that " the conditions of the loan seem to us to
touch very nearly the administrative independence of China itself, and this
administration does not feel that it ought, even by implication, to be a party
to those conditions." As a result, the American bankers withdrew from the
syndicate. It must be remembered that doing business in an unstable country like'China is not like carrying on a commercial transaction
in the United States. Foreign capital is insecure in a country where bandit
raids and political revolutions are of common occurrence, unless it. be backed
by its government/ Here is where the
'See Tyler Dennett, "The Road to Peace,
via China" Outlook, 117:168-169, October 3, 1917.
principle of " trade follows the flag " comes in. Commercial exploitation is usually the
pioneer of
political exploitation. There is no question that this act of President Wilson is just
and statesman-like, and in line with
the American traditional
foreign policy. It invoked, as it should
have done, universal approval both at home
and abroad." But from the Chinese point of view, the withdrawal of American bankers from the " six-power- loan " was a
disappointment
The United States has always stood for justice and fair play to China,
and has more than once thrown its weight toward the preservation of the
administrative and territorial integrity of that tottering nation. Had the
American bankers stayed in the group, and been supported by the American
Government, it would have made the United States a participant in foreign interests
in China; and the State Department at Washington would have an opportunity to
wield a moral lever in urging moderation on the part of other creditor nations,
as was done by John Hay in the Boxer settlement. But, as it was, the United
States became a disinterested power —an outsider with respect to the
international struggle for zones of influence in China—leav-
• See " Recognition at Last," Independent, 74:1009-1010, May 8, 1913; "U. S. Recognizes
China," Outlook,
104:41. May 10,
1913.
^ ing the infant republic to its own fate amid a pack of wolfish nations. The Sherman antitrust
law would be an asset in th£ development of world trade, should it be made an international
commercial code. But it is a fatal mistake to apply this restriction to
American foreign trade alone, while other foreign capital is not only protected but supported and
subsidized by
interested governments, and foreign investors are even sometimes encouraged to
resort to illegitimate
business methods for the capture of foreign
markets.9 The failure of American statesmen to appreciate this fact has caused American trade and investment in China to decline,
whereas its powerful competitor, Japanese trade,
has increased by leaps and bounds, and is still
so increasing.
In 1914 China decided to build a naval base on the coast of Fukienl British, American, and Japanese firms were bidding
against one another to supply the material. Finally the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation succeeded in getting the contract for the work. Japan immediately
made representations to the State Department through Ambassador? Chinda that theentrench- ment of American interest in Fukien Province, which is in
the Japanese "sphere," and the
9 For
Japanese trade methods in China, see Tong, " American Money and Japanese
Brains in China," Review of Reviews,
53:452-455, April, 1916; idem in Harper's Weekly, 62:298-299, March, 1916.
building of a naval base with
American money on
Chinese coast right opposite to Formosa would be
an " unfriendly act." Secretary Bryan promptly sent a cablegram to Minister Reinsch at
Peking to inform the Chinese Government that the
United States would not support the American
interest. Thus American capital, instead of receiving subsidies and protection
from its home government, as does
Japanese capital, was
hampered by American political leaders.
4. The
Twenty-one Demands The
greatest diplomatic struggle that China has had
since the Boxer settlement in 1900-01 was with
Japan in 1915 over what was known as the
Twenty-one Demands, made upon China by Japan."
These demands embody serious encroachments of Chinese rights, such as that the Chinese Government must employ influential Japanese as advisers in political,
financial, and military
affairs; that the policing of important places in
China must be jointly administered by Japanese
and Chinese; that China must purchase from Japan fifty per cent, or more of
its munitions of -war, and that Japanese experts must be employed in the arsenals. There is
no
"Concerning Japan's control of public
opinion in connection with the Twenty-one Demands, see Part II, Chapter III, § III.
question but that had China conceded to these demands in toto, the Eastern Republic would be a dependency of Japan to-day. j
The demands were first presented to the Chinese Government on January
18,1915, when representatives of several important news services and papers
were absent from Peking in Japan. Japan had intended to intimidate China * into
concession of these demands in secret. When the news began to leak out, Japan,
through her diplomatic representatives abroad, denied the demands; when denial
was no longer
possible,
she gavejout^false series-of-demands.
for publication abroad." When, however, the real demands began to come to light from the Chinese official source, not only the
Chinese themselves,
but the foreigners in~China were alarmed-and~indignant. The
British commercial interests in China made vigorous representations to their
home government for protest against
Japan's demands. American missionaries in China sent a memorial to President Wilson asking for American mediation in the crisis."
There was a general uproar of indignation in the House of Commons when
the news of the demands reached London. But the British Gov-
" Eleven articles published in the
London Times, as coming
from the Japanese Embassy at London, quoted by Millard, " Our Eastern
Question," pp. 146-147.
a See the text of the memorial, Part III, S.
ernment was in
no position to-oppose Japan, There
was only one nation that was in a position to make an effective resistance to
the Japanese aggression in China, and that nation was the United States. But all the American Government
did was to make an inquiry of Japan as to what
she was doing in China, basing the right
of inquiry on the American-Japanese agreement
of 1908 regarding China: " Should any
event occur threatening the status quo . . . or the principle of equal opportunity ... it remains for the two governments to communicate.with each other in order to arrive at an understanding
as to what measures they may consider it useful to take." u \
Publicity compelled Japan to modify somewhat the original demands. On
April 26, 1915, the Japanese minister at Peking presented re- , vised demands
in twenty-four articled On May 7th Japan delivered to the Chinese Government an
ultimatum providing that unless a satisfactory reply be given to the demands
by six o'clock on the ninth day of May, " the Imperial Japanese Government
will take such steps as they may deem necessary." The Chinese Government
waited as long as it could, hoping for foreign aid to relieve the pressure. But
none came. Vfter the agreements had been made and the
demands granted, the American Gov-
a See
full text of the agreement, Part III, L.
crnment
notified the Chinese Government, on May 16,
1915, to the effect that " it cannot recognize any agreement or
undertaking which has been
entered into, or which may be entered into between the governments of China and. Japan impairing the treaty rights of the United
States and its citizens in China, the
political or territorial integrity of the Republic of China, or the international policy, commonly known as the open door policy."14 An
identical note was sent to the
Japanese Government. \
5. China
and the European War After the
United States severed its diplomatic relations
with Germany, February 3, 1917, President
Wilson sent a note to China advising her to
follow the American example^ It was largely
through the influence of Dr. Paul S. Reinsch, the American minister at Peking, in combination with the Chinese liberals, that China was persuaded to follow the American lead and was brought into the ranks of the Allies.15
\ During the short period of the- attempted restoration of the monarchy
by Chang Hsun and
"See Part III, R.
"For a full account of China's entering
the war and the reasons
for it, see Stanley K. Hornbeck, "Tricks That are Vain—in Chinese Politics," Review of Reviews, 56:172-175, August, 1917; "China's Part in the
War," the Illustrated London News, 151:249, September, 1917.
Kang Yu Wei,16 in the summer of 1917, when China was on the verge of shipwreck,
Secretary Lansing
sent a sympathetic note to the Chinese Government
through Minister Reinsch, expressing regret for the
dissensions in China, and the
hope that stable government would be established, and extending America's
sincere good wishes.
This note was severely criticized by the Japanese
press as an infringement of Japan's paramount
interest in China. ] Japan does not give
any direct advices to Mexico, the Nipponese press argued, and why should the
United States attempt to exercise any
influence over China,
the country over which Japan has as much
tutelage as the United States has over Mexico?
\Any advice to be given China by the United
States, the Japanese suggested, ought to have
been given through Japan.17 This haughty attitude of Japan brought forth some sharp
retorts on the part of the American press.\ Said the New York
Morning Telegraph: " Why should the United States of America, the most
power- full democracy in the world,
consult the Japanese monarchy, recently delivered, in part, from
19 See
" China Foils a Royalist Coup," New York Times, Current History, 6, pL 2:259-260,
August, 1917; Carl Crow, "
Chang, the Unchanging," Sunset Magazine, 39:12-13, August, 1917.
"The comparison of the Japanese
position in China with the
American position in Mexico is a hobby of the Japanese publicists: see
statement by K. K. Kawakami, quoted by
Millard in " Our Eastern Question," p. 297.
paganism before admonishing the Chinese people? / . To have advised
with Japan would have
been officially acknowledging the para- mountcy of
Japan in that section of the world. This we
will never do/'
It will be of particular interest to the American reader to know that
Japan did her best to keep China out of the war, feeling that Japanese
interests would be better served if China were not a belligerent. Japan
preferred to deal with China herself;/she did not care to have China given a
voice at the Peace table. J. Late in 1915, on the advice of
the European Allies, China practically completed plans for entering the war. On
that occasion, Viscount Ishii, then Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, said
to the European Ambassadors at Tokyo: "Japan could not view without
apprehension the moral awakening of 400,000,000 Chinese which would result
from their entering the war." j Japan's opposition was so definite and so
potent that the Chinese plan of entering the war was blocked. Not until March,
191/T^afier obtaining secret promises from the Tjuropean Allies that they would support Japan's claims at
the Peace table and that Japan would not be interfered with in carrying out her
program in China, and when it became clear that Japan was not able to checkmate
the combined efforts of the European Allies and the United States to bring
China into the war on the side of the Allies, Japan
withdrew her objection" The Chinese Government, after formally declaring
war upon Germany, offered to send 100,000 troops to Europe to help the Allies; but Japan, unwilling to have China take so active a part, vetoed the plan. ^
13 See
official dispatch from M. Krupensky, former Russian Ambassador at Tokyo, to Minister of Foreign
Affairs in Petrograd,
February 8, 1917, cited in The Secret Treaties and Understandings, published by the Russian
Revolutionary Government.
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THE LANSING-ISHII
AGREEMENT
i. The Diplomatic Procedure
|
A |
LATE development of the American Oriental policy is the Lansing-Ishii agreement of November 2, 1917, based on notes exchanged between Secretary of State Lansing and Ambassador Ishii, the head of the Japanese War Mission which visited the United States. The obvious purpose of
this mission, as was announced by the
Japanese Government, was to follow the example of the English, French, and
Italian War Missions to America
in furthering the better understanding between
America and Japan, and the closer cooperation in the war against the
"Common Enemy."1
But a closer investigation of the accomplishments
of this mission in America reveals
something deeper than these obvious reasons.
The Japanese War Mission, like all
* See addresses of Ambassador Kikujiro Ishii at various places in America, New York Times, Current History, VI: 429-430, September, 1917; ibid., VII: 50-52, October, X9I7.
other Japanese undertakings, had an ulterior motive.
There are three
outstanding issues between the United States and Japan that must be settled
sooner or later. They are the " open door " question in China, the
question oQm migration, and the
question of Japanese-citizenship in America. The first of these hinders
commercial development and political expansion of Japan, and the other two are
an open insult to the honour and integrity of
Japan,—at least, the Japanese think so. The purpose of this mission was to
reach a satisfactory agreement concerning the first of these three
issues,—blindly satisfactory to America and selfishly gratifying to Japan. A
brief review of what the mission has accomplished unmistakably points to this
conclusion.
Japan could not
have selected a better man to head this mission than Viscount Ishii, whose
knowledge of international etiquette, and whose rhetorical perfection in the
English language are equal to that of the best in the West.8 In his
speech before the United States Senate, the Japanese ambassador inspired
thunderous applause by declaring, " We of Japan took up arms against
Germany because a solemn treaty was not to us a scrap of paper. We did not
enter
'See "Japanese Mission," Review of Reviews, 56:361, October, 1917.
into this war because we had any selfish interest to promote or any ill-conceived ambition to gratify."8 These statements
are ironically amusing
when we remember what Japan has done in
Korea despite all her solemn treaty obligations to the Hermit Kingdom;4
and more recently
in China, ignoring not only her treaty obligations
with China and other treaty powers, but
breaking faith with her ally—England.8 When Japan declared war upon
Germany, Augtist 15, 1914, Count Okuma, then Premier of Japan, telegraphed to an American
magazine assuring
" the people of America and of the world
that Japan has no ulterior motive, no desire
to secure more territory, no thought of depriving
China or other peoples of anything which
they now possess."" The sincerity of this statement was tested when, in less than a year, Japan made the well-known Twenty- one Demands upon China. Japanese statesmen stated more than once that Japan was to take Tsingtau with
the intention of returning it to Sjo
• Congressional Record, vol.
55, No. 124, p. 7040, August 30, 19174 For
Japan's perfidy with Korea, consult F. A. McKenzie, " The Tragedy of Korea," chapter
on " Treaty-Making and Treaty-Breaking."
"For Japan's aggressions on China
despite her treaty obligations
to the contrary, consult Millard, "Our Eastern Question," chapters on "Japan's
Aggressions on China."
"Cablegram sent to, the Independent (New- York), August 24, 1914, published in
the Independent, August
31, 1914, vol. 79,
p. 291, $ee Part III, M.
/ 86 THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE POLICY
China. Al\ the treaties, promises, and declarations made by the
Japanese statesmen concerning their policy on the Asiatic mainland have so far been mere scraps of paper. Yet this ambassador extraordinary from Japan blandly told the most august body of American lawmakers
that Japan respected treaty obligations and had
entered the war unselfishly.
At the public dinner given in honour of the
Japanese Mission by Mayor Mitchel, in New York City, September 29, 1917,
Viscount Ishii outlined the Japanese policy in China as follows:
" Circumstances for which we were in no sense responsible gave us
certain rights in Chinese territory, but at no time in the past and at no time
in the future do we or will we seek to take territory from China or to despoil
China of her rights. We wish to be and always continue to be the sincere
friend and helper of our neighbour, for we are more
interested than any one else, except China, in good
government there. Only we must at all times for self-protection prevent other
nations from doing what we have no right to do. We not only will not seek to
assail the integrity or the sovereignty of China, but will eventually be
prepared to de-
TThis promise
has never been fulfilled. See Millard, "Our
Eastern Question," chapter on "Japan's Seizure of Kiaochow,"
and Part III, S; also, World's Work, 35:125-126, December, 1917; Independent, 79:293, August 31, 1914.
►'
...
fend and maintain the integrity
and independence of China against any aggressor. . . . The door is always open. It always has been open; it always must remain open to
representatives of these vast commercial interests represented so well in
this great gathering of kings of
commerce. We went to China where the door was
open to us as to you, and we always have
realized that there nature gave us an advantage. There was no need, there is
no need to close
that door on you, because we welcome your
fair and honest competition."8
Then he
described what the American public had
heard concerning Japanese activities in China as
false rumours manufactured by the German propagandists in China and America to estrange the friendship between the United States and Japan. These public declarations
of the Japanese ambassador were
cheered by more than a
thousand public men; they were flashed all over
the country, and were hailed everywhere by the press as the keynote of the Japanese
Monroe Doctrine based on "broad and altruistic
principles."9 " The statement should relieve the hyper-sensitive alarm over the
purpose of Japan in the East," said Ex-President
• See " Japan's New Pledge Regarding
China," New York Times, Current History, VII: 356-357, November, 1917.
9 See
" The Japanese Mission," Independent, 92:79, October 13, 1917; "Japan,
America, and the East," Outlook, 117:200,
October 10, 1917.
Taft in his telegram to the United Press on October 1st, commenting on the Ishii declaration.
" It manifested a spirit of friendship to the United States and a pledge to maintain
and preserve China from spoliation
which was most reassuring."10 ^
On November 2, 1917, formal notes were exchanged between Secretary
Lansing and Ambassador Ishii. The agreement in main provides: (1) that the
United States recognizes Japan's special interests in China based on territorial
propinquity; (2) that both the United States and Japan recognize the principle
of " open door " and integrity of China." Besides these formal
agreements contained in the note, "A complete and satisfactory
understanding upon the matter of naval cooperation in the Pacific for the
purpose of attaining the common object against Germany and her allies has been
reached between the representatives of the imperial Japanese navy who are
attached to the special mission of Japan and the representatives of the United
States navy."12 know the Eastern
politics and are familiar with the methods of
Japanese diplomacy,1* this new agreement
between the United States and Japan received the
most favourable comment in the press and from the public men in America.14 Apparently it cleared away the threatening cloud on the Eastern horizon; put an end to the yellow peril; and solved the perplexing Eastern question, together with its corollary—the question of the
mastery of the Pacific. Even louder praises came
from Japan. From the Japanese publicity,
channels and officially manipulated press, we
heard that the news of the agreement was heralded
throughout the Empire as a new bond of the time-honoured friendship between America and Japan; that in the Japanese mind this new agreement signalized the permanent peace in the Pacific basin, and expressed the^ cordial friendship of America and Japan toward China in a
genuine spirit of helpfulness.
Amid all these tumults of applause, both in America and Japan, the
Associated Press received the following cablegram from its Peking agent, dated
October 26th, which dispatch, owing to the supreme prestige of Japan at that
"See "The Proper Interpretation of
the Agreement," Nation, 105:563-565, November 22, 1917, by Herald
Monk Vinacke.
" See " Monroe and Ishii
Doctrine," Independent, 92:
309, November 17, 1917; for press
editorials, see Literary Digest, November 17, 1917, vol. 55: pp.
15-16.
moment, received practically no publicity in the American press:
" The Japanese are exerting
every effort, officially and unofficially, to close the Chinese arms monopoly contract, carrying control of the Nanking iron deposits and the employment of Japanese military advisers and a director of
the new arsenal at Nanking. It is
asserted by the Japanese
that they are extending credit, and not
making a loan, and consequently that they are not violating the six Powers' exclusive rights to make political loans.
" This view is not shared by the French and the English and a large
section of the Chinese press, as well as diplomatic circles, which unite in
denouncing the deal as a revival of the most objectionable feature in Japan's
demands presented to China in May, 1915, known as f Group Five.'
The principal provisions of those demands, which were twenty-one in number,
concerned the appointment of Japanese military and political advisers for China
and Japanese supervision over the manufacture or purchase by China of munitions
of war.
" Minister Reinsch has advised the Foreign Office that China has invariably taken the
position that it would hold the remainder of the iron deposits for national use whenever Americans have sought development rights, and that consequently
the United States now would insist that
American interests be given consideration in the Chinese iron industry. The ministers
of. several other countries have
taken the same position."15
To the
average American mind it is quite incredible that Japan should assure the
United States, through her special
mission, of her intention of preserving China's integrity and the principle of equal opportunities in the
East, and at the
same time secretly attempt to undermine these
very principles." Still more incredible is the Chinese protest against the friendly and altruistic intentions- of Japan that the
Island Empire " not only will not
seek to assail the integrity
or the sovereignty of China, but will eventually
be prepared to defend and maintain the
integrity and independence of China against any aggressor." The Lansing-Ishii
agreement is
bitterly resented by the Chinese." It was
M World's Work (New York), 35:125-126, December, 1917. This attempt of Japan has resulted in
the appointment of Baron Yoshiro Sakatani as the
Japanese Financial Adviser
to the Chinese Government, and in the conclusion of the new Sino-Japanese Military Agreement
(Part III, U) of
March 19, 1918; see Hollington K. Tong, "What Japan Really Wants of China," Millard's Review (Shanghai), IV: 264-267, April
20, 1918; "Japan Completing Financial Control of China," ibid., IV: 457-459, May 25, 1918.
" See Frederick Moore, " The
Japanese Menace to China," World's Work, 35:196-207, December, 1917.
"At a mass meeting of Chinese students
in Tokyo, Japan, resolutions were adopted condemning the declarations of Viscount Ishii in America as hypocritical
professions to conceal
the real designs of Japan toward China,—New Korea (San Francisco), p. 3, November 8, 1917.
criticized not only by the press of the Eastern republic, but by the government officials as well. Formal representations were made by the Chinese Government both at Tokyo and at Washington to the effect that " the
Chinese Government
will not allow itself to be bound by any
agreement entered into by other nations," that China is an independent nation, and
ought 'not to be the subject of
negotiations between foreign
countries." China is, indeed, surprised " that America, of all countries,
should have taken
this step and lent herself, however unwillingly, to Japanese imperial
schemes,", as the Peking
Gasette puts it."
This protest from China is not
inspired altogether by a sensitive self-respect or an injured pride from the fact that sovereign China is about to be " protected " by
Japan,—the construction put upon Chinese expressions by many journals in -America. Rather it is due to
the Chinese fear of Japan and her conviction
that Japanese designs in China are contrary to
the public declarations of the Nipponese
statesmen. ^evvDr. Ng. Poon Chew, the eminent
Chinese \ scholar and publicist, gives expression to
the j ^ enlightened Chinese sentiment regarding
the \ . y new pact as follows; "
During Japan's war with Russia,
twelve years ago, Japan declared to the
"Press
dispatches from Washington, November 10, 1917.
"Quoted
in Literary Digest, p. 8,
November 24, 1917.
world that the motives which impelled her to take arms against Russia
were to drive Russia from Manchuria and restore Manchuria to its rightful
owner, China. Twelve years have elapsed since the conclusion of that war. What
part of Manchuria has Japan restored to China? Not only none, but to-day Japan
occupies a larger sphere of Manchuria than Russia ever occupied. Japan has done
everything to hinder, obstruct, and frustrate China's plans to develop
Manchuria under Chinese Government auspices. Japan is the Prussia of Asia. She
stands to-day for the very principles against which the Allied nations are
fighting. If Japan to-d^y is allowed a free hand to
dispose of China the war now being fought at such a terrible cost in Europe
must be fought all over in Asia. It is not to the interest of the world to
permit Japan to have a free hand in China." *
China of late years that whatever advantage Japan obtained from the Chinese she got through coercion, whereas American
capitalists are
invited to develop Chinese resources." Time, the great revealer of truth, will in
the future expose the hidden ambition
of Japan concerning
China, and her real purposes in making this new agreement with America. At present, there is only one way in which we
can form a reasonably accurate
opinion as to the ulterior
motives of an aggressive empire, that is to
deduce current policies from existing facts in the light of past experience. What in Japanese diplomacy of the recent past has
been indicative of the present
Japanese Asiatic policy?
What part should the United States take in
the shaping of events in the Far East? Upon
the correct analysis and proper solution of this
problem hinges the future peace in the Pacific
basin and the welfare of one-fourth of the
world's population. If the problem be correctly solved, and the situation
wisely handled, the
Pacific Ocean in the future'will be a basin of cultural and commercial activities; the
United States will hold her political
prestige and commercial advantages in the East; the oldest civilization in the world will be preserved,
and
n See
Minister Wellington Koo's speech at a meeting of U. S. Chamber of Commerce, New York Times, February 10, 1916.
China will in time take her place
among the powers
of the world. If, on the other hand, the
Asiatic question is left to a hit-or-miss policy with a lax and indifferent attitude, Asia
will ultimately be consolidated under
Japanese domination.
Asia, with great natural resources and
limitless man-power, dominated by an aggressive
empire, European or Asiatic, is a menace
to the world's peace, and a direct threat to the welfare of the United States.
The
habitable area of the earth is limited, and China is the last remaining unprotected El Dorado in the world. There are two elements t that an ambitious nation must have in order
to be great,—great in the material
sense: wealth and
man-power. China has both; she has abundant
natural resources to be developed, and four
hundred million sturdy people to be secured
for use in war or peace. But China is no
nation; she is a collection of four hundred million individuals. Common ties of
political aspiration,
economic interdependence, and social
obligation are almost utterly lacking. Nationalism
in the modern sense of the word is j an
unknown quantity to the masses of China. European
nations took advantage of this, and through
one pretext after another obtained leases,
concessions, and spheres of influence in China
until the autonomy of that ancient nation became only a nominal term.
Japan,
the infant prodigy of the East, crowded for
space for her ever-increasing population,a and with an insatiable desire to
become a first class
power among the family of nations, has a vision
of political and commercial expansion on the
mainland of Asia. Consolidation of Asia under Japanese domination is the
soul oFJapaneseforeign policy, and has been so ever since Japan
became a modern nation.2* In
the first blocking out of her
program she proposed to annex Korea within
forty-nine years, but this has been accomplished in twenty-six." Now the
same process is being repeated in
China. Already Japan
dominates Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Fukien,
Shantung and Liaotung* The same policy—the
policy of opportunism—that was used so
effectively in undermining the Korean Government
is in full operation in China now, and the
same Japanese minister, Count Gonsuke Hayashi, who was instrumental in destroying Korea, is now the Japanese minister at
Peking. The open
door principle is practically destroyed,
M Annual
increase of population in Japan proper is estimated at 6oo,ooo; see W. E. Weyl, "Japan's Menacing Birth-rate," Asia, 18:129-133, February, 1918.
11 See
Walter E. Weyl, " Japan's Diplomacy of
Necessity," Asia, XVII: 593-595, October, 1917.
M See
McKenzie, " The Tragedy of Korea"; Park, " The Tragic History of Korea," Chinese and
Korean editions.
84 See
Millard, " The Far Eastern Question," " Our Eastern Question"; J. W. Jenks, "Japan's
Acts in China," World's Work, 33: 312-328, January, 1917.
for in the territories controlled by the Japanese, the door is open only to Japanese trade.28
With money borrowed from the British capitalists, the Japanese built the
South Man- churian Railway and shut off British
trade. British financiers have now come to realize that every time they lend a
pound to the Japanese, that money is used in the East to kill the British
trade; and to-day the Japanese cannot borrow a single shilling in the London
markets. Hence they turn to the United States.27 Money they must
have to develop all the mining and railroad concessions wrenched from China. In
1916, Baron Shibusawa, the Japanese Morgan and the semi-official spokesman of
the government, came to the United States to arrange a huge loan with the
bankers of New York. His mission was a failure. But had he been successful and
had he borrowed enough money from American capitalists, it is very probable
that the Japanese could have succeeded in closing all the doors of China to the
rest of the world, as they have done in Manchuria.
It has been stated time and again that Japan entered the European War
with the unselfish
29See O. K.
Davis, "Whose Open Door?" Everybody, 36:34-46, January, 1917.
21 See H.
K. Tong, "American Money and Japanese Brains," Review of Reviews, 53:452-455.
APril» "Japan, China, and
American Money," Harper's Weekly, 62:298-299, March 26,
1916.
motive of fulfilling her treaty obligation to her ally—England. That may or may not be true. But the fact is that Japan is the only
nation that has
profited by this war. It seems likely that Japan will occupy all the territories
formerly held by
Germany in the Far East and more. Commercially,
she is enjoying an unprecedented prosperity.
She has replaced all the German and
Austrian, and a part of the Allies' trade in the East. Since the war began, Japan's sales to the Philippines, Straights Settlements,
British India, Australia, and Spain have more than doubled. Sales to Russia are more than
twelve times what they were;28
Egypt has changed from a
modest customer requiring less than a half
million dollars' worth of goods yearly to a fairly important one buying more than five times that amount. The United States bought in 1916 a hundred million dollars' worth
more than in 1913. "Japan is
enjoying the novel experience of engaging in a war which has brought great prosperity, with no increase in taxes,
no issues of bonds, and with no loss
to army and navy.""
"This yms
true up to the time of the overthrow of the Kerensky government, November, 1917. Since
then the trade
relations between Japan and Russia have been uncertain because of the unstable
condition of Russia.
89 Carl
Crow, " Get-Rich-Quick Japan," Sunset Magazine, 39:32-33, December, 1917. Also
see G. L. Harding, "Japan's Part in the War," New York Times, Current History, VI:
528-531, September, 1917.
The
Lansing-Ishii agreement, regardless of what the
American people may think of it, is, in the
opinion of Japanese and Chinese, a decided victory for Japan and a
corresponding defeat for America.80 Recognition of sovereignty within sovereignty is contradiction of
terms. No matter what the intention of
the American statesmen
ill recognizing Japan's special interests in China, the Japanese purpose in
making this agreement is to blindfold America as to their ever-increasing activities in China,
and to make America ignore China's
appeal against the Japanese
aggression.
•°For full discussion of this topic, see the
present writer's "China's Distrust of Japan," Asia, XVllI:225-226, March, 1918.
PRESENT POLICIES AND
OPPORTUNITIES
i. Japanese Plans and
Ambitions
|
T |
HE astute statesmen of Japan realize the solidarity of public opinion in the West. Hence their advance on the Asiatic mainland has been very cautious. As long as they get what^they want
piecemeal, it will not
attract Western attention, nor will any single
loss be great enough to arouse the Chinese to a fighting spirit. Through this
policy— - the
policy of the small snake with the big toad— Japan has swollen her sphere of influence
during the last ten years to the largest in the mainland of Asia. If this
policy is permitted to proceed unchecked, Japan will ultimately succeed ^ in absorbing the entire continent
of Asia with its vast
natural resources and limitless manpower. Then no longer could the British colonies discriminate against Japanese immigrants;1
no longer could California pass an alien
land law; no longer could the United States
Government assert the principles of Monroe
Doctrine that the Western Hemisphere is
closed to imperial colonization. Banzai and
1 See
Harry C. Douglas, " What May Happen in the Pacific," Review of Reviews, 55: 394-398, April, 1917.
100
|
|
|
^Japanese Sphere and Desired Sphere f^ British Sphere ^French Sphere PTTi
French and British Desired Spheres |:';VJ
Conflicting Clavns of European Powers f=l
Former Russian Sphere fc=J iCnwa vtylWWWnAq Former German Desired Sphere | | Neutral Sphere Courtesy
Asia Magazine of American
Asiatic Association, |
SHOWING
RAILWAYS AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE
The Spheres Vary Broadly from the
British Centres of Economic Influence Based on Years
of Developed Commerce and Investment to the Japanese, Where Political
Authority Advances Hand in Hand With Economic Advantage. A Crucial Test of the League^of Nations Will Br Its Ability or Failure to End
Them by
Dai Nippon will be far more dangerous and formidable
than Kultur and Weltpolitik. With these outstanding facts
and tendencies in view, what should be the correct Oriental policy of the
United States?
Japan will regard—outwardly, at least—the wishes of the United States as
long as the United States is superior in resources and manpower. But Japan
will not remain inferior to the United States in these two elements essential
to a nation's greatness, if her present policy is carried out successfully. She
patiently fore- bore the insolence of China during the early years of the Meiji
Era, only saying to herself, " We will come back at China when we are
ready and able." She redeemed this pledge to herself in 1894. After the
Chino-Japanese War, Russia, Germany, and France drove her out ofv Liaotung Peninsula. She
acquiesced in what she deemed to be the humiliating terms of these three
powers, but with the anticipation of coming back at them in the future. Come
back she did in 1904 and 1914, to Russia and Germany respectively. The dates
1924 and 1934 are open, and Japan has a few more issues to settle with foreign
nations—especially with the United States—and a few more self-made pledges to
redeem. Here it might be well to remember the significant statement of Baron
Kato, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the Japanese" Diet
OF THE
POLICY
.............. /
on January 21, 1915, on the pending California Alien Land Law question: " The Imperial
Government has found the replies of the American Government not at all satisfactory and recognizes
the necessity of elaborating other plans for the solution of the pending question. As
regards the nature of these plans, the time to report them has not, to our regret,
arrived." * The
American diplomacy in the Far East has
been a " diplomacy de Uixeas a
Japanese publicist
once described it. American statesmen piously believe in the open door and integrity
of China, but the idea of fighting for these
ideals has never entered their minds. They
have honourable intentions in regard to their foreign policy and judge the
intentions of the
Japanese statesmen by their own. The American
lack of preparation, both military and psychological,
to fight for what she believes in concerning
Chiha gave Japan freedom of action in the East, and the self-deceiving good
intention pf American diplomacy furnished an ample opportunity for Japan to hoodwink the United States. Count Okuma is a powerful imperialist
; he believes in anything but fairness and non- aggression toward China. Yet he is the president
of the Japan Peace Society that manufactures peace propaganda, not for home
con* Quoted by Millard in
"Our Eastern Question," pp« 223-224.
sumption, but
for export purposes—especially to the
United States. General Terauchi, the premier
of Japan, is an out-and-out militarist, yet he
sends out for American consumption doctrines of peace and democracy as the
" national sentiment
of the Japanese people." At present, Japan has no more intention of making an aggressive
war upon the United States than she has of
making an aggressive war on Great Britain.
But she wants to create in America an * impression that Japan is a formidable nation with matchless figHting
machines, that the United
States must let her alone and stay out of her
way in Asia. So far Japan has succeeded admirably
in all her diplomatic game of bluff with
the United States.
The lax^and indifferentJDriental
policy of jhe American Government and the failure to
understand the nature of Japanese diplomacy have caused the decrease of
American trade and prestige in the East. American exports to China fell in ten
years (1905-1915) from about twenty-eight per cent, of China's total imports to
less than eight per cent.* The Japanese in China are working insidiously to
undermine American influence and prestige. In exerting their pressure to cancel
the Chinchow-Aigun railway concession, a concession
given to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the Japanese • Millard, " Our Eastern Question," p. 356.
minister at Peking used these significant words in his note to the Chinese Government,
January 31,
1910: " Before the Chinese Government determines anything, the consent of
my government must first be obtained." [7]
While Minister Reinsch was wielding his influence to induce China to follow the example of the United States in breaking off relations with
Germany in the
spring of 1917, Japanese agents in China secretly
combined with the German and Austrian propagandists to block the move. When finally the Chinese liberals won over the
reactionaries in breaking off the diplomatic relation with Germany, then both official Tokyo and
the Japanese press sent to America
and Europe dispatches containing loud praises of the Chinese decision.
This insidious attempt of the Japanese to undermine American influence
is prevalent wherever the interests of the two nations come into contact.
Although it has been denied by the Japanese Government and the press, and the
State Department is reticent on the Japanese part of the intrigue in the
alleged German- Japanese-Mexican alliance to invade the United States,
presumably because the officials at Washington do not wish to complicate
matters
any more than necessary concerning an ally of
/
the United States in the world war, there were enough evidences in the intercepted note of
the German Foreign Minister, Alfred
Zimmermann, to the
German Minister, von Eckhardt, at Mexico City, and
in the information which leaked out
through non-official channels at Washington that Japan was inclined to take sides with
Germany in the attempt to arouse Mexico against the United States, if the occasion were opportune
and the methods expedient.8
2. American Duties and Opportunities Now that the European War is over, there is likely to be a realignment of world
politics, and
"The Zimmermann note was dated, January
19, 1917, and was
given to the press by the State Department, February 28, 1917.
An interesting side-light has been shed on the " pro- Ally" attitude of Japan during the war
by Hon. Alvan T. Fuller of Massachusetts, in his speech in
Congress, March 3, 1919:
" My trip across the water was
uneventful. I found among my
fellow passengers a most delightful person, who was no other than M. Delanney,
the French ambassador to Japan. I took
occasion to ask the ambassador, if, as a result of his observation, the Japanese were sincerely
pro-Ally. To this inquiry
the ambassador replied very definitely, 4 No, sir/ and inquired, " Who in the world thought
they were sincerely pro-Ally?'
''Ambassador Delanney
stated to me that the Japanese intended
to support Germany, but after the commission visited here and saw how whole-heartedly we
were going into the war
they were afraid to do so. Ambassador Delanney stated that he sailed from Japan to
Vancouver, and when the party
arrived and learned the news that Austria had surrendered the Japanese members
of the party were visibly disappointed.
He likened the emperor and the military caste of Japan to that of Germany. He said their
methods and ideas
and ideals were those of Germany" (Congressional Record, Vol. 57, No. 86, p. 5465, March 15, 1919,
65th Congress, 3rd Session).
the
United States may adopt a new Oriental policy
befitting its rights and obligations. The Anglo-Japanese alliance has served its
purpose, and England
and Japan are only nominal allies. Already
there are signs in both countries of mutual
distrust.* British resentment of the Japanese
encroachment upon their interests in the
East, and the secret attempts of the Japanese to stir the Hindus against the
British rule are the
straws which indicate the undercurrent that
drift the two allied nations apart.* In the proposal of Japanese intervention in
Siberia, Great
Britain, through her ambassador, Earl Reading,
at Washington, sounded the United States
on its disposition to send troops to Asia jointly with Japan, before requesting her
Eastern ally to intervene. From this diplomats at Washington and elsewhere drew the inference that " Great Britain suspects Japan of
an intention of staying in Siberia once she gets there.
•For the sentiment of Japanese publicists
toward Great Britain
and her policies, consult K. K. Kawakami, "Japan in World Politics" (New York), 1917.
T See
Millard, " Our Eastern Question," chap. XIII, " Japan and Great
Britain"; McKenzie, "The Tragedy of Korea," chap. XX, "Prospects for
Foreign Trade." For the
Japanese secret participation in Hindu revolt against the English, see the findings in the Hindu
revolt plot trials in San
Francisco,—press dispatches, January 19, 1918; also see the correspondence between the leaders
of the Hindu Nationalists
in New York, and Japanese Ambassador Aimaro Sato at Washington, intercepted by the
Department of
Justice, and "Isolation of Japaq in World
Politics," suppressed
by Department of Justice, March, 1918.
Joint intervention would give
handle for invoking joint withdrawal eventually."8 ^
Equally
as possible as the rupture of the Anglo-Japanese
alliance is the formation of an Anglo-American
alliance. The war aims of both England
and America were practically identical
and the political aspirations of the two countries
have much in common. England and, the
United States, the two most enlightened and
powerful democratic nations in the world, combined can curb the ambition of Japan—the consolidation of Asia under Japanese
domination— thereby
removing the cause for another world war, and
give China political independence and economic
stability. This can be done by accomplishing two things: (1) By having all the treaty powers, by some sort" of a
diplomatic agreement,
give up the sphere doctrine and release the predatory trade privileges
extorted from
China. The limit of five per cent, custom duties on all imports and the exemption of
foreign traders and manufacturers from internal revenue taxes have made it impossible for
the native traders and manufacturers
to compete with
their foreign competitors and have kept the Chinese Government in perpetual
insolvency." When
these obstacles have been eliminated,
"Press dispatch from Washington (Nebraska State Journal), March 2, 1918.
"See A. P. Winston, "Trade with
China Fails to Increase," Asia, XVII: 654, ff-,
October, 1917.
then China can establish her government on a more stable basis and begin financial reform and industrial enterprises. This will remove
the cause of international rivalry in
China and pave the way
for the withdrawal of extraterritoriality. The Powers will thereby " enfranchise
" China, as they
" enfranchised " Japan in 1899. (2) By developing the Chinese natural resources through the combined capital oi all Powers as Secretary Knox suggested in his plan for the neutralization of Manchurian railroads in
1909. By this plan the investing Powers
will have the legitimate
profit for their investment under the Chinese
ownership of the enterprise. This will do away
with the underhanded trade methods of
rival nations and convert the Chinese field into a vast neutral zone of peaceful
commerce and
fair competition. It will also bring economic prosperity to the Chinese, which means a higher standard of living, enlightenment of
the masses, and increase of
purchasing power. If the
purchasing power of China's millions be increased, she will be one of the most
attractive markets
in the world. Treaty Powers, including Japan, will reap the benefit in the
end, although they may feel a seeming sacrifice for a time in surrendering their exclusive rights
and spheres.
The United States has a unique role to play in this realignment of world
politics and in the
remaking of China. The Pacific Ocean is fast becoming the basin of political and
commercial. activities,
and what affects one side of it is bound
to affect the other. The United States cannot afford, for the safety of its own
interests, to have
China dominated by an aggressive and militaristic nation, European or Asiatic.
The effete notion of splendid
isolation is out of date, and
America can no longer hold herself aloof and
keep away from the entangling alliances of the old world. The world is being too
closely ) unified
for two incombatable political ideals to ( exist together,—imperialistic autocracy
based I upon
militarism, and representative democracy \ founded on political liberty. President
Wilson crystallized this idea into a
political principle when he
said in his message delivered at a joint session
of the two houses of the Congress, April
2, 1917, . . . "The world must be made
safe for democracy; its peace must be planted
upon the tested foundations of political liberty.
. . . We shall fight for the things which
we have always carried nearest our hearts,—for
democracy, for the rights of those who
submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and
liberties of
small nations, for a universal domination of right by such a concert of free peoples,
as shall bring peace and safety to
all nations and make
the world itself at last free."
It is a clear enunciation of new
Americanism. The
United States fought for her own freedom in the
Declaration of Independence. She was willing
to fight for the freedom of the peoples of the
Western Hemisphere in declaring the Monroe
Doctrine. In the European War she fought
for the freedom and democracy of the whole
world. China, if unselfishly aided and wisely
guided, can revive her ancient genius and develop her vast potential resources, and
will eventually take her place among
the powers of the
world as a strong, democratic nation. Will the United States of America, true to the
new principles of her political
conviction, perform her
mission toward China in the consummation of this
noble task?
PART II
An Undercurrent Shaping the Policy: Japan's Control of Publicity
INTRODUCTION
|
I |
N the foregoing chapters we have examined briefly the development of the Oriental policy of the United States. We will now consider the subtle undercurrent that
directs, in a large
measure, the course of that policy.
When Germany violated Belgian neutrality and invaded France in 1914, the
whole world raised its voice in indignant protest. But when Japan absorbed
Korea in breach of faith and covenant to the latter Power, and in spite of her
solemn declarations to the world at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War
that she was fighting Russia to safeguard the political independence and
territorial integrity of Korea, the Powers of the West apparently connived at
the perpetration of the crime. The national crimes that Japan committed during
the course of her imperial expansion on the Asiatic mainland are not less
horrible nor less excusable than those committed by Germany in Belgium and in
northern France. Yet Japan has received practically no censure for what she has
done in Korea and China; on the contrary, she successfully maintains her
position as a worthy member of the
"3
family of the democratic nations of the world. One reason for this situation lies in her marvellously complete and skillful control of publicity, a control that enables her to manipulate
easily the
public opinion of the Western Powers and to mould their
diplomatic policies in the Orient. A
study, therefore, of the nature and extent of Japan's control of publicity will throw much light upon the diplomatic relationships of
the East and the West and will result
in a clearer understanding
of the Oriental policy of the United
States.
As early as the
close of the Russo-Japanese War, before the destruction of Korean independence,
Thomas F. Millard, the distinguished American publicist, wrote concerning
Japanese activities in Korea:
" Nothing
-could display greater cleverness than the manner used by Japan through the
propaganda to steadily shift her ground in regard to the main propositions
involved in the settlement, while at the same time remaining carefully posed in
an attitude of self-sacrifice. Something of a shock will be felt in the Western
world when the mask, having served its purpose, is dropped. Meanwhile,
pretense is piled upon pretense, without being able, however, to conceal the
undercurrent of reality."1
The mask
has served its purpose and is 1" The New Far East," p. io2.
dropped. But the act was performed so skillfully and imperceptibly,
like the transition of magic
pictures on the screen, that the Western world
felt no shock at all. Japan knows the publicity
game and plays it well. She knows the
value of honourable intentions in the public opinion of the West, and she employs every means within her power to create a most favourable impression of herself and her aspirations in the Western world,—especially in the
United States and England.
To this end, she has many agencies working constantly. They form an
elaborate system of interior and exterior espionage, publicity propaganda,
press censorship, control of the news both as to its sources and its
distribution, skillful governing of the impressions made upon foreigners who
visit Japan.
\
I
THE OFFICIAL ESPIONAGE
i. The Philosophy of the
System
|
T |
HERE is a wrong impression in the West
that all the Oriental peoples are generally cunning and sly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although
the Westerner may condemri
the Chinaman for his fogyism and low standard of living, he certainly may not condemn him for dishonesty. The credit system was firmly established in China long before it was known in Western Europe. There were no contractual laws in China;
they were not needed, as the
Chinaman's word is as good as
his bond. It is a well-known fact that the
Western banks in the Far East prefer Chinese cashiers to those of any other
nationality. Even in
Japan, the majority of the cashiers in large
banks were Chinese, because of their superior commercial integrity and high
code of honour, until the Japanese found out that
this fact was
considered a reflection on the honesty of the Japanese people before the Western
public.
The Japanese themselves, before
coming into
contact with the Western world, were not so subtle as they are now. The Samurai were professional
warriors. They despised wealth and manual labour, and upheld honour and
bravery. But the
swift abolition of the feudal system and the " gulping " of Western
culture,—the product of more than five thousand years of slow progress,—in a single generation, has made
the Japanese civilization of to-day a
peculiar structure, in which the sense of proportion is almost utterly lacking. They have copied the
material achievements
of the West without absorbing the underlying
spiritual truths; they have adopted the
policy of expediency rather than principle. The military, educational, and industrial
systems of Japan are modelled after those of Germany.
Their slogans, Banzai and Dai Nippon, are other
forms of "
Deutschland, Deutschland, tiber alles, liber alles in der Welt." There
is a remarkable similarity between the
Japanese spy system
and that of Germany, as was revealed at the
opening of the European War; only the Japanese
system is more elaborate, and carried out to
finer points. It is more than probable that
the aggressive Empire of Asia learned the dishonourable but
expedient trick from the military
bureaucracy of Europe, and has become a
greater master of the game.
It is needless to say that Japan reaped great advantages from her spy
system during her r^- cent wars. The Chino-Japanese
War in 1894 was in many respects like the Franco-Prussian War. Every Japanese officer had a thorough knowledge of the topography of China, her resources and
military strength,—all acquired through the
laborious and patient work of spies long before the
opening of hostilities. The same system was
used in the preparation for the Russo-Japanese
War. " They had military maps of every
nook and corner of Korea and Manchuria;
they had spies working as coolies on the Russian
railroads, and in Russian ports and shipyards.
. . . The collapsible boats, with which a
pontoon was thrown across the Yalu, were made for
that special purpose months before, when the Korean
peninsula was yet to be invaded."1 Nothing was left to chance when Japan struck the first blow, which, to the ordinary observer in the West, came like a thunderbolt from the clear sky.
In time of war, when a nation is engaged in a death struggle, espionage
might be justified under the pretext of military necessity. But Japan maintains
her spy system in time of peace as well as in time of war. The most curious
fact about it is that so far no serious protest has been raised by her scholars and publicists against it. The only
explanation of this strange silence is
'"The Russo-Japanese War," p. 25
(Collier aad Sons, New York).
k.
that the oft-quoted phrase of Treitschke, " der Staat ist Macht," is the ruling
motto with the better
thinkers of Japan, and whatever is done for the
benefit of the state is justifiable. This principle was fully demonstrated in the
trial and acquittal
of Count Miura and his accomplices after
they murdered the Korean Queen in 1895.' The Japanese philosophy of the state
advocates selfishness
and deception as motive powers that energize
the world.* Only they appear in different manifestations in various activities
of life. The
forms of deception in business, for instance, are known as shrewdness; in war, they are strategy; in society, cleverness; and in
relations between
nations, diplomacy. But all these are only
different combinations of the same element —deception.
This philosophy may find its echoes among the followers of Nietzsche and
Bernhardi; but no believer in liberty and democracy
can endorse it. There are a few things in human society that outrage our
natural feelings, and espionage is one of them.
' 2. Spies in Other Lands
It is not a hasty
generalization to say that
'See "The Far East" February,
1896, vol. 1, p. 20; Mc- Kenzie, "
The Tragedy of Korea," chap. VI.
'See Liang Ch'i-Chao,
"Liberty" pp. 148-152 (Korean translation
from Chinese text).
Japan has spies in practically every country on the globe. This does not mean, of course,
that Japan is preparing for war on
every nation in the
world. But it is the Japanese way of finding out what the other people are doing.
Although subtle rumours are scattered all over the United States that Japan has no use for the
Philippine Islands,
and that she would not occupy them under
any circumstances, as they would be a burden
to her;4 yet it is an undeniable fact that the Malay Archipelagoes are honeycombed with Japanese spies.8 In Mexico and
South America there
are several thousand Japanese, mostly veterans
of the Russo-Japanese War. In one year,
1914, 3,675 Japanese entered Brazil.' According to the United States census of
1910, there were 72,157 Japanese in the
United States, and
79,675 in the Hawaiian Islands. It is very probable that the number has increased
considerably since. Out of this number, 123,425 were , men—largely ex-soldiers.
It is merely a matter of opinion how much credence we can attribute to
the newspaper reports. But it is certain that constant and repeated rumours cannot be ignored as being utterly false. They may
be proofless, but they
* See "Why Japan does Not Want the
Philippines," Review of Reviews, 51:494,
April, 1915; also, "Philippines No Bait
to Japan," Literary Digest,
52:1212, April 29, 1916.
6 See S. Henschen, " What is Behind the Japanese Peril," Forum,-
56:63-78, July, 1916.
•Figures taken from the Statesmen's
Year Book, 1916.
are rarely without foundation. It was alleged that some time ago the harbour
police of New York
were astonished to see a Japanese aviator drop into the bay in his flying machine. He
was presumably sent to map the coast
defense from an aeroplane. Japanese " fishermen " were discovered
near the entrance of the Panama Canal. They
were trying to conduct pearl fishing expeditions by taking bearings in various
sections of the
bays and waters, and incidentally mapping out the forts and
approaches to the canal.
" On April 28, 1916, the Mayor of Los Angeles asked the United
States Government to probe the activities of Japanese in his city. Guns and
supplies were found hidden in the Japanese quarters, motor trucks had been
purchased, aviators were being trained, and many young Japanese had been
making surveys of the coast. „ . . Several months ago a Japanese was arrested
in Los Angeles for drunkenness. A detailed map of the United States was found
on his person. It showed landing places for aeroplanes
in various parts of the country. A short time prior to this another Japanese
was arrested in San Diego. He carried a complete list of all the wireless
stations in the United States."T
Samuel G. Blythe gives an account
of his knowing a Japanese nobleman in a
Western hotel as
a bell " hop." The films that this Japa- * Chicago Examiner, February 4, 1917.
nese
possessed showed " Mr. Togo, the boy who wore the plum-coloured
suit and waited on the bell,
standing on the bridge of a Japanese battleship, clad in a silk hat and a
frock coat, with the insignia
of a Japanese order on his breast, and between
two Japanese officers, both in full naval uniform. There is a large American military post not far from the place where Togo officiated."8
All these reports
and many others of similar nature may be discarded as fantastic and fictitious
as no better than the description of the Japanese spies in Louis Joseph Vance's
recent novel, " Patria." But there are two sides to every question;
perhaps, indeed, this is the case with rumours as
well as arguments.
One thing certain
is that Japan has made persistent efforts to get a foothold on the Western
Hemisphere for her military and naval purposes. In 1912, when it was known that
Japanese were making secret attempts to acquire land in Magdalena Bay, under
the pretext of establishing a base for Japanese fishing interests, Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, introduced a resolution in the Senate,
which was adopted August 2d, declaring that "when any harbour
or other place in the American continent is so situated that the occupation
thereof for naval or military purposes might threaten • Saturday• Evening Post, May 22, 1915, p. 53.
the communications or the safety of the United States, the Government of the United States could not see, without grave concern, the
possession of such harbour or other place by any corporation or association which has such
relation to another government, not American, as to give that government traditional powers of
control for naval or military purposes." Although the name Japanese was not mentioned in the resolution, that it was aimed at what Japan
was trying to do was obvious. The
Japanese took sufficient
hint from this resolution, and gave up the
attempt. It is quite clear that the American Government will not tolerate the acquisition
of land in the Western Hemisphere by
the Japanese for naval or military purposes, much as it is desired by the Tokyo Government.
In China the Japanese spies are
not so concealed and unobtrusive as they are in the United States. A paragraph from the description of
the Japanese in Manchuria by an
unbiased eye-witness may be cited to illustrate the operation of the system there.
" During the Russian
occupation prior to the war, the
Japanese Government had sent hundreds of Japanese into the country with
instructions to adopt the dress of the Chinese and domesticate themselves;
and many of these persons succeeded in escaping detection after hos-^ tilities
commenced, remaining to act as spies and
secret agents. . . . No sooner did the Japanese
armies occupy the country, and promulgate, their military regulations, than
these informers came out of their
retirement and quickly
assumed a position of importance. They pointed
to the Japanese authorities Chinese who were
known or suspected to sympathize with or have
business relations with the Russians. It mattered
little that the men thus accused might be of
high standing, and the fact that a majority of them, especially officials, could not
have avoided relations with the
Russians. Many were
executed upon the witness of these professional informers, often without even
a semblance of a trial. The regulations provided that Chinese who knew of any infraction of them
and failed to inform the authorities
were punishable by
death; while many were tortured in the attempt to force them to disclose
military information." 9
3.
Espionage in Japan and Korea In Japan
every foreigner is watched, and everything
he does and says is carefully reported and filed in the books of the
government secret
service office. A paragraph from the pen of the
veteran correspondent, Samuel G. Blythe, after his
visit to Japan, well illustrates this: "
Any man you meet may be listening for
•Millard, "The New Far East," p. 146.
governmental purposes to what you say or because of that natural
curiosity; but in case you say
anything you should not, whether the listener is a secret agent or not, he
goes and reports your conversation to somebody, for that is the first duty of all Japanese—to tell
what they hear. There are always some
of these agents
about the big hotels. They act as room- boys,
as bar-boys, as waiters, and in any other capacity that will put t}iem
in contact with the guests.
In the days of-the Russian war the correspondents who were held in Tokyo were
accustomed to relate their opinions of the Japanese in front of a certain
bar, and each night complete
reports of what they said were transmitted to the war office. The bar-boys
were secret agents. . . . Let a man
whose business is not
definitely stated by him the moment he arrives
go to any city in Japan, and there will be secret-service men set after him
immediately. Every
petty detail will be communicated to some
secret head and set down painstakingly in some secret record. His trunks are likely to
be opened. The boy in his room at
his hotel is likely
to be a spy. Every move will be watched. A man whom I know could do it told me he would get me a complete record of my comings and goings in Japan for a hundred yen. I
told him it was not worth it."
"
10 Saturday
Evening Post, May 22, 1915, p. 53.
The organization of the Japanese spy system in Korea is pretty nearly perfect. It is a
part of the
military administration in the peninsula, and is used most effectively to denationalize
the ancient kingdom. A Korean is not permitted to go to Europe or America, and even within Korea the people are not allowed to travel
in large groups. " Every one must be registered and is given a number, which is known to the police. Every time he leaves his village or
town he must'register
at the police station and state fully
the business he* intends to transact and his destination. The policeman 'phones to this place,' and if his actions are in any way at
variance with his report, he is liable to arrest and mistreatment. A strict classification is
kept on the
basis of a man's education, influence, position, etc. As soon as a man begins to show ability
or qualities of leadership he is put
in class ' a,' detectives are set on his trail, and from thenceforth he
becomes a marked man, hounded wherever he goes. Even children are watched or bribed for information. If a man escapes the country his number is traced, his family or
relatives arrested and perchance tortured until they reveal his whereabouts: A man is likely to
disappear any day and perhaps not be heard of again."11 Officially
authorized spies are sta-
11 J. E.
Moore, "Korea's Appeal for Self-Determination," pp. 9-10.
tioned in
every town and village; they force their
presence even into private household parties.
Their acts are backed by the Japanese gendarmerie,
and woe to the native who dares to
resent their intrusion! He will be charged with treason as opposing the government authorities!
The Japanese enlist as sub-spies a large
number of the worst scoundrels in the country.
These incorrigibles are paid good salaries
and in many cases given rewards for the
merit of their work; not infrequently the well-to-do natives are' blackmailed by these spies, and the government winks at the
crime. It is not. only an opportunity
for petty and venal
natures to vent personal enmities and spites,
but also a chance to gather a handsome fortune
for a scoundrel who is not fit for anything else.
Such abuse of the method might
naturally be expected,
but the worst feature of it all is that it is
often used as a machine by the government in relentlessly crushing out the spirit of
nationalism. If a Korean is suspected of keeping alive the spirit of his forefathers,—not
rebellion, for that
would be a hopeless thing at present,—the government instructs its spies to bring
certain charges
against him. Upon the witness of the spies,
he will be imprisoned, his property will be confiscated, and he will be punished in such
a way as to be disabled for life;
or he may even be executed
on the charge of treason.18 Like the mediaeval " Ironwoman
" that crushed its victim without
bloodshed, this spy system of the Japanese administration in Korea removes
from the country the ablest and best
educated Koreans without technically violating the regulations of the
colonial policy of the Japanese Empire.
The sad feature of the Korean case is that, although the Korean suffers the same hard
fate as did the Poles and the
Armenians before the European
War, his story is unknown to the outside world. The only time when he had a
partial hearing before the world's coilrt of public opinion was during the late wholesale arrest
and trial of the Korean Christian
leaders on the charge
of conspiracy against the life of Governor-General Terauchi. This time the
news leaked out because it involved
several prominent foreign
missionaries.1*
"For
Japanese prison tortures in Korea, see the Continent, June 13, 27, 1912; Sengman
Rhee, "The Christian Persecution
in Korea" (Korean, published in Honolulu, T. H.).
# u
For full account, see the Report sent to the Continuation Committee by the
missionaries in Korea. Also, consult Arthur
Judson Brown, "The Korean Conspiracy Case'* (1912); Sengman
Rhee, "The Christian Persecution in Korea '
(Korean); " A Korean View of Japan's Policy in Korea," Missionary, Review of the WQrld,
36:450-453, June,, 1913, •
THE GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP,
i. Press
Censorship TT is only
half a century since Japan abol- I ished feudalism,
but the basis of it—loyalty —still remains. This furnishes a fertile ground for
the growth and fruition of the political philosophieg^f
Machiavelli and Hegel—the suppression of the individual for the sake of the
state, j The individual Japanese is not a free citizen, but a tool of the
state. He has no conscience of his own except national conscience; he has no
liberty except his share in national liberty. The Japanese scholar or publicist
is only a mouthpiece of his government. The individuals are for the state, but
the state is not for the individuals, as it is in America and Western Europe.1
This doctrine of individuals -existing for the sake of the state brings about
that unity of purpose and simplicity in ends which are the direct correlatives
of national
1 See W.
E. Griflis, "The Mikado—Institution and Person"
(1915)- efficiency. Japan is an
ambitious climber and an efficient worker.
With this state-supremacy doctrine in view, we can understand—incredible
though it" may seem to the Western mind—that in Japan the government
outlines its policies, and then forms the public opinion to support them.'
Practically all the publications in the country are more or less under the
control, direct or indirect, of the government. The native press receives
orders from the government as to the kinds of news that it should print or
suppress. Rigid censorship is in force all the time—not only when Japan is at
war but when Japan is at peace. " They suppress not only governmental
matters but anything that, in the light of their opinion of their standing
outside, will tend to lower that estimate which they think the rest of the
world has of them."8 The following is a typical order issued by
the government with reference to something the government does not want
printed. In this case it happens to be one concerning the navy, but its
precision and thoroughness are typical of all orders concerning even the least
important matters. V
" By an official order of the Navy Department the following
additions have been made to the clauses of the press censorship: Matters con-
*New Republic, November 18, 1916, p. 66.
*
Saturday Evening Post,
May 22, 1915, p. 53.
cerning the
naval movements of the ally in war, which
have some reference to the naval strategies of the Empire; plans of war;
organizations of
fleets and ships, their duties, present condition and movements; employing of
transports, their
crews, their present condition and their movements; whereabouts of fleets and transport
ships, and their departure and arrival; as to goods ordered for service; the naval preparations
and defenses in naval stations and along the coast; present condition of the various
companies engaged in manufacturing war materials for the navy by order of the naval arsenal
and the Navy Department; the
positions and names of the
bases or gathering places; the same regulations as to aeroplanes*
Beside the foregoing, anything
that has not been made public by the government
and has direct or indirect reference to
naval secrets."[8]
\ Such a thing as a constitutional guarantee of a free press is an unheard-of liberty in
Japan. After
the Japanese occupation of Korea, all the Korean dailies and magazines were suppressed under one pretext after another, and were
gradually abolished." In their places the government established one
subsidized daily published in
Korean, Mai III Shin Po, which
zealously scatters
far and wide among the natives the doctrine
of obedience and loyalty. The Japanese even propose to establish a Korean
daily in Hawaii
to fight the Korean National Herald in Honolulu."
In forming public opinion both at home and abroad to support its
policies, the Japanese Government utilizes not only the native press, but also
the foreign publications in Japan. Many prominent English journals published in
Japan are owned by Japanese.7 Most of the others are edited by those
pro-Japanese foreigners who have some interest in Japan, financial or
otherwise. Take, for example, the Japan Daily Mail, perhaps the most powerful English daily
in the Far East. Its founder and former editor was Captain Frank Brinkley, a
well- known Irishman, formerly in the Japanese Government service, and later
foreign adviser to the largest Japanese shipping company, the Nippon Yusen
Kaisha. Concerning Captain Brinkley's relation with the Japanese, a prominent
English journalist writes as follows:
" Captain Brinkley's great knowledge of Japanese life and language
is admitted and admired by all. His independence of judgment is, however,
weakened by his close official connection
• Korean National Herald, editorial, November 29, 1916.
T Japan
Magazine, Herald of Asia,
etc.
with the Japanese Government and by his personal interest in Japanese
industry. His journal is
regarded generally as a government mouthpiece, and he has succeeded in making
himself a more
vigorous advocate of the Japanese claims than even the Japanese themselves. It can safely be forecasted that whenever a dispute arises between Japanese and British
interests Captain
Brinkley and his journal will play the part,
through thick and thin, of defenders of the
Japanese."8
The above might be
said of nearly all the foreign editors in Japan. When Japan began the
wholesale arrest of the Korean Christian leaders and educators in 1911-1912, on
the charge of a conspiracy, the Associated Press agent refused to send out the
reports of the trial, except in so far as favourable
to the Japanese. James Gordon Bennett, the owner of the New York Herald, ordered J. K. Ohl,
the Herald's experienced and trustworthy
correspondent at Peking, to proceed to Seoul and report the details of the
" Conspiracy Trial." Mr. Ohl's reports demonstrated
that the Associated Press was less than fair to the Koreans and a little more
than fair to the Japanese. Immediately great pressure was brought to bear by
the Associated Press on the New York Herald,
and the latter was forced to say editorially that it was convinced that " thp ' F. A. McKenzie, " The
Tragedy of Kpreap. 216.
Associated Press reports were truthful and adequate," which was a
virtual apology on the part of the Mew York Herald for sending its own able correspondent to report the trial instead of printing the sifted news doled out by the
pro- Japanese agent of the Associated
Press. A New York
weekly, commenting on this, says editorially :
" The external appearance of the case strongly indicates that the
threat bringing The Herald thus
to its knees was some intimation that its own news franchise in the Associated
Press was in jeopardy of being revoked. . . . If the Associated Press
management can make such a powerful metropolitan daily as The Herald 1 eat crow' . . . what can it
not do by way of dictation and repression with others of its constituent
papers, which, to say the least, cannot be more capable of resisting it than The New York Herald
is?"9
After the reports of the " Conspiracy Trial " were brought out
to the West largely through missionary channels, the Associated Press agent, J.
Russell Kennedy, who garbled the reports of the case, was no longer able to
hold his position as an unbiased press agent. He resigned his position from the
Associated Press, and the Japanese Government promptly awarded his loyal
service to Japan by making him the head of the
9 The
Continent, January g, 1913.
Koksai
(Japanese National News Agency) at Tokyo.
f It might be said that pro-Japanese policy is adopted as a matter of expediency on the
part of some of
the journals in Japan. The Japanese Government
encourages and gives all kinds of aid,
direct and indirect, to those newspapers that follow its policy, but insidiously
suppresses foreign publications that do not serve its purpose. The pressure is so strong that no single
journal can
successfully resist it/ The case of the late E. T. Bethell and
the Korea Daily News may be cited as an example of the usual fate of an
independent foreign newspaper in the Japanese Empire.
In the summer of 1904, Mr. Bethell, a young
English journalist, settled in Seoul as temporary correspondent of a London
daily paper, and started a modest bilingual journal, the Korea Daily News,
printed partly in English and partly in Korean. He did not hesitate to record
the facts as he saw them, regardless of their palatable nature to the
Japanese. This brought him into direct conflict with the Japanese authorities.
For a time it was doubtful whether he could withstand the pressure. " The
Japanese were making his life as uncomfortable as they» possibly could, and
were doing everything to obstruct his work. His mails were constantly tampered
with; his servants were threatened or ar-
rested on various excuses, and his household was subjected to the closest espionage. He
displayed surprising tenacity, and held on month after month without showing any sign of
yielding."10 He was approached with threat, eaj££ ler^, bribe»and~everything,
in fact, the Japanese could
think of to win him over to their side. But the
English journalist stood his ground like a stone
wall.
Failing to conciliate the editor, the Japanese sought to cut the ground
from under his feet by starting an opposition paper printed in English. An able
Japanese journalist, Mr. Zumoto, became the editor.
With the financial backing of the Japanese Government, this new journal, the Seoul Press, started out in fine shape, and was
distributed almost for nothing. But the Korea Daily News held more than its own. Finally diplomacy
was brought into play, and this young English journalist was ordered to leave
the country and the Korea Daily News was suppressed
by the order of the British Foreign Office^J^
2. Censorship of Postal and Telegraphic Communications
Prior to the opening of the World War there were three general news
telegraph services op-
10McKenzie,
"The Tragedy of Korea," p. 213.
"For full discussion, see McKenzie,
"The Tragedy of Korea,"
chap. XIX.
erating to and
from the Far East: Reuter (British), Ostasiatische
Lloyd and its connections (German),
and the Koksai (Japanese National News Agency). Of these the Reuter system was the most powerful and, perhaps, the
least ' biased,
although in times past, this agency has been
accused on many occasions of fulfilling the function of keeping a certain point of view
to the fore; and of obscuring,
minimizing, or suppressing altogether the opposite or contrary points of view, according to the wishes of
the British Government. The British
Government grants
special low telegraphic toll to this service, and being a British concern, it
is altogether probable
that the news gathered and distributed by this
agency is/ consciously or unconsciously, somewhat
coloured in favour of the British, both as a matter of business expediency and
of patriotism. But the Koksai is aided by the Japanese Government to such an extent that
no other news-gathering agency can
compete with it in
Japan and in her territories. On February 1, 1914, an agreement to cooperate was made between the Koksai
and Reuter, with the approval of the foreign offices of both the British and Japanese Governments. It was agreed that Reuter service from Japan should be entirely supplied by the Koksai.
This gives the semiofficial news-telegraphic service of Japan a double
advantage: the Koksai can send out news
items direct to other countries, or it can have the Reuter perform the service, in case of
any advantage to the Japanese. Being
the sole news-gathering
agency in the country, the Koksai can handle the news as it sees fit—minimize
or magnify, suppress or create. When there
is an item of news that cannot be sent out without betraying the hand of the government behind it, then the Koksai,
instead of sending it directly
to foreign countries, hands the item over to
the Reuter service in the Far East which " sprinkles it through the press,
English and vernacular,
east of Suez, and carries it to London, where it will be picked up by American correspondents and services and passed
along," as news
coming from the English
news-gathering agency."
No dispatch can go in or out of the Japanese Empire unless it has the
sanction of the government. Any incoming news that does not agree with the
policy of the government is suppressed. A month before.the
opening of hostilities between Japan and Russia the Japanese cut off
communication between Port Arthur and the Russian Legation at Seoul, so that M.
Pavloff, then Russian minister to Korea, was forced
to use a special war-ship to communicate with Port Arthur. When Count Lamsdorf sent his tele-
12 From an editorial in China Press (Shanghai), October
gram to Baron Rosen, the Russian minister to Japan, in February, 1904, it was delayed
three days before delivery."
The control of the outgoing dispatches is even more complete than that
of the incoming. When the Korean Queen was murdered by the Japanese Government
assassins in 1895, Colonel Cockerill, the famous
correspondent of the Nezv York Herald, was in Seoul. At once he cabled the news
to his paper, but his message was stopped and the money returned to him."
At the time of the destruction of Korean independence, it was impossible for
the Korean Government to lodge a formal protest with the powers, because of
the complete control of communication by the Japanese.
The official supervision of the telegraphic- news service gives the
Japanese Government an ample opportunity to create as well as to suppress
news, either for home or foreign consumption. The part played by President
Roosevelt at the Portsmouth Conference between Russia and Japan was really a
service to Japan, as the Eastern Empire, although assuming the attitude of a
victor, was at the end of her financial strain and was anxious for peace. The
results of the conference were disappointing to the people who had been led by
their press and govern-
u The Russian
Circular Note, issued March 12, 1904.
14
McKenzie, " The Tragedy of Korea," p. 67.
merit to entertain high hopes and to make free sacrifices for the war. Instead of letting
the people know the truth, the
government created an
impression among them through its publicity channels that the meddling of the United
States was robbing Japan of substantial
fruits of victory, and that the people should not hesitate to make further sacrifices for the creating and maintaining of a bigger army and navy which alone could vindicate Japan's rights in the
future —especially against the United
States. " If publicity is wanted in the Far East, some publication in China
frequently is used. For instance, soon
after Japan declared war against Germany a
report was published'in the Pengtien Daily News on
August 9, 1914, that an American fleet had
been dispatched to the Far East to protect China against Japan. Japan's vernacular
organs in China spread this report, and
caused some excitement among the Chinese. The report was telegraphed to Tokyo, and for a while it
served as a topic for bitter editorial
criticism of the United
States. When denial was made by the United
States, the Japanese press had to drop the
matter; and it then side-stepped responsibility by charging the origin of the
report to Germany.
The facts seem to be that the report originated
in Japan, with the purpose of using it for all
it was wDrth to stir up popular feeling there against America, then accuse Germany
of inciting it; thus making it serve
the various purposes of further stimulating Japanese resentment against America, rousing American resentment against Germany, and warning Chinese against alleged German and American intrigues."
18
The government interception of private mail is not less thorough than
the control of dispatches. It is not a war measure or military necessity, but
a part of the established system of national administration. A short account
given by Samuel G. Blythe, concerning the indiscriminate opening of private
mail, is interesting and to the point. It follows:
" An official in the Department of Communication, whom I happen to
know, told me with great pride, when I was in Japan, that they had just secured
from Russia a machine which piade the work of opening
and reading letters much easier. The former method was to steam the letters
open, read them, copy them if desired, and seal them again. This Russian
machine, as I understand it, has a blade of great thinness and keenness. It
slits the envelope in such a manner that the cut is barely perceptible along
the edge of the envelope. Then the writing is taken out, read, copied and
replaced or destroyed ; and the edges are rubbed and stuck together by the
machine in such a way that the fact that they have been cut is not discernible.
"Millard, "Our Eastern Question," pp. 213-214.
I asked this man why they went to such great trouble:
" ' Everybody who knows anything about the inside workings of the
Japanese Government knows that all letters they want to read are opened and
read anyhow. Why take such elaborate precautions to hide that fact?' I said.
"' My dear sir/ he replied, ' it is contrary to the practice of our
government to disclose these things.'
" Japan always has opened letters. . . . No one can object if a
government opens letters that may contain information of use to an enemy; but
why should letters be opened indiscriminately? "a"
It goes without saying that such a system is highly annoying to
foreigners in Japan and Korea. Even missionaries, the most subservient and
non-complaining of all Westerners in the Far East, have complained of the
Japanese interception of their mail."
But the heaviest blow of the system falls on the Koreans. In Korea,
under the Japanese military administration, the system is not covered up, but
openly practiced. Both the writer and receiver of letters objectionable to the
government are punished. I know of more than
" Saturday Evening Post, May 22, 1915.
" See W. T. Ellis, "
Christianity's Fiery Trial in Korea," The Continent, June
27, 1912, pp. 896-899.
one case in which confiscation of property took place on the charge of
this " treasonable crime."
This_overt punishment for writing objectionable
letters may be said to be another point of Japanese cleverness in the -
abolition of the Korean nationality. For it creates an atmosphere of fear,
which suppresses almost unconsciously everything that pertains to Korean independence
or nationality, or anything that intimates criticism of the Japanese
administration in the peninsula. No Korean in America or in any other foreign
country dare write anything in the least questionable in his letters to his friends
at home, not because of himself but for the sake of those receiving them.14
"See
Missionary Review oft the World, June, 1913, vol. 36: pp. 450-453.
Ill
PUBLICITY PROPAGANDA
i. Official Publications
|
T |
HERE is a remarkable similarity between the German publicity propaganda,
as it was disclosed at the beginning of the European War, and the Japanese publicity propaganda; only the Japanese
method is far
subtler than the German. Fatherland, formerly published in New York, once characterized
Dr. Eliot, the president emeritus of Harvard/as "Foxy Eliot," for
the stand he took with
regard to the belligerents. A Japanese organ
would never have done this, for the Japanese have enough knowledge of American
psychology to know that such an attack on one of the most venerable educators in the country would produce an effect contrary to that intended,
This instance is cited to illustrate the difference between the Japanese and the German
methods.
The government publishes or authorizes private concerns to publish year
books, annual
H4
reports, statistical abstracts, in foreign languages, not to inform,
but to misinform the outside
world. Many writers in America and Europe
have paid unreserved tribute to Japan as the
wisest colonial administrator of to-day.1 They base their information on
Report on Reforms and Progress in Chosen, an
annual published in English by the Japanese administration in Korea. From the standpoint of those who know the actual condition of Korea to-day,
this Japanese publication is highly
amusing, for it gives
the reader an impression that, all the way from Imperial Rome down to the American Commonwealth, there never was a nation so wise, just, and humanitarian to a subject
people as the Japanese are to the
Koreans. Indeed, the
words of Colonel Cockerill have lost nothing of their force since they were penned in
1895, after the Korean Queen was
murdered by the Japanese
assassins.
" I decline to believe anything in the shape of news sent out by
the correspondents of the Japanese newspapers," wrote the famous American
correspondent. " A more flagitious and unconscionable lot of liars I have
never known. As the Japanese Government exercises a strong censorship over its
home press, it might be well for it to try its repressional
hand upon the Jap-
1 See
" Korea—A Tribute to Japan," Review of Reviews, 52:232-233, August, 1915.
anese sheet
published in Seoul, the Kanjo- shimpo, which
is labouring zealously, it would seem, to bring about the massacre of foreign representatives in Korea."*
The rapid spread of the pacifist movement prior to the opening of the European War was taken advantage of by the Japanese and used effectively to shield their military
ambitions and to
discourage the increase of armaments in America.
Eminent pacifists like David Starr Jordan
visited Japan and brought back reports as to
the national sentiment of the Japanese people
to the effect that the ultimate aim of Japan is
peace, not war; that "war talk on either
side is foolish and criminal. Japan recognizes the United States as her
nearest neighbour among Western nations, her best
customer and most
steadfast friend. . . . For the future greatness of Japan depends on the
return of the old
peace with ' velvet-sandalled feet,' which made her the nation she is to-day."'
But if we look the
facts squarely in the face despite the statement
of officials and public men of Japan to the
contrary, the American Peace Society of Japan,
the Japan Peace Society, and many other similar
organizations are nothing more than the catspaw of the Japanese national program.
The
actions
and work of these societies have no
1 Quoted
by McKenzie in " The Tragedy of Korea," p. 77-
■ David Starr Jordan, " War
and Waste," pp. 150-151.
effect upon the policy of Japan, nor do they check the rapid growth of Japan's
militarism, although
they have influenced American public opinion
and have retarded, to a certain extent, naval
and military preparations on the part of the
United States. Count Okuma is a powerful imperialist;
he is liberal in internal affairs, but decidedly
Bismarckian in foreign policy. In an article published in Shin Nijon (May, 1915), he wrote: " Diplomacy, to be really
effective and successful,
must be backed up by sufficient national strength. It is only ten or fifteen
years since Japanese diplomacy began to
carry weight with
foreign countries, and it began from the time
that Western Powers commenced to recognize Japan's military strength."
Yet this Elder
Statesman is the President of the Japan Peace
Society which depicts Japan to the Western public as posing in an attitude of
naive pacifism. A paragraph from an editorial comment on the annual meeting and report of the
American Peace Society of Japan by the most independent British daily in
Japan is illuminating and to
the point:
"Clearly there is some incongruity in the American Peace Society of
Japan deploring the increase of armaments in the United States while absolutely
silent on the expansion of the Japanese army this year by two divisions, and
the impending program for the enlargement of the
Japanese navy. . . . It is curious, indeed, that even the
Japan Peace Society, which numbers Japanese as well as foreigners among its members, and has as its president Count Okuma, never seems 'to consider it essential to oppose the expansion of armaments in Japan or to deprecate the
chauvinism so often exhibited in Japanese newspapers and public statements. So far as we have observed, the Japan Peace Society has never
passed a single resolution against the
enlargement of the Japanese army or the increase of
the navy, nor has it uttered a word in
depreciation of the hostile action which the government is
often urged to take against China. It
seems to be chiefly concerned in the attitude of
other countries toward Japan, especially of America, the dangers of militarism
and armaments in this country being wholly ignored. Again, the Japan Society of America, also concerned in the
maintenance of good relations between Japan and the United States, some time ago published a ' Symposium of Papers by Political Leaders
and Representative Citizens of Japan on the
Relations Between Japan and the United States/
Some of the declarations in that are of the most chauvinistic nature. Mr. Takekoshi, a journalist and M. P., says that ' Korea exists now for Japan, from the viewpoint of
imperial policy/ and demands the development of Manchuria also. Another
prominent journalist in an article entitled, 'Centripetal Mikadoism,' shows himself a flamboyant imperialist . . . A peace
society in Japan which concentrates all its attention on menaces to peace abroad while ignoring those at its own doors may be adopting a very prudent policy, but it is not contributing much to the cause of international good
will."4
It is interesting in this connection to note how the Japanese handle
figures. According to the figures received by the Western statisticians, the
Korean population in 1912, two years after the annexation, was 13,461,299. By
December 31, 1915, this figure had jumped to 17,405,645, exclusive of Japanese
and Chinese.8 This genetic increase of 3,944,346 people in three
years speaks eloquently for the beneficence of Japanese rule in Korea. Here,
the Japanese, past masters as they are in the art of deception, have
overreached themselves. They explain that the more hygienic living and better
economic well- being under the Japanese rule are the causes of the suddenly
high birth-rate and the correspondingly sudden lowering of the death-rate.
Even if that were granted, an annual increase of approximately 9.8 per cent,
is inconceivable with any people. In Japan itself, during the past five
* Japan Chronicle,
December 21, 1915.
•Figures taken from the Statesman's Year Book, 1913, 1916.
years the annual increase of population did not exceed 1.3 per cent. In Germany, between 1905 and 1910, where the race is most
prolific and the
economic conditions for the growth of population
have been nearly ideal, the annual increase
was only 1.36 per cent.6 Such manipulation of figures with regard
to the Korean population brought a vigorous protest from Dr. Sengman Rhee,
the editor of the Korean Pacific Magazine.
" Genetically, the Korean people have been a static race for
several hundred years," wrote Dr. Rhee. " Since the Japanese
occupation of the country they were put under severe economic strain. They
were driven out of former occupations to make room for the incoming Japanese.
Hundreds of native firms went bankrupt, because they were unable to meet the
Japanese competitors backed by the administration. More than three hundred
thousand Koreans emigrated to China since Korea lost her identity as a nation.
It is a sociological law that in hard times people postpone marriage and the
birth-rate drops. And the Korean people are no exception to this rule. There is
all the reason to believe that the Korean population during the last five years
would have decreased rather than increased. Although I have no definite proof
to make a positive statement, yet it is very • Statesman's
Year Book, 1916.
probable that the Japanese, with their characteristic foresight in
deception, gave out an underestimate in 1912 with the view of increasing it in a few years. The traditional
population of Korea
was twenty million, and it could not have been any less than seventeen million at the
time of annexation."1
"In the East, in perhaps a greater degree than elsewhere,"
writes Mr. Millard, the editor of the China Press
and the author of many important books on the Far Eastern problems, "
statistics often are prepared to sustain an hypothesis. This is especially
true, at the present time, of some statistics which relate to the.economic and fiscal situation of Japan."$
2. Government Agencies in Foreign Lands
What is left undone, in the way of publicity, by the press and official
publications is accomplished by the semi-official agencies in the West. From
the Japanese bureau of information in New York, or from the one in San
Francisco, an American can get information on any matter concerning Japan; but
it is the strict policy of the bureau to give out only what the Japanese
Government wishes to have believed in the West.9
T Korean Pacific Magazine, editorial, October, 1916.
'" The Far Eastern Question," Introduction.
8 The
official title of the New York Bureau is " East and West News Bureau." It is maintained for
promoting a
The Japan Society of New York is another medium of dissemination of
everything Japanese. It was organized in May, 1907. At present it boasts an
active membership of over a thousand people including such eminent men as Seth
Low, Hamilton Holt, William Elliot Griffis, Elbert
H. Gary, and Jokichi Takamine.
American libraries are flooded with the bulletins and pamphlets of the Japan
Society, all distributed gratuitously.
In addition to these sources of propaganda, there are paid lecturers and
writers who take every opportunity to placate the Western opinion and present
Japan in the most favourable light. Although
scholars like Inazo Nitobe
have travelled in the United States as professorial lecturers, in reality they
have told their college audiences in America what the Japanese Government or
newspaper could not publish without betraying its motive.10 The Japanese
scholar is, in reality, a co-worker with and a mouthpiece of his government. In
1916, when Japan deliberately attempted to veto the contract to repair the
Grand Canal in Shantung,
better understanding between America and Japan. Dr. T. Iyenaga, a professorial
lecturer at Columbia University, is the
Director of the Bureau. The one in San Francisco is known as the "Pacific Press
Bureau," headed by K. K. Kawakami.
10A
collection of lectures by Dr. Nitobe, "The
Japanese Nation—Its
Land, Its People and Its Life," distributed gratuitously by the Japan Society, New York.
granted by the Chinese Government
to an American corporation, and failed,
the well- known
Director of the East and West News Bureau,
Dr. T. Iyenaga, lost no time in offering an apologetic excuse for his government:
" If it is true that Japan made any
protest to the
railway scheme and the reconstruction in China of
the Grand Canal to be undertaken by American
capital, I am inclined to think that it is
simply to put on record the priority of Japan's rights in an undertaking of that kind within
the Province of Shantung. . ' . . So
far as Japan is concerned,
I am sure she welcomes the development of China's resources by whomsoever it
is undertaken, for such development
will certainly tend to
enhance the purchasing power of the Chinese,
which in turn will react favourably on the Japanese trade in the Chinese
market."11
The war-ridden attention of America was somewhat diverted in the fall of 1916 by a
new set of demands made on China by
Japan, known as the
" Chengchiatun demands," which the Peking Gazette
characterized as "A Foot-note to the
Twenty-one Demands."" It was believed that the trouble was concocted by the
Japanese military
authorities in China in order to furnish a cause
for such demands by the Tokyo Govern" Japan
Society Bulletin, No. 35, p. 67, November 30, 1916.
18 Peking Gazette,
September 9, 1916.
ment. After
the fall of the Okuma Ministry, Premier
Terauchi and his associates withdrew the
demands as a matter of expediency in dealing with the Chinese. At present,
they thought, a
lenient policy toward China would be more beneficial to Japan than military bullying.
This furnished a golden opportunity to
bring Japan out
once again into the limelight of American public opinion—to show the West the splendid spirit of sacrifice and the magnanimity of
Japan. Japan, as a nation, never
hesitates to admit its mistakes,
if there be any, and rectify its wrongs, —so the
Japanese publicists in this country would
tell us. The following is a paragraph from
the pen of K. K. Kawakami, the best known
Japanese author and editor in America, on the
withdrawal of the " Chengchiatun demands."
" However disagreeable such admission may be to Japan, we must
frankly confess that many of the recent troubles, resulting from the contact
of Japanese and Chinese upon Chinese soil, have been caused by China ronin (professional
Japanese agitators in China) as well as by unauthorized actions of army men
over whom the civilian premier had only inadequate power." 18
Had the cause and nature of the demands not been known in America and
had the Tokyo Government sustained the demands, Mr. Kawa-
u Review
of Reviews, February, 1917, p. 179.
kami or any other Japanese writer would probably never have said the
above. But as it was, the
occasion was taken advantage of to reveal Japan in an attitude of innocent repentance
and sacrifice, and also to create an
impression that the
Japanese spokesmen in America are frank and
outspoken in criticizing their own government. It is a curious fact that no
Japanese publicist raised a single point of criticism of his government for
making the " Twenty-one Demands " upon China in 1915,—the demands which were far more serious than the
"Cheng- chiatun demands " in impairing the political
independence and territorial integrity of China. On the contrary, writers like Mr. Kawakami misrepresented the facts of the
"Twenty-one Demands,"
and attempted to convince the American
public that Japan was making the demands with an "unselfish motive to aid
China."" Besides
the Japanese, there are a few Westerners in the service of the Japanese Government
to help in their publicity propaganda. "
Paid agents lectured English audiences upon the beauties and glories of Nippon."15
Honorary Consuls are appointed not so much to make
"See K. K. Kawakami, "What Can
Japan Do For China?" Independent, 82:280-281, May 17, 19(15. A complete
record of Japan's Twenty-one Demands made upon China in 1915, and the various steps taken
in connection with
them are given in Millard, "Our Eastern Question," chapters on "Japan's Aggressions in
China."
" McKenzie, " The Tragedy of Korea," p. 105.
trade reports or look after Japanese commercial interests, but mainly to cooperate with the larger national system and play the local
part in the publicity game." Thus
nothing is left undone;
what is overlooked by the national worker
is taken up by his local associates. "
When it comes to publicity," said an American journalist, " the
Japanese catch us in every direction."
3. Manipulation of Foreign
Visitors in Japan
The remarkable success of the Japanese propaganda in controlling the
public opinion of America has been due largely to the cooperation of public
men on this side of the ocean. All the praise we hear of Nippon from the
lecture platforms and in periodical literature would have come to naught if it
were not endorsed by public men in this country who visit Japan and bring back favourable reports. The Japanese have shown consummate
skill in manipulating the distinguished foreigners who visit Japan.
The Japan Society in America maintains a Travel Bureau, issues letters
of introduction and publishes descriptive travel pamphlets which supplement the
official traveller's guide published by the Japanese
Government. The minute a globe-trotter lands in Japan he has little
There are Japanese Honorary Consuls in New
Orleans, St.
Louis, Denver, Mobile. Galveston, Philadelphia, and Boston. They are all Americans.
chance to see or find out anything for himself, especially if he is a distinguished
personage. He is met
at the pier by a polished guide conversant with Western manners and language; he is directed
to a hotel; is shown about with great kindness
and courtesy. He is impressed by the politeness
and hospitality of the people and is charmed
by the beautiful scenes and unique festivals of the land. The country seems to
him a land of poets, artists and
lovers, where the lotus blooms
and life is a happy dream of ease and devotion to the service of art. His
sense of ad^ miration and wonder increases when he is shown the accomplishments of modern Japan— the army, navy, commerce, industry. Here is
a land where the military virtues
are fostered without
losing sight of the beautiful; where there
is industry without sordid materialism; wealth
without the idle rich. The Japanese are the
most well balanced of all races, the visitors write home. " They have become
practical, but they
still love the cherry tree and write poems to it; they are developing great business
activities, but they continue to paint with almost unrivalled delicacy and
precision; they support a strong
army and navy, but both are kept in high efficiency
for defensive purposes." 17
"
It was delightful," said an American gentle- >
" See articles by Hamilton
W. Mabie, "Japan To-day and To-morrow," in the Outlook, vols. 103, 104, 1913.
man after his visit to Japan. " I never enjoyed myself so much. Every time I wanted to go anywhere there was an automobile at my disposal
and a Japanese official to show me about and explain things to me. I was constantly
attended and made comfortable; and I was given unexampled opportunities for seeing Japan,
and guided to all the points of
interest, and had the real
Japanese spirit explained to me by cultivated Japanese officials and scholars.
My view of
Japan has entirely changed. I now realize how great is the work they are doing, how
patriotic they are, how wonderful as a people! "
" Their methods when a distinguished American gets to Japan are
interesting and efficacious/' wrote Samuel G. Blythe, after his return from Japan
in 1915. " Their hospitality is unbounded; their courtesy is unexampled;
their attentions are flattering; their polite recognition and deference are
alluring to the susceptible. The Japanese capture a distinguished American
without half trying. They have become experts at the game." 18
The distinguished foreigner is kept constantly on^the
move; is dined, wined, and entertained; is invited to give addresses; is taken
here and there; is made much of; in certain cases, deemed most important by the
Japanese, he is presented to the Emperor or given a decoration. It is 18 Saturday Evening Post, May 22, 1915.
said that when Vice-President Fairbanks was in Korea, the Japanese authorities tried their
utmost to keep him busy with the official functions of the government so as
to prevent him from
having private conversations with resident Americans.10 In 1909, when Lord
Kitchener went
through Korea, an English resident, who was an
old friend pf Kitchener, tried to invite the distinguished visitor to his home for
dinner, but the
Japanese officials refused the privilege on the
ground that the details of his visit and entertainment
had already been arranged.
When Judge Elbert H. Gary went to Japan in 1916, he was met on board the
ship by the Japanese reception committee. His special train was to arrive at
Tokyo at twilight, so that the procession could pass through a mammoth electric
arch with the sign, "Welcome, Judge and Mrs. Gary." The Chairman of
the United States Corporation was interviewed by distinguished Japanese
statesmen and financiers; was invited to give addresses; was entertained at
luncheons, banquets, and receptions given in his honour;
and was shown about the country with characteristic Japanese deference and hospitality.
An American journalist who knows the Japanese method of capturing distinguished
foreigners spoke of the Judge at that time as being " one of the biggest
fishes that got caught 19 See The Continent, June 27, 1912, p. 897.
in the net of the Japanese publicity propaganda for some time." In describing Japanese
hospitality after his return to America, the steel magnate said, " I have never before
seen it excelled nor even equalled. An American
gentleman, if he is known and considered worthy and representative, will receive invitations by Marconi for luncheons or dinners or other
functions from those who are in office or have been in some way designated to speak for the
sentiment of the people; he will be met on the ship before it is docked by a committee or delegation from the city he is approaching; and from
the time he lands upon Japanese
territory until he departs
he will receive the kindest and most liberal
hospitality that can be offered, and always with a grace and charm and
simplicity that cannot
be surpassed. ... I have no doubt that
the leading and controlling men in Japan earnestly
desire to maintain cordial, close and continuous
relations with the people of the United
States. It seems to me, if we ever have serious
trouble with Japan it will be as much the
fault of the United States as it is the fault of Japan; and perhaps more."20
The Japan Society
of America gathered all the addresses delivered
by Judge Gary in Japan, bound them ' in an
attractive pamphlet, Japan as Viezved
by
50 From
address delivered at the Bankers' Club, New York, November 9, 1916 (pamphlet mentioned).
Judge Elbert H. Gary, and scattered it gratis to all the leading libraries in the country as the
sane and unbiased view of a
distinguished American business
man. When the United States declared its policy of embargo on steel in 1917, Baron Shibusawa, the leading Japanese financier
and semi-official spokesman of his government, sent the appeal of the Japanese
industrial concerns
direct to Judge Gary to see to it that Japan
might be exempted from the embargo." Indeed, the American steel magnate wielded a powerful influence in bringing about the arrangement
by which Japan could get steel from the
United States, as usual, in return for furnishing shipping in the Pacific so
that the American vessels there could be transferred to the Atlantic for war purposes.
The average globe-trotter in Japan sees Japan through the eyes of the
Japanese. He sees nothing except what the Japanese want him to see, and hears
nothing except what the Japanese want him to hear. /'No condition cant arise in Japan whereby a
foreigner can learn from a Japanese of anything to the detriment of the
country. The statesmen will not tell you anything. The coolies will not tell
you anything. They are units of concealment. They put the good face on
everything. ... If
81
Telegram given to the press by Judge Gary, New York, October 8, 1917.
you ask a Japanese to read you from a Japanese newspaper, he will carefully skip anything
he may find in that paper that, as
it seems to him, would
be detrimental to the fair name and fame of Japan if communicated to a foreigner. If
a Japanese—any Japanese—hears
anything he deems
of importance or of use to his country, he sees to it that that information gets to the proper person. He seeks to show you the bright spots."22 Indeed, the
late Richard Harding Davis characterized the Japanese method of showing Japan to the Westerner as like
telling a young
woman that she might go out to swim but she
mustn't go near the water."
This unprecedented manipulation of foreign visitors, the peculiar trait
of the Japanese, has far-reaching consequences in forming public opinion in the
West with regard to Oriental politics. Few, if any, escape the Japanese net of hospitality
and bring back true reports. The majority of foreigners leave Japan in a happy
haze of pleasant impressions and ever afterward sing the joys and beauties and
wonders of the country. They form a bulwark of Japanese defense in the public
sentiment in the West; persistently refuse to believe anything that is disparaging
to their once kind and generous host; and in some cases, they become more
vigorous
22 Samuel
G. Blythe, Saturdav
Evening Post, May i, 1915.
"See "The Russo-Japanese War/'
chap. VII, "The Chroniclers
of War." advocates of the rights of Dai Nippon than the Japanese themselves. Especially is this noticeable on the part1
of publicists, such as George Kennan, the well-known American journalist, who received an
unlimited hospitality during his stay in Japan, and Dr. George Trumbull Ladd, who was made an
honorary member of the Imperial Educational Society of Japan and was twice decorated
by the late Emperor with the insignias of the Rising Sun.34
The " Twenty-one Demands " made on China by Japan on January
18,1915, is one of the most notorious pieces of international robbery in modern
times. Had China conceded to the terms as they were first presented by Mr. Hioki, the Japanese minister at Peking, the ancient Empire
would be a vassal state to-day. The demands were first presented by the
Japanese Government to the Chinese coupled with a strong admonition to China
that both haste and secrecy were required in this consideration. Continuous
pressure was brought on China to force her to concede the demands en bloc without discussion, and the Chinese
officials were warned not to inform other powers of the demands and
negotiations, even cpnfidentially. The Japanese
Government officially denied, as being utterly false, all press reports in
China about the de-
24 Mr.
Kennan's articles on Japan in the Outlook, and Dr. Ladd's "In Korea With Marquis
Ito," and "Benevolent Assimilation,"
are decidedly pro-Japanese.
mands.
Newspapers in Japan were warned by the
government not to publish or discuss news of the demands, and Japan's diplomatic representatives
abroad were instructed to deny and discredit
any such news. The Japanese minister at Peking stated in response to inquiries of other foreign ministers that no demands
had been made. When copies of the
original demands, procured from the Chinese Government, were received by foreign governments, Japan still denied the twenty-one demands, and
gave out a list of eleven articles,
omitting the most objectionable
matters, as " friendly " demands made by Japan upon China " in
accordance with the
principle of the maintenance of the territorial integrity of China."
As the facts of the case began to leak out, those who knew something
about the political situation in the East were nonplussed at the callous selfishness
of Japan. " Her statesmen have set truth and common decency at defiance in
a way unparalleled in the most torturous diplomacy of the worst courts of the
vilest period of history,"18 as the
National Review (Shanghai)
expressed it. Others refused to believe the reports as being utterly
incredible. At this time Dr. Shailer Mathews returned from Japan and made a
report that " much of the news emanating from Peking is obviously
* Quoted in Review of Revietvs, 52:
230, August, 1915.
coloured by
anti-Japanese feeling, and it is difficult to accept any of the reports on
their face value;
and this colouring of reports in the apparent
interest of making trouble between the United
States and Japan is a menace." An influential New York weekly shrewdly
compared the
Japanese policy in China with the Monroe Doctrine
of the United States and said, "The Monroe
Doctrine . . . was adopted as a means of
self-protection, and has never been made an
excuse for aggrandizement or interference in the governmental policies of American
Republics. The policy of Japan may be likened
to that of Monroe Doctrine so far as it seeks to
protect itself through checking European aggressions."26
China
waited and stood the pressure as long as she
was able, and finally conceded the demands slightly modified, giving Japan the
paramount sphere of influence in China. " She could not help herself. She had to give way. But to say that her giving way and Japan's paltry modifications of her demands have brought about a peaceful solution is to talk
the sheerest drivel," said an English
journal published in the Far East."
When the
terms of settlement were fully
M Outlook, 110:4, May 5, 1915-
"Editorial in National Reviezv
(Shanghai), quoted in Review of Reviews, 52:231, August, 1915.
known to the West, even the most conservative English writers who were in no position to criticize the British ally in the time of
war, expressed their views in unmistakable terms. " Japan has violated, and is riow violating, the terms
of the Portsmouth Treaty and the Anglo- Japanese
Alliance," said J. O. P. Bland. " She is taking possession of China's outlying dependencies
and endeavouring to establish the beginnings of overlordship
in China proper, simply
because, for the moment, there is nothing to prevent her from so doing."
* Yet the prominent
New York weekly commented on the settlement
of disputes between China and Japan as
follows:
"Americans interested in the welfare of China and Japan will
rejoice that, at a time when international differences have brought about half
the world into war, these two Oriental countries have adjusted their
difficulties on a basis of mutual compromise.""
These things are not said to cast any reflection on the New York weekly
or on any other pro-Japanese journal in America; they are cited to illustrate
the tremendous influence the Japanese exercise over publications in this
country, through the agencies that have been mentioned.
M Nineteenth Century,
78:1198-1212, November, 1915.
" Outlook, 110:121-123, May 19, 1915.
CONCLUSION
COMPARISON OF RUSSIAN AND JAPANESE DIPLOMACY
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HE mainland of Asia has been, during the last fifty years, an international grab-bag. Ea,ch
European nation has scrambled
for its share in the sphere of influence and for
commercial advantages. The two nations that have been most active in the
struggle in
eastern Asia are Russia and Japan. But Russia
is no longer a menace to the peace of Asia.
The Soviet Government may crumble to-morrow,
but it is not likely that the people will
restore their absolute monarchy. Although . militaristic Russia no longer exists, the
civilized world is
very familiar with the tortuous intrigue and secret diplomacy of the former
Russian Government. Therefore, by comparing the present-day Japanese diplomacy with that of Russia under the old regime, the reader
will get a clearer understanding of
the tactics that are
being employed by the Asiatic Empire in her
intercourse with other nations. We may profitably
make, then, a brief comparison of the 167 diplomacies of these two Powers in the
course of their expansion, territorial
and commercial, in
eastern Asia.
Russian
history from the time of Peter the Great
down to the abdication of Czar Nicholas II, March 15, 1917, has been a history
of territorial aggrandizement and political exploitation.
The diplomacy of such a nation would
necessarily be stained by indelible records of deceit and treachery. Perhaps writers
like Kipling are justified in designating Russia,
until the opening of the European War, as a black sheep in the European family of nations, and
as utterly unworthy of British respect and
friendship.
Japanese
diplomacy, on the other hand, is subtle
and insidious. Its inconsistencies are so skillfully
covered that an ordinary observer cannot notice them at all. The Japanese
being the cleverest
imitators in the world, spare no pains in
putting on an appearance of honesty and frankness
in their dealings with other peoples. In fact,
they are honest when honesty would give them greater advantage than dishonesty. " In the Japanese philosophy of
life," said Colgate Baker, who was born and brought up in Japan, " right and wrong are terms of
mere expediency. It is right to be honest when honesty gives you an advantage. It is not wrong to be dishonest when you would lose by honesty.
There is no conception of right
for the sake of right."[9]
It is obvious that Japanese diplomacy is far superior to the crude and brutal Russian diplomacy, in so far as obtaining the goal
of their respective national policies is
concerned. Whatever
is done by Russia is. known and criticized
by outsiders; but such is not the case in
Japanese affairs. " From what I know of Japan, inside and outside," wrote
Thomas F. Millard,
" I am convinced that Western knowledge of darkest Russia is as the
noonday sun to the moon
compared to general Western understanding of internal forces which sway the policy of Nippon."9
During the past ten years of Japanese expansion,
Japan committed national crimes not less
horrible than those perpetrated by Russia in the
worst period of her history. The military tyranny in Korea has been interpreted
in the Western press as"a
firm and necessary measure.
"After the Japanese occupation of Manchuria,"
wrote an American correspondent who
personally investigated the situation, " began the state of affairs
which, had it occurred in the
Balkans or in Manchuria under Russian control, would quickly have resounded
through the world."
* The Japanese during their expedition against
the Germans.,in Kiaochow
confiscated practically
all the property in the Liao-Tung Peninsula.
The^ Shantung railway was not a German
property. It was built by the Chinese Government
with money borrowed from Germany. Japan confiscated this railway on the pretext that it belonged to Germany/ Dispatches
of such nature seldom reach the West, and
whatever fragmentary news is smuggled out by
individual witnesses is entirely discredited in the Western press. The
majority of American
editors refuse to believe anything that is
contrary to iheir former opinion of Japan j| they take great pleasure in quoting
the stock phrases of the Japanese
statesmen, "Japan has no
ulterior motive, no desire to secure more territory, no thought of depriving China or
any other peoples of anything which
they now possess,"6
which promises, George Bronson Rea, the
editor of the Far Eastern Review, properly
calls " worthless scraps of paper to be torn to shreds and scattered to the winds."
*
• Millard, " The New Far East," p. 146.
*Information given me by Dr. W. J. Hiltner, of the Harvard Medical College in China, who personally investigated the problem before his return to America on furlough, November, 1916. " Tsinan-Tsingtau Railway" is the official name; see Millard, "Our Eastern Question," Ib9- 110, for full discussion.
•Count Okuma's "Message to the American
People," Independent, 79:291, August 31, 1914.
•Quoted in Review of Reviews, 52:231,
August, 1915.
The
respective predicaments of the unfortunate peoples living under the Russian
and the Japanese domination are best compared perhaps
by Park In Sick, a Korean historian and editor,
who fled his country since the Japanese occupation:7
" To
be a subject race is contemptible at its best. It
is the most intolerable of all slavery, when the
dominating nation happens to be one like
Russia or Japan in which the sense of national conscience plays no part in
colonial administration, and which holds colonies purely for material gains. To live under the
Russian control is like meeting a lion in an open
field. Other people will hear the roar and will
sympathize with you at least; you might find a chance to run away from the beast. But to live in a country dominated by Japan is like being
shut up in a small room with hundreds of cobras. You have no chance to escape, and the world will not know of your death."
It is but
just to admit that Japan is not without some excuse in her sinister foreign
policies. The only standard by which we can judge the right or wrong of nations in their mutual
dealings is the criterion of world culture—the public opinion of the civilized peoples. So far in hu-
' Park is a profound scholar in Chinese
classics. Ex- Premier
Kang Yu-Wei wrote the preface to his widely read book, "The Tragic History of
Korea" (Chinese).
man history public sentiment has sanctioned secret and questionable methods of diplomacy as legitimate. What would be looked upon as unpardonable dishonesty between individuals
is often considered as a clever
piece of diplomacy between
nations. A single standard of morality is still
an ideal, rather than a reality. Especially is this true with nations swayed
by imperial aspirations and deep-seated militarism. Japan, the infant prodigy of the East,
ambitious of her
future and jealous of her rights, has chosen
the expedient rather than the righteous path to
reach her place in the sun. Her poets have
sung the glory and grandeur of war; her philosophers
have praised the valour and virtue of militarism. Her merchants have practiced " dumping " and misrepresentation
of goods as a matter
of course; her statesmen have adopted the Bismarckian " iron and blood " policy as the only road to national greatness. Japan is no longer the gallant knight she was deemed to
be in the earlier years of her
national ascendency, setting
out to rescue Asia from the European dragon;
she is now the armed bully of the East. The Asiatics had looked upon her as their teacher and leader; now their hope and faith are shattered in finding her a merciless conqueror,
reigning, sword in hand, over subject races.
The Japanese national policy may go through
a process of regeneration, as the world society
is better organized on the basis of nationality
and individual freedom. Perhaps the
Western nations, at present, have no right to demand of Japan the principles of justice
arid humanity, which they themselves
do not practice. But they have a right to demand the full knowledge of her policies. Open diplomacy
is— and it ought to be—the cry of the
age. " The highest
reach of injustice," as the wise Plato pointed out over twenty centuries ago,
" is to be deemed
just when you are not." The Koreans,—and,
indeed, all subject races—may submit
to injustice, but they ought to have a right
to demand, at least, openness on the part of their conquerors.
" E'en
in the light let us die, if die we must! "
PART III Documents
in the Case
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND JAPAN
Signed
November 22, 1894;
Proclaimed
March 21, i#p5
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HE President of the United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor
of Japan, being equally desirous of maintaining the relations of good
understanding which happily exist between them, by extending and increasing the
intercourse between their respective States, and being convinced that this,
object canno't better be accomplished than by
revising the Treaties hitherto existing between the two countries, have
resolved to complete such a revision, based upon principles of equity and
mutual benefit, and, for that purpose, have named as their Plenipotentiaries,
that is to say: The President of the United States of America, Walter Q.
Gresham, Secretary of State of the United States, and His Majesty the Emperor
of Japan, Jushii Shinichiro Kurino,
of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, and of the Fourth Class; who, after having
communicated to each other their full powers, found to be in good and due form,
have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles:
Article I
The citizens or subjects of each of the two High Contracting Parties
shall have full liberty to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the territories
of the other Contracting Party, and shall enjoy full and perfect protection for
their persons and property.
They shall have free access to the Courts of Justice in pursuit and
defense of their rights; they shall be at liberty equally with native citizens
or subjects to choose and employ lawyers, advocates and representatives to
pursue and defend their rights before such Courts, and in all other matters
connected with the administrations of justice they shall enjoy all the rights
and privileges enjoyed by native citizens or subjects.
In whatever relates to rights of residence and travel; to the possession
of goods and effects of any kind; to the succession to personal estate, by will
or otherwise, and the disposal of property of any sort and in any manner
whatsoever which they may lawfully acquire, the citizens or subjects of each
Contracting Party shall enjoy in the territories of the other the same privileges,
liberties, and rights, and shall be subject to no higher imposts or charges in
these respects than native citizens or subjects, or citizens or subjects of
the most favoured nation. The citizens or subjects of
each of the Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the territories of the other
entire liberty of conscience, and, subject
to the laws, ordinances, and regulations, shall enjoy the right of private or public
exercise of their
worship, and also the right of burying' their
respective countrymen, according to their religious customs, in such suitable and
convenient places as may be established and maintained for that purpose.
They shall not be compelled, under any pretext whatsoever, to pay any
charges or taxes other or higher than those that are, or may be paid by native
citizens or subjects, or citizens or subjects of the most favoured
nation.
The citizens or subjects of either of the
Contracting Parties residing in the territories of the other shall be exempted
from all compulsory military service, whether in the army, navy, national
guard, or militia; from all contributions ' imposed in lieu of personal
service; and from all forced loans or military exactions or contributions. V
Article II
There shall be reciprocal freedom of commerce and navigation between
the territories of the two High Contracting Parties.
The citizens or subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties may
trade in any part of the territoriea of the other by
wholesale or retail in all kinds of produce, manufactures, and merchandise of
lawful commerce, either in person or by agents, singly or in partnership with
foreigners or native citizens or subjects; and they may there
own or hire and occupy houses, manufac- tories, warehouses, shops and premises which may be necessary for them, and lease land for residential and commercial purposes, conforming themselves
to the laws, police and customs regulations of
the country like native citizens or subjects.
They shall have liberty freely to come with their ships and cargoes to
all places, ports, and rivers in the territories of the other, which are or may
be opened to foreign commerce, and shall enjoy, respectively, the same
treatment in matters of commerce and navigation as native citizens or subjects,
or citizens or subjects of the most favoured nation,
without having to pay taxes, imposts or duties, of Whatever nature or under
whatever denomination levied in the name or for the profit of the Government,
public functionaries, private individuals, corporations, or establishments of
any kind, other or greater than those paid by native citizens or subjects, or
citizens or subjects of the most favoured nation.
It is, however, understood that the stipulations contained in this and
the preceding Article do not in any way affect the laws, ordinances and
regulations with regard to trade, the immigration of labourers,
police and public security which are in force or which may hereafter be enacted
in either of the two countries.
Article III
The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of the citizens or
subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties in the territories of the other, and all premises appertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence or commerce, shall be respected.
It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or a
domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to examine or inspect
books, papers, or accounts, except under the conditions and with the forms
prescribed by the laws, ordinances and regulations for citizens or subjects of
the country.
Article IV
No other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
territories of the United States of any article, the produce or manufacture of
the territories of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, from whatever place arriving;
and no other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
territories of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of any article, the produce or
manufacture of the territories of the United States, from whatever place arriving,
than on the like article produced or manufactured in any other foreign country;
nor shall any prohibition be maintained or imposed on the importation of any
article, the produce or manufacture of the territories of either of the High
Contracting Parties, into the territories of the other, from whatever place
arriving, which shall not equally extend to the importation of the like
article, being the produce or manufacture of any other country. This last
provision is not applicable to the sanitary and other prohibi-
tions occasioned by the necessity of protecting the safety of persons, or of cattle, or of plants useful to agriculture.
Article V
No other or higher duties or charges shall be imposed in the territories
of either of the High Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article to
the territories of the other than such as are, or may be, payable on the
exportation of the like article to any other foreign country; nor shall any
prohibition be imposed on the exportation of any article from the territories
of either of the two High Contracting Parties to the territories of the other
which shall not equally extend to the exportation of the like article to any
other country.
Article VI
The citizens or subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties shall
enjoy in the territories of the other exemption from all transit duties, and a
perfect equality of treatment with native citizens or subjects in all that
relates to warehousing, bounties, facilities, and drawbacks.
Article VII
All articles which are or may be legally imported into the ports of the
territories of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan in Japanese vessels may
likewise be imported into those ports in vessels of the United States, without
being liable to any other or higher duties or charges of whatever denomination than if such articles were imported
in Japanese vessels; and, reciprocally, all articles which are or may be
legally imported into the ports of the territories of the United States in
vessels of the United States may likewise be imported into those ports in
Japanese vessels, without being liable to any other or higher duties or charges
of whatever denomination than if such articles were imported in vessels of the
United States. Such reciprocal equality of treatment shall take effect without
distinction, whether such articles come directly from the place of origin or
from any other place.
In the same manner, there shall be perfect equality of treatment in
regard to exportation, so that the same export duties shall be paid, and the
same bounties and drawbacks allowed, in the territories of either of the High
Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article which is or may be
legally exported therefrom, whether such exportation shall take place in
Japanese vessels or in vessels of the United States, and whatever may be the
place of destination, whether a port of either of the High Contracting Parties
or of any third Power.
Article VIII
No duties of tonnage, harbour, pilotage, lighthouse,
quarantine, or other similar or corresponding duties of whatever nature, or
under whatever denomination levied in the name or for the profit of Government,
public function- aries, private individuals,
corporations, or establishments of any kind, shall
be imposed in the ports of the territories of either
country upon the vessels of the other country which shall not equally and under the same conditions be imposed in the
like cases on national vessels in general or
vessels of the most favoured nation. Such equality of treatment shall apply reciprocally to the
respective vessels, from whatever port or place
they may arrive, and whatever may be their
place of destination.
Article IX
In all that regards the stationing, loading, and unloading of vessels in
the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, harbours or
rivers of the territories of the two countries, no privilege shall be granted
to national vessels which shall not be equally granted to vessels of the other
country; the intention of the High Contracting Parties being that in this
respect also the respective vessels shall be treated on the footing of perfect
equality.
Article X
The coasting trade of both the High Contracting Parties is excepted
from the provisions of the present Treaty, and shall be regulated according to
the laws, ordinances and regulations of the United States and Japan,
respectively. It is, however, understood that citizens of the United States in
the territories of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and Japanese subjects in
the territories of the United States, shall enjoy in this respect the
rights which are, or may be, granted under such laws, ordinances and regulations
to the citizens or subjects of any other country.
A vessel of the United States laden in a foreign country with cargo
destined for two or more ports in the territories of His Majesty the Emperor of
Japan, and a Japanese vessel laden in a foreign country with cargo destined for
two or more ports in the territories of the United States, may discharges
portion of her cargo at one port, and continue her voyage to the other port or
ports of destination where foreign trade is permitted, for the purpose of
landing the remainder of her original cargo there, subject al- / ways to the
laws and customs regulation of the two countries.
The Japanese Government, however, agrees ito
allow vessels of the United States to continue, as heretofore, for the period
of the duration of the present Treaty, to carry cargo between the existing
open ports of the Empire, ex- zepting to or from the
ports of Osaka, Niigata, and Ebisuminato.
Article XI
Any 'ship-of-war or merchant vessel of either of the High Contracting
Parties which may be compelled by stress of weather, or by reason of any other
distress, to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be at liberty to refit
therein, to procure all necessary supplies, and to put to sea
again, without paying any dues other than such as would be payable by national vessels. 'In case, however, the master of a merchant
vessel should under'the necessity of disposing of a part of his cargo in order to defray the
expenses, he shall
be bound to conform to the regulations and tariffs of the place to which he may have
come.
If any ship-of-war or merchant vessel of the High Contracting Parties
should run aground or be wrecked upon the coasts of the other, the local
authorities shall inform the Consul General, Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular
Agent of the district, of the occurrence, or if there be no such consular
officers, they shall inform the Consul General, Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular
Agent of the nearest district.
All proceedings relative to the salvage of Japanese vessels, wrecked or
cast on shore in the territorial waters of the United States, shall take place
in accordance with the laws of the " United States, and, reciprocally, all
measures of salvage relative to vessels of the United States, wrecked or cast
on shore in the territorial waters of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, shall
take place in accordance with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of Japan.
Such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, and all parts thereof, and all
furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandise
saved therefrom, including those which may have been cast into the sea, or the
proceeds thereof, if sold, as well as all papers found on board such stranded
or wrecked ship
or vessel, shall be given up to the owners or their agents, when claimed by them. If such owners or agents are not on the spot, the
same shall be delivered to the
respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents upon being claimed by them within the period fixed by laws, ordinances and regulations of
the country, and such Consular
officers, owners, or agents
shall pay only the expenses incurred in the
preservation of the property, together with the salvage or other expenses which would
have been payable in the > case of
the wreck of d national
vessel.
The goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall be exempt from all
the duties of the Customs unless cleared for consumption, in which case they
shall pay the ordinary duties.
When a vessel belonging to the citizens or subjects of one of the High
Contracting Parties is stranded or wrecked in the territories of the other, the
respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall be
authorized, in case the owner or master, or other agent of the owner, is not
present, to lend their official assistance in order to afford the necessary assistance
to the citizens or subjects of the respective States. The same rule shall apply
in case the owner, master, or other agent is present, but requires such
assistance to be given.
Article XII
All vessels which, according to United States law, are to be deemed
vessels of the United
States, and all vessels which, according to Japanese law, are to be
deemed Japanese vessels, shall,
for the purpose of this Treaty, be deemed vessels of the United States and Japanese
vessels, respectively.
Article XIII The Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents of each of the High Contracting
Parties, residing in the territories of the other, shall receive from the local
authorities such
assistance as can by law be given to them for the
recovery of deserters from the vessels of their
respective countries.
It is understood that this stipulation shall not apply to the citizens
or subjects of the country where the desertion takes place.
Article XIV The High
Contracting Parties agree that, in all that
concerns commerce and navigation, any privilege,
favour or immunity which either High Contracting
Party has actually granted, or may hereafter
grant, to the Government, ships, citizens, or subjects of any other State,
shall be extended
to the Government, ships, citizens, or subjects
of the other High Contracting Party, gratuitously,
if the concession in favour of that other
State shall have been gratuitous, and on the same
or equivalent conditions if the concession shall have been conditional; it
being their intention
that the trade and navigation of each country
shall be placed, in all respects, by the other,
upon the footing of the most favoured nation.
Article XV Each of the High Contracting Parties,
may appoint Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular
Agents, in all the ports, cities, and places of the other, except in those
where it may not be convenient to recognize such officers.
This exception, however, shall not be made in regard to one of the.High Contracting Parties without being made likewise in
regard to every other Power.
The Consuls General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular
Agents, may exercise all functions, and shall enjoy all privileges,
exemptions, and immunities which are, or may hereafter be granted to Consular
officers of the most favoured nation.
Article XVI The
citizens or subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the
territories of the other the same protection as native citizens or subjects in
regard to patents, trade marks, and designs, upon
fulfillment of the formalities prescribed by law.
Article XVII The High Contracting Parties agree to
the following arrangement:
The several Foreign Settlements in Japan shall, from the date this
Treaty comes into force, be incorporated with the respective Japanese
Communes, and shall thenceforth form part of the general municipal system of
Japan. The competent Japanese Authorities shall thereupon assume all municipal
obligations and duties in respect thereof, and the common funds and property,
if any, belonging to such Settlement shall at the same time be transferred to
the said Japanese Authorities.
When such incorporation takes place existing leases in perpetuity upon
which property is now held in the said Settlements shall be confirmed, and no
conditions whatsoever other than those contained in such existing leases shall
be imposed in respect of such property. It is, however, understood that the
Consular Authorities mentioned in the same are in all cases to be replaced by
the Japanese Authorities. All lands which may previously have been granted by
the Japanese Government free of rent for the public purposes of the said
Settlement shall, subject to the right of Eminent domain, be permanently reserved
free of all taxes and charges for the public purposes for which they were
originally set apart.
Article XVIII
This Treaty shall, from the date it comes into force, be substituted in
place of the Treaty of Peace and Amity concluded on the 3d day of the 3d month
of the 7th year of Kayei, correspond- ing to the 31st day of March, 1854; the Treaty of Amity and Commerce concluded on the 19th day of the 6th month of the 5th year of Ansei, corresponding to the 29th day of July, 1858; the Tariff Convention concluded on the 13th day of the 5th/month of the 2d year of Keio, corresponding to the 25th day of June, 1866; the Convention concluded on the 25th day of the 7th month of the 11th year of Meiji, corresponding to
the 25th day of July, 1878, and all Arrangements
and Agreements subsidiary thereto
concluded or existing between the High Contracting
Parties; and from the same date such Treaties,
Conventions, Arrangements and Agreements
shall cease to be being, and, in consequence,
the jurisdiction then exercised by Courts of the
United States in Japan and all the exceptional
privileges, exemptions and immunities then enjoyed by citizens of the United States as a part of, or appurtenant to such jurisdiction,
shall absolutely and without notice cease and determine,
and thereafter all such jurisdiction shall be assumed and exercised by
Japanese Courts.
Article XIX
This Treaty shall go into operation on the 17th day of July, 1899, and
shall remain in force for the period of twelve years from that date.
Either High Contracting Party shall have the right, at any time
thereafter, to give'notice to the otheryof
its intention to terminate the same, and at the expiration of twelve months
after such notice is given this Treaty shall wholly cease and determine.
Article XX This Treaty shall be ratified, and the
ratification thereof shall be exchanged, either at Washington or Tokyo, as
soon as possible and not later
than six months after its signature.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the
present Treaty in duplicate and have thereunto affixed their seals.
Done at the City of Washington the 22d day of November, in the eighteen hundred and ninety-fourth year of the Christian era,
corresponding to the 22d day of the 11th month of the 27th year of Meiji.
Walter Q. Gresham [seal].
Shinichiro Kurino [sealj.
THE EMIGRATION TREATY
BETWEEN
CHINA AND THE UNITED
STATES, 1894
Signed
March 17, 1894;
Proclaimed
December 8, 1894
Whereas, on the 17th day of November, A. D. 1880, and of Kwangh
su, the sixth year, tenth moon, fifteenth day, a
treaty was concluded between the United States and China for the purpose of
regulating, limiting, or suspending the coding of Chinese labourerjs^tQ*
.and .their res!-: dencejn, the~UmteyStates >
And, whereas, the Government of China, in view of the antagonism and
much deprecated and serious disorders to which the presence of Chinese labourers has given rise in certain parts of the United
States, desires to prohibit the emigration of such labourers
from China to the United States;
And, whereas, the two Governments desire to cooperate in prohibiting
such emigration, and to strengthen in other ways the bonds of friendship
between the two countries;
And, whereas, the two Governments are desirous of adopting reciprocal
measures for the better protection of the citizens or subjects of each within
the jurisdiction of the other;
Now, therefore, the PresidentsLthfiJLInited
States has appointed Walter Q. Gresham._Sec- retHJLSf-Stat^ of the United States, as his
Plenipotentiary, and His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of China has appointed
Yflng Yu- Officer of the second rank,
Sub-Director of the Court of Sacrificial Worship, and Env6y Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, as his
Plenipotentiary; and the said Plenipotentiaries having exhibited their
respective Full Powers found to be in due and good form, have agreed upon the
following articles :
Article I
The High
Contracting Parties agree that for
a per^doften^years, beginning with the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this
Convention, the coming, except the conditions hereinafter specified, of
Chinese labourers to the United States shall be absolutely
prohibited.
Article II
The preceding Article shall not apply to the return to the United States
of any registered Chinese labourer who has a lawful
wife, child, or parent in the United States, or property therein of the value
of one thousand dollars, or debts of like amount due him and pending settlement.
Nevertheless every such Chinese labourer shall,
before leaving the United States, deposit, as a condition of his return, with
the - collector of customs of the district from which he departs, a full
description in writing of his family, or property, or debts, as aforesaid, and
shall be furnished by said collector with such certificate of his right to
return under this Treaty as the laws of the United States may now or hereafter
prescribe and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Treaty; and should
the written description aforesaid be proved to be false, the right of return
thereunder, or of continued residence after return, shall in each case be
forfeited. And such right of return to the United States shall be exercised
within one year from the date of leaving the United States; but such right of
return to the United States may be extended for an additional period, not to
exceed one year, in cases where by reason of sickness or
other cause of disability beyond his control, such Chinese labourer
shall be rendered unable sooner
to return—which facts shall be fully reported to the Chinese Consul at the
port of departure, and by him certified, to the satisfaction of the collector of the port at which such
Chinese subject shall land in the United States. And no such" Chinese labourer shall be permitted to enter the United States by
land or sea without
producing to the proper officer of the customs
the return certificate herein required.
Article III
The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right at present
enjoyed of Chinese subjects, being officials, teachers, students, merchants or
travellers, for curiosity or pleasure, but not labourers, of coming'to the
United States and residing therein. To entitle such Chinese subjects as are
above described to admission into the United States, they may produce a certificate
from their Government or the Government where they last resided vised by the
diplomatic or consular representatives of the United States in the country or
port where they depart.
It is also agreed that Chinese labourers shall
continue to enjoy the privilege of transit across the territory of the United
States in the course of their journey to or from other countries, subject to
such regulations by the Government of the United States as may be necessary to
prevent said privilege of transit from being abused.
Article IV
In pursuance of Article III of the Immigration Treaty between the
United States and China, signed at Peking on the 17th day of November, 1880
(the 15th day of the tenth month of Kwanghsu, sixth
year), it is hereby understood and agreed that Chinese labourers
or Chinese of any other class, either permanently or temporarily residing in
the United States, shall have for the protection of their persons and property
all rights that are given by the laws of the United States to citizens of the
most favoured nation, excepting the right to become
naturalized citizens. And the Government of the United States reaffirms its
obligation, as stated in said Article III, to exert all its power to secure
protection to the persons and property of all Chinese subjects in the United
States.
Article V
The Government of the United States, having by an Act of the Congress,
approved May 5, 1892, as amended by an Act approved November 3, 1893, required
all Chinese labourers lawfully within the limits of
the United States before the passage of the first-named Act to be registered
as in said Acts provided, with a view of affording them better protection, the
Chinese Government will not object to the enforcement of such acts, and
reciprocally the Government of the United States recognizes the right of the
Government of China to enact and enforce simi- lar laws or regulations for the registration, free of charge, of all labourers,
skilled or unskilled (not merchants as defined by said
Acts of Congress), citizens of the United States in China, whether residing within or without the treaty ports.
And the Government of the United States agrees that within twelve months
from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this Convention, and
annually, thereafter, it will furnish to the Government of China registers or
reports showing the full name, age, occupation and number or place of residence
of all other citizens of the United States, including missionaries, residing
both within and without the treaty ports of China, not including, however,
diplomatic and other officers of the United States residing or travelling in
China upon official business, together with their body and household servants.
Article VI
This Convention shall remain in force for a period of ten years
beginning with the date of the exchange of ratifications, and, if six months
before the expiration of the said period of ten years, neither Government shall
have given notice of its final termination to the other, it shall remain in
full force for another like period of ten years.
In faith whereof, we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed
this Convention and have hereunto affixed our seals.
Done, in duplicate, at Washington, the 17th day of March, a. d. 1894.
Walter Q. Gresham [seal]. (Chinese Signature)
[seal].
PROTOCOL BETWEEN CHINA AND
THE TREATY POWERS, SEPTEMBER 7, 1901
The plenipotentiaries of Germany, His Excellency M. A. Munn von Schwarzenstein; of Austria-Hungary, His Excellency M. M. Czikann von Wahlborn; of Belgium,
His Excellency M. Joostens; of Spain, M. B. J. de Cologan; of the United States, His Excellency M. W. W.
Rock- hill; of France, His Excellency M. Paul Beau; of Great Britain, His
Excellency Sir Ernest Satow; of Italy, Marquis Salvago Raggi; of Japan, His
Excellency M. Jutaro Komura; of the Netherlands, His
Excellency M. F. M. Kno- bel;
of Russia, His Excellency M. M. deGiers; and of
China, His Highness Yi-K'uang Prince Ching of the first rank, President of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and His Excellency Li Hung-chang,
Earl of Su-i of the first rank, Tutor of the Heir
Apparent, Grand Secretary of the Wen-hua Throne Hall,
Minister of Commerce, Superintendent of the Northern trade,
Governor-General of Chihli, have met for the purpose of declaring that China has complied to the satisfaction of the Powers with the
conditions laid down in the note of the 22d of December, 1900, and which were
accepted in their entirety
by His Majesty the Emperor of China in a
decree dated the 27th of December.
- Article ia
By an Imperial Edict of the 9th of June last, Tsai Feng,
Prince of Ch'un, was appointed Ambassador of His
Majesty the Emperor of China, and directed in that capacity to convey to His
Majesty the German Emperor the expression of the regrets of His Majesty the
Emperor of China and of the Chinese Government for the assassination of His
Excellency the late Baron von Ketteler, German
Minister.
Prince Ch'un left Peking the 12th of July last
to carry out the orders which had been given him.
Article ib
The Chinese Government has stated that it will erect on the spot of the
assassination of His Excellency the late Baron von Ketteler
a commemorative monument, worthy of the rank of the deceased, and bearing an
inscription in the Latin, German, and Chinese languages, which shall express
the regrets of His Majesty the Emperor of China for the murder committed.
Their Excellencies the Chinese Plenipotentiaries
have informed His Excellency the Ger-
man Plenipotentiary, in a letter dated the 22d of July last, that an arch of the whole
width of the
street would be erected on the said spot, and that work on it was begun the 25th of June
last.
Article iia
Imperial Edicts of the 13th and 21st of February, 1901, inflicted the
following punishments on the principal authors of the outrages and crimes
committed against the foreign Governments and their nationals:
Tsai-I Prince Tuan and Tsai Lan Duke Fu- kuo were sentenced to be brought before the autumnal court
of assize for execution, and it was agreed that if the Emperor saw fit to grant
them their lives, they should be exiled to Turkestan and there imprisoned for
life, without the possibility of commutation of these punishments.
Tsai Hsun Prince Chuang, Ying Nien, President of the Court of censors, and Chao Shu- Chiao, President of the
Board of punishments, were condemned to commit suicide.
Yu Hsien, Governor of Shanhsi,
Chi Hsiu, President of the Board of rites, and Hsu Cheng- yu,
formerly senior vice-President of the Board of punishments, were condemned to
death.
Posthumous degradation was inflicted on Kang Yi, assistant Grand
Secretary, President of the Board of works, Hsu Tung, Grand Secretary, and Li
Ping-heng, formerly Governor- General of Szu-ch'uan.
An Imperial Edict of February 13th, 1901, re- habilitated
the memories of Hsu Yung-yi, President of the Board
of War, Li Shan, President of the Board of
works, Hsu Ching-cheng, senior vice-President of the Board of works, Lien Yuan, vice-Chancellor of the Grand Council, and Yuan Chang, vice-President of the court of sacrifices, who had been put to death for having protested against the outrageous breaches of international
law of last year.
Prince Chuang committed suicide the 21st of February, 1901, Ying Nien and Chao Shu-chiao the 24th,
Yu Hsien was executed the 22d, Chi Hsiu and Hsu Cheng-yu on the
26th. Tung Fu- hsiang, General in Kan-su,
has been deprived of his office by Imperial Edict of the 13th of February,
1901, pending the determination of the final punishment to be inflicted on him.
Imperial Edicts dated the 29th of April and 19th of August, 1901, have
inflicted various punishments on the provincial officials convicted of the
crime and outrages of last summer.
Article IIb
An Imperial Edict promulgated the 19th of August, 1901, ordered the
suspension of official examination for five years in all cities where foreigners
were massacred or submitted to cruel treatment.
Article III
So as to make honourable reparation for the
assassination of Mr. Sugiyama, chancellor of the Japanese Legation, His Majesty
the Emperor of China by an Imperial Edict of the 18th
of June, 1901, appointed Na Tung, vice-President of the Board of revenue, to be his Envoy Extraordinary,
and specially directed him to convey to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan the expression of the regrets of His Majesty the Emperor of China and of his Government at the assassination of the late Mr. Sugiyama.
Article IV
The Chinese Government has agreed to erect an expiatory monument in each
of the foreign or international cemeteries which were desecrated and in which
the tombs were destroyed.
It has been agreed with the Representatives of the Powers that the
legations interested shall settle the details for the erection of these monuments,
China bearing all the expenses thereof, estimated at ten thousand taels for the cemeteries at Peking and within its neighbourhood, and at five thousand taels
for the cemeteries in the provinces. The amounts have been paid and the list of
these cemeteries is enclosed herewith.
Article V
China has agreed to prohibit the importation into its territory of arms and
ammunition, as well as of materials exclusively used for the manufacture of
arms and ammunition.
An Imperial Edict has been issued on the 25th of August, 1901,
forbidding said importation for a term of two years. New Edict may be issued
subsequently extending this by other successive terms of two years in case of necessity
recognized by the Powers.
Article VI
By an Imperial Edict dated the 29th of May, 1901, His Majesty the Emperor of China
agreed to pay the Powers an indemnity of
four hundred and
fifty millions of Haikwan taels.
This sum represents
the total amount of the indemnities for
States, companies or societies, private individuals, and Chinese referred to
in Article VI of the
note of December 22d, 1900.
(a) These four hundred and fifty millions constitute a gold debt calculated at the
rate of the Haikwan tael to the gold currency
of each country,
as indicated below:
Haikwan tael—marks
...................... 3-055
—Austria-Hungary
crown.. 3.595
—gold
dollar.................. 0.742
—francs.......................... 3-750
—pound
sterling........... 3s. od.
—yen
.............................. 1.407
—Netherlands florin.... 1.796
—gold rouble................. 1.412
This
sum in gold shall bear interest at 4 per cent,
per annum, and the capital shall be reimbursed by China in thirty-nine years
in the manner indicated in the annexed plan of amortization.
Capital and interest shall be payable in gold or at the rates of exchange corresponding to
the dates at which the different
payments fall due.
The amortization shall commence
the 1st of January,
1902, and shall finish at the end of the year
1940. The amortizations are payable annually, the first payment being fixed on
the 1st of
January, 1903.
Interest shall run from the 1st of July, 1901, but the Chinese
Government shall have the right to pay off within a term of three years,
beginning January, 1902, the arrears of the first six months, ending the 31st
of December, 1901, on condition, however, that it pays compound interest at
the rate of 4 per cent, per annum on the sums the payments of which shall have
thus been deferred. Interest shall be payable semi-annually, the first payment
being fixed on the 1st of July, 1902.
(&) The service of the debt
shall take place in Shanghai,
in the following manner:
Each Power shall be represented by a delegate on a commission of
bankers authorized to receive the amount of interest and amortization which
shall be paid to it by the Chinese authorities designated for that purpose, to
divide it among the interested parties, and to give a receipt for the same.
(c) The Chinese Government shall
deliver to the
Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps at Peking a bond for the lump sum, which shall subsequently
be converted into fractional bonds bearing the signatures of the delegates of
the Chinese Government designated for that purpose. This operation and all those relating to
issuing of the
bonds shall be performed by the above- mentioned
Commission, in accordance with the instructions which the Powers shall send
their delegates.
(d) The proceeds of the revenue assigned to the payment of the bonds shall be paid to the commission.
(e) The revenues assigned as security for the bonds are the following:
1. The balance of the revenues of the Imperial maritime Customs after payment of the interest and amortization of preceding loans secured on these revenues, plus the proceeds of the raising to five per cent, effective of the present tariff on maritime imports, including articles until now on the free list, but exempting foreign rice, cereals, and flour, gold and silver bullion and coin.
2. The revenue of the native customs, administered in the open ports by the Imperial maritime Customs.
3. The total revenue of the salt gabelle, exclusive of the fraction previously set aside for other foreign loans.
The raising of the present tariff on imports to five per cent, effective
is agreed to on the conditions mentioned below.
It shall be put in force two months after the signing of the present
protocol, and no exceptions shall be made except for merchandise shipped not
more than ten days after the said signing.
(1) All duties levied on imports "ad valorem " shall be
converted as far as possible and as soon as may be into specific duties. This
conversion shall be made in the following manner: The average value of merchandise at the time of their landing during the three years 1897, 1898, and 1899, that is to say, the market price less the amount of import duties and incidental expenses, shall be taken as the basis for the valuation of
merchandise. Pending the result of the work of
conversion, duties shall be levied " ad
valorem."
(2) The beds of the rivers Peiho and Whangpu shall be improved with the financial participation
of China.
Article VII The Chinese Government has agreed that the quarter occupied by the legations shall be
considered as one specially reserved for their use and placed under their exclusive control, in which Chinese shall not have the right to
reside, and which may be made defensible.
The limits of this quarter have been fixed as follows on the annexed
plan:
On the west, the line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. On the north, the line 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. On the east, Ketteler
Street (10, 11, 12). Drawn
along the exterior base of the Tartar wall and
following the line of the bastions, on the
south the line 12.1.
In the protocol annexed to the letter of the 16th of January, 1901,
China recognized the right of each Power to maintain a permanent
guard in the said quarter for the defense of its legation.
Article VIII
The Chinese Government has
consented to raze the
forts of Taku and those which might impede free communication between Peking and the sea; steps have been taken for
carrying this
out.
Article IX
The Chinese Government has conceded the right to the Powers in the
protocol annexed to the letter of the 16th of January, 1901, to occupy certain
points, to be determined by an agreement between them, for the maintenance of
open communication between the capital and the sea. The points occupied by the
Powers are:
Huang-tsun, Lang-fang, Yang-tsun, Tientsin, Chun-liang Ch'eng, Tang-ku, Lutai, Tang-shan, Lan-chow, Chang-li, Ch'in-wang"
tao, Shan-hai kuan.
Article X
The Chinese Government has agreed to post and to have published during
two years in all district cities the following Imperial edicts:
(a) Edicts of the 1st of February, prohibiting forever, under pain of death, membership in any anti-foreign society.
(b) Edicts of the 13th and 21st of February, 29th of April, and 19th of August, enumerating the punishments inflicted on the guilty,
(c) Edicts of the 19th ot August, 1901, prohibiting examinations in all cities where foreigners were massacred or subjected to cruel treatment.
(d) Edict of the 1st of February, 1901, declaring all governors-general, governors, and provincial or local officials responsible for order in their respective districts, and that in case of new anti-foreign troubles or other infractions of the treaties which shall not be immediately repressed, these officials shall immediately be dismissed, without possibility of being given new functions or new honours.
The posting of these edicts is
being carried on throughout
the Empire.
Article XI
The Chinese Government has agreed
to negotiate the amendments deemed necessary by the foreign Governments to the treaties of commerce
and navigation and the other subjects concerning
commercial relations, with the object of facilitating them.
At present, and as a result of
the stipulation contained
in Article VI concerning the indemnity, the Chinese Government agrees to
assist in the improvement of the courses
of the rivers Peiho and Whangpu, as
stated below.
(a) The works for the improvement
of the navigability of the Peiho, begun in 1898, with the cooperation of the Chinese Government, have been resumed under the direction of an international Commission. As soon as the administration
of Tientsin shall have been handed back to
the Chinese Government, it will be in a position
to be represented on this Commission, and
will pay each year a sum of sixty thousand Haikwan taels for maintaining the works.
(b) A conservancy Board, charged with the management and control of the
works for straightening the Whangpu and the improvement
of the course of that river, is hereby created.
This Board shall consist of members representing the interests of the.
Chinese Government and those of foreigners in the shipping trade of Shanghai.
The expenses incurred for the works and the general management of the
undertaking are estimated at the annual sum of four hundred and sixty thousand
Haikwan taels for the first
twenty years. This sum shall be supplied in equal portions by the Chinese
Government and the foreign interests concerned. Detailed stipulations
concerning the composition, duties, and revenues of the conservancy Board are
embodied in annex hereto.
Article XII
An Imperial Edict of the 24th of July, 1901, reformed the Office of
foreign affairs (Tsungli Yamen),
on the lines indicated by the Powers, that is to say, transformed it into a
Ministry of foreign affairs (Wai-wu Pu), which takes precedence over the six other Ministries
of the
State. The same edict appointed the principal members of this Ministry.
An agreement has also been reached concerning the modification of Court
ceremonial as regards the reception of foreign Representatives and has been
the subject of several notes from the Chinese Plenipotentiaries, the substance
of which is embodied in a memorandum herewith annexed.
Finally, it is expressly
understood that as regards the declarations specified above and the annexed documents originating with the foreign
Plenipotentiaries, the French text only is authoritative.
The Chinese Government having thus complied to the satisfaction of the
Powers with the conditions laid down in the above-mentioned note of December
22d, 1900, the Powers have agreed to accede to the wishes of China to terminate
the situation created by the disorders of the summer of 1900. In consequence
thereof the foreign Plenipotentiaries are authorized to declare in the name of
their Governments that, with the exception of the legation guards mentioned in
Article VII, the international troops will completely evacuate the city of
Peking on the 17th of September, 1901, and, with the exception of the localities
mentioned in Article IX, will withdraw from the province of Chihli
on the 22d of September.
The present final Protocol has
been drawn up in
twelve identic copies and signed by all the Plenipotentiaries of the Contracting
Countries.
One copy shall be given to each of the foreign Plenipotentiaries, and one copy shall be
given to the
Chinese Plenipotentiaries.
Peking, fth September, ipoi.
|
Signatures and seals
of Chinese Plenipotentiaries, |
A. V. Mumm. M. Czikann.
joostens.
B.
j. de cologan. W. W. Rockhill, Beau.
Ernest Satow. Salvago Raggi. JuTARO Komura.
F. M.
Knobel. M. de Giers.
THE HAY DOCTRINE: THE
HAY-VON BULOW CORRESPONDENCE
Mr. Hay, American Secretary of State, to Mr. White, American Ambassador to Germany:
Department of State, Washington,
September 6, 1899.
Sir:
At the time when the Government of the United States was informed by
that of Germany that it had leased from His Majesty the Emperor of China the
port of Kiaochow and the adjacent territory in the
province of Shantung, assurances were given to the Ambassador of the United
States at Berlin by the Imperial German Minister for Foreign Affairs that the
rights and privileges insured by treaties with China to citizens of the United
States would not thereby
suffer or be in any wise impaired within the area over which Germany had thus obtained control.
More recently, however, the British Government recognized by a formal
agreement with Germany the exclusive right of the latter country to enjoy in
said leased area and the contiguous " sphere of influence or
interest" certain privileges, more especially those relating to railroads
and mining enterprises; but, as the exact nature and extent of the rights thus
recognized have not been clearly defined, it is possible that serious conflicts
of interests may at any time arise, not only between British and German subjects
within said area, but that the interests of our citizens may also be
jeopardized thereby.
Earnestly desirous to remove any cause of irritation and to insure at
the same time to the commerce of all nations in China the undoubted benefits
which should accrue from a formal recognition by the various Powers claiming "
spheres of interest " that they shall enjoy perfect equality of treatment
for their commerce and navigation within such " spheres," the Government
of the United States would be pleased to see His German Majesty's Government
give formal assurances, and lend its cooperation in securing like assurances
from the other interested Powers, that each within its respective sphere of
whatever influence—
First. Will in no way interfere with any treaty port or any vested
interest within any so- called " sphere of interest" or leased
territory it may have in China.
Second. That the Chinese treaty
tariff of the time
being shall apply to all merchandise landed or shipped to all such ports as are within
said " sphere of interest "
(they be " free ports "), no
matter to what nationality it may belong, and that duties so leviable
shall be collected by the
Chinese Government.
Third. That it will levy no
higher dues on vessels
of another nationality frequenting any port in
such " sphere " than shall be levied on vessels of its own nationality, and no
higher railroad charges over lines* built, controlled, or operated within its
" sphere " on merchandise belonging to citizens or subjects of other
nationalities transported through such " sphere " than shall be levied on similar merchandise
belonging to its
own nationals transported over equal distances.
The liberal policy pursued by His
Imperial German
Majesty in declaring Kiaochow a free port and in aiding the Chinese Government in the establishment there of a custom-house
are so clearly in line with the
proposition which this Government
is anxious to see recognized that it
entertains the strongest hope that Germany will give its acceptance and hearty support.
The recent Ukase of His Majesty
the Emperor of Russia declaring the port of Ta-lien- wan open during the whole of the lease under which it is held from China to the merchant ships of all nations, coupled with the
categorical assurances
made to this Government by His Imperial Majesty's representative at this
capital at the
time, and since repeated to me by the present Russian Ambassador, seem to
insure support of the Emperor to the proposal measure. Our Ambassador at the Court of St.
Petersburg has in
consequence been instructed to submit it to the
Russian Government and to request their early
consideration of it. A copy of my instruction on the subject to Mr. Tower is
herewith enclosed
for your confidential information.
The commercial interests of Great Britain and Japan will be so clearly served
by the desired declaration of intentions, and the views of the Governments of
these countries as to the desirability of the adoption of measures insuring the
benefits of equality of treatment of all foreign trade throughout China are so
similar to those entertained by the United States, that their acceptance of the
proposition herein outlined and their cooperation in advocating their adoption
by the other Powers can be confidently expected. I enclose herewith copy of the
instruction which I have sent to Mr. Choate on the subject.
In view of the present favourable conditions,
you are instructed to submit the above considerations to His Imperial German
Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs, and to request his early consideration
of the subject.
Copy of this instruction is sent to our Ambassadors at London and at
St. Petersburg for their information.
I have, etc.
John Hay.
Count von Billow, His Imperial
German Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Mr. White;
(Translation.)
Foreign Office, Berlin,
February ip, I goo.
Mr. Ambassador:
Your Excellency informed me, in a memorandum presented on the 24th of
last month, that the Government of the United States of America .had received
satisfactory replies from all the Powers to which an inquiry had been addressed
similar to that contained in Your Excellency's note of September 26th last, in
regard to the policy of the open door in China. While referring to this, Your
Excellency thereupon expressed the wish that the Imperial Government would now
also give its answer in writing.
Gladly complying with this wish, I have the honour
^to inform Your Excellency, repeating the statements already made verbally, as
follows: As recognized by the Government of the United States of America,
according to Your Excellency's note referred to above, the Imperial Government
has, from the beginning, not only asserted, but also practically carried out to
the fullest extent in its Chinese possessions absolute equality of treatment
of all nations with regard to trade, navigation, and commerce. The Imperial
Government entertains no thought of departing in the future from this
principle, which' at once excludes any prejudicial or disadvantageous
commercial treatment of the citi-
zens of the
United States of America, so long as it is
not forced to do so, on account of considerations of reciprocity, by a
divergence from it by
other governments. If, therefore, the other Powers interested in the industrial
development of the
Chinese Empire are willing to recognize the
same principle, this can only be desired by the Imperial Government, which in this case upon being requested will gladly be ready to participate with the United States of
America and the
other Powers in an agreement made upon
these lines, by which the same rights are reciprocally secured.
I avail myself, etc.
BUlow.
THE ANGLO-JAPANESE ALLIANCES (ist) Agreement, Concluded January 30, 1902
Article /.—The High Contracting Parties,
having mutually recognized the independence of China and Korea, declare
themselves to be entirely uninfluenced by any aggressive tendencies in either
country. Having in view, however, their special interests, of which those of
Great Britain relate principally to China, while Japan, in addition to the
interests which she possesses in China, is interested in a peculiar degree politically, as well as commercially and industrially, in Korea, the High Contracting Parties recognize that it will be admissible for either of them to take such measures as may be indispensable in order to safeguard those interests if
threatened either by the aggressive action of any other
Power, or by disturbances arising in China or
Korea, and necessitating the intervention of either of the High Contracting Parties for the protection of the lives and property of
its subjects.
Article II.—If either Great Britain or
Japan, in the defense of their respective interests as above described, should
become involved in war with another Power, the other High Contracting Party
will maintain a strict neutrality, and use its efforts to prevent others from
joining in hostilities against its ally.
Article III.—If, in the above event, any
other Power or Powers should join in hostilities against that Ally, the other
High Contracting Party will come to its assistance, and will conduct the war
in common, and will make peace in mutual agreement with it.
Article IV.—The High Contracting Parties
agree that neither of them will, without consulting the other, enter into
separate arrangements with another Power to the prejudice of the interests
above described.
Article V.—Whenever, in the opinion of
either Great Britain or Japan, the above-mentioned interests are in jeopardy
the two Governments!
will communicate with each other fully and frankly.
Article VI.—The
present Agreement shall come
into effect immediately after the date of its signature, and remain in force for five
years from that date. In case neither
of the High Contracting
Parties should have notified twelve months
before the expiration of the said five years
the intention of terminating it, it shall remain binding until the expiration
of one year from the
day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall have denounced it.
But if, when the date fixed for its
expiration arrives, either
ally is actually engaged in war, the Alliance shall, ipso
facto, continue until peace is concluded.
(2d) Signed at London "August 12, 1905 The Marquess of
Lansdowne to Sir C. Har-? dinge:
Foreign
Office, September 6,1905.
Sir:
I inclose, for your Excellency's information,
a copy of a new Agreement concluded between His Majesty's Government and that
of Japan in substitution for that of the 30th of January, 1902. You will take
an early opportunity of communicating the new Agreement to the Russian
Government.
It was signed on the 12th August, and you will explain that it would
have been immediately made public but for the fact that negotiations had at
that time already commenced be-
tween Russia and Japan, and that the publication of such a document whilst those negotiations were still in progress would obviously have
been improper and inopportune.
The Russian Government will, I trust, recognize that the new Agreement
is an international instrument to which no exception can be taken by any of the
Powers interested in the affairs of the Far East. You should call special
attention to the objects mentioned in the preamble as those by which the policy
of the Contracting Parties is inspired. His Majesty's Government believed that
they may count upon the good will and support of all the Powers in endeavouring to maintain peace in Eastern Asia and in seeking
to uphold the integrity and independence of the Chinese Empire and the
principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations
in that country.
On the other hand, the special interests of the Contracting Parties are
of a kind upon which they are fully entitled to insist, and the announcement
that those interests must be safeguarded is one which can create ho surprise,
and need give rise to no misgivings.
I call your special attention to the wording of Article II, which lays
down distinctly that it is only in'the case of an
unprovoked attack made on one of the Contracting Parties by another Power or
Powers, and when that Party is defending its territorial rights and special
interests from aggressive action, that the other Party is bound to come to its
assistance.
Article III, dealing with the question of Korea, is deserving of special
attention. It recognizes in the clearest terms the paramount pox sition which Japan at this moment occupies and must
henceforth occupy in Korea, and her right to take any measures which she may
find necessary for the protection of her political, military, and economic
interests in that country. It is, however, expressly provided that such
measures must not be contrary to the principle of equal opportunities for the
commerce and industry of other nations. The new treaty no doubt differs at this
point conspicuously from that of 1902. It has, however, become evident that
Korea, owing to its close proximity to the Japanese Empire and inability to
stand alone, must fall under the control and tutelage of Japan.
His Majesty's Government observe with satisfaction that this point was
readily conceded by Russia in the Treaty of Peace recently concluded with
Japan, and they have every reason to believe that similar views are held by
other Powers with regard to the relations which should subsist between Japan
and Korea.
His Majesty's Government venture to anticipate that the alliance thus
concluded, designated as it is with objects which are purely peaceful and for
the protection of rights and interests the validity of which cannot be contested,
will be regarded with approval by the Government to which you are accredited.
They are justified in believing that its conclusion may not have been without
effect in facilitating the
Settlement by which the war has been so happily brought to an end, and
they earnestly trust that it
may, for many years to come, be instrumental in securing the peace of the
world in those
regions which come within its scope. I am,
etc.
(Signed) Landsdowne,
r(Inclosure.)
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM
AND JAPAN
Signed at London, August 12, 1905 (Preamble)
The Governments of Great Britain and Japan, being desirous of replacing
the Agreement concluded between them on the 30th January, 1902, by fresh
stipulations, have agreed upon the following Articles which have for their
objects:
(a) The consolidation and maintenance of the general peace in the regions of Eastern Asia and of India;
(b) The preservation of the common interest of all Powers in China by insuring the independence and integrity of the Chinese Empire and the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations in China;
(c) The maintenance of the territorial rights of the High Contracting Parties in the regions
of Eastern Asia and of India, and the defense of their special interests in the said regions:
Article L—It is agreed that whenever, in
the opinion of either Great Britain or Japan, any of the rights and interests
referred to in the preamble of this Agreement are in jeopardy, the two
Governments will communicate with one another fully and frankly, and will
consider in common the measures which should be taken to safeguard those
menaced rights or interests.
Article II.—If by reason of unprovoked
attack or aggressive action, wherever arising, on the part of any other Power
or Powers either Contracting Party should be involved in war in defense of
its territorial rights or special interests mentioned in the preamble of this
Agreement, the other Contracting Party will at once come to the assistance of
its ally, and will conduct the war in common, and make peace in mutual
agreement with it.
Article III.—Japan possessing paramount political,
military and economic interests in Korea, Great Britain recognizes the right of
Japan to take such measures of guidance, control, and protection in Korea as
she may deem proper and necessary to safeguard and advance those interests,
provided always that such measures are not contrary to the principle of equal oppor- . tunities for the
commerce and industry of all nations.
Article IV.—Great Britain having a special
interest in all that concerns the security of the Indian frontier, Japan
recognizes her right to
take such measures in the proximity of that frontier as she may find necessary for
safeguarding her Indian possessions.
Article V.—The High Contracting Parties
agree that neither of them will, without consulting the other, enter into
separate arrangements with another Power to the prejudice of the objects
described in the preamble of this Agreement.
Article VI.—As regards the present war between
Japan and Russia, Great Britain will continue to maintain strict neutrality
unless some other Power or Powers should join in hostilities against Japan, in
which case Great Britain will come to the assistance of Japan, and will conduct
the war in common, and make peace in mutual agreement with Japan.
Article VII.—The conditions under which armed
assistance shall be afforded by either Power to the other in the circumstances
mentioned in the present Agreement, and the means by which such assistance is
to be made available, will be arranged by the Naval and Military authorities of
the Contracting Parties, who will from time to time consult one another fully
and freely upon all questions of mutual interest.
Article VIII.—The present Agreement shall,
subject to the provisions of Article VI, come into effect immediately after the
date of its signature, and remain in force for ten years from that date.
In case neither - of the High Contracting Parties should have notified
twelve months before the expiration of the said ten years the in-.
tention of
terminating it, it shall remain binding until the expiration of one year from
the day on which either of the High
Contracting Parties
shall have denounced it. But if, when the
date fixed for its expiration arrives, either ally is actually engaged in war, the
alliance shall, ipso
facto, continue until peace is concluded.
In faith whereof the Undersigned, duly authorized by their respective
Governments, have signed this Agreement and have affixed thereto their Seals.
Done in duplicate at London, the 12th day of August, 1905.
(L. S.) Landsdowne, His
Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
(L. S.) Tadasu
Hayashi, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan at the
Court of St. James.
(3d) Alliance Treaty Signed July 13, 1911 (Preamble)
The Government of Japan and the Government of Great Britain having in
view the important changes which have taken place in the situation since the
conclusion of the Anglo- Japanese Agreement of August 12, 1905, and believing
that the revision of that Agreement responding to such
changes would contribute to general
stability and repose, have agreed upon the following
stipulations to replace the Agreement above mentioned, such stipulations having
the same object as the said Agreement, namely:— ' >
A. —The consolidation and maintenance of the general peace in the regions of Eastern Asia and India.
B. —The preservation of the common interests of all the Powers in China by insuring the independence and integrity of the Chinese Empire and the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations in China.
C. —The maintenance of the territorial rights of the High Contracting Parties in the regions of Eastern Asia and of India and the defense of their special interests on those regions:—
Article 1.—It is agreed
that whenever, in the opinion
of either Japan or Great Britain, any of the
rights and interests referred to in the preamble
of this Agreement are in jeopardy, the two
Governments will communicate with one another
fully and frankly, and will consider in common
the measures which should be taken to safeguard
those menaced rights and interests.
Article II.—If by
reason of an unprovoked attack or aggressive action, wherever arising, on the part of any other Power or Powers,
either of the High Contracting Parties
should be involved in war in defense of its territorial rights or special interests mentioned in the
preamble of this
Agreement, the other High Contracting Party
will at once come to the assistance of its ally and will conduct the war in common and make peace in mutual agreement with it.
Article III.—The High Contracting Parties
agree that neither of them will, without consulting the other, enter into a
separate agreement with another Power to the prejudice of the objects
described in the preamble of this Agreement.
Article IV.—Should either of the High Contracting
Parties conclude a treaty of general arbitration with a third Power, it is
agreed that nothing in this Agreement shall impose on such contracting party an
obligation to go to war with the Power with whom such an arbitration treaty is
in force.
Article V.—The conditions under which
armed assistance shall be afforded by either Power to the other in
circumstances entered into the present Agreement, and the means by which such
assistance is to be made available, will be arranged by the military and naval
authorities of the High Contracting Parties, who will from time to time consult
one another fully and frankly upon all questions of mutual interests.
Article VI.—The present Agreement shall come
into effect immediately after the date of its signature, and remain in force
for ten years from that date (same proviso as first Agreement as to expiry).
In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective
Governments, have signed this Agreement and have
affixed their seals thereto.
Done at London, July 13, 1911.
T. Kato,
The Ambassador of His Majesty the
Emperor of Japan at
the Court of St. James.
Edward
Grey, H. B. M's Secretary, gf State fon Foreign Affairs..
F
SENATE RESOLUTION 103 64th Congress, 1st
Session IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 21, 1916
Mr. Stone submitted the following resolution, which was considered and
agreed to.1
Resolution
Resolve'd, That
the President be requested, if not
incompatible with the public interests, to transmit to the Senate the correspondence,
or so muchr
thereof as in his opinion may be made public,
had between the official representatives of the
Government of the United States and the representatives
of the Government of Korea re-
1 Senator Stone of Missouri was the Chairman
of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
lating to the
occupation of Korea and the establishment of a protectorate over said country
by Japan during, or as an incident
of, the Russian- Japanese
War of nineteen hundred and four and nineteen
hundred and five.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES
To the
Senate:
In response to the resolution adopted by the Senate on February 21,
1916, requesting the President, if not incompatible with the public interests,
to transmit to the Senate the correspondence, or so much thereof as in his
opinion may be made public, had between the official representatives of the
Government of the United States and the representatives of the Government of
Korea, relating to the occupation of Korea and the establishment of a
protectorate over said country by Japan, during, or as an incident of, the
Russian-Japanese War of 1904-05, I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary
of State on this subject.
The report of the Secretary of State has my approval.
Woodrow Wilson.
The White House, Washington,
February 23, 1916.
H '
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND COREA
Peace,
Amity, Commerce, and Navigation
Signed at Yin-Chuen (Gensan),
May 22,1882. Ratification
advised by the Senate, January 9, 1883.
Ratified by the President, February 13, 1883. Ratifications exchanged at Seoul, May 19, 1883.
Proclaimed,
June 4, 1883.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED " STATES OF AMERICA
A
Proclamation Whereas a
treaty of peace and amity and commerce
and navigation between the United States of
America and the Kingdom of Corea or Chosen was concluded on the twenty-second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, the original of which treaty
being in the English and Chinese languages is word for word as follows:
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA AND THE KINGDOM OF CHOSEN
The United States of America and the Kingdom of Chosen, being sincerely
desirous of establishing
permanent relations of amity and
friendship between their respective peoples, have to this end appointed—that is to say,
the President of the United States—R.
W. Shufeldt, Commodore
U. S. Navy, as his Commissioner Plenipotentiary,
and His Majesty, the King of Chosen,
Shin-Chen, President of the Royal Cabinet,
Chin-Hong-Chi, member of the Royal Cabinet,
as his Commissioners Plenipotentiary, who,
having reciprocally examined their respective full powers, which have been
found to be in
due form, have agreed upon the several •following
articles:
Article I.—There shall be perpetual peace
and friendship between the President of the United States and the King of
Chosen and the citizens and subjects of their respective Governments.
If other Powers deal unjustly or oppressively with either Government,
the other will exert their good offices, on being informed of the case, to
bring about an amicable arrangement, thus showing their friendly feelings.
Article II.—After the conclusion of this
Treaty of amity, and commerce, the High Contracting Powers may each appoint
Diplomatic Representatives to reside at the Court of the other, and may each
appoint Consular Representatives at the ports of the other, which are open to
foreign commerce, at their own convenience.
These officials shall have relations with.the
corresponding local authorities of equal rank upon a basis of mutual equality.
'The Diplomatic and Consular Representatives of the two Governments
shall receive mutually all the privileges, rights and
immunities without discrimination, which are accorded to the same classes of Representatives from the most favoured nation.
Consuls shall exercise their
functions only on receipt
of an exequatur from
the Government, to which they
are accredited. Consular authorities shall be bona
fide officials. No merchants shall be
permitted to exercise the duties of the office,
nor shall Consular officers be allowed to engage
in trade. All ports, to which no Consular Representatives have been appointed,
the Consuls of other Powers may be
invited to act, provided
that no merchant shall be allowed to assume
Consular functions, or the provisions of this
Treaty may, in such case's, be enforced by the local authorities.
If Consular Representatives of
the United States
in Chosen conduct their business in an improper
manner, their exequatur may be
revoked, subject to the approval previously obtained of the Diplomatic
Representative of the United
States.
Article
///.—Whenever United States vessels, either
because of stress of weather, or by want of fuel
or provisions, cannot reach the nearest open
port in Chosen, they may enter any port or harbour, either to take refuge therein, or to get supplies of wood, coal and other
necessaries, or to
make repairs, the expenses incurred thereby
being defrayed by the ship's master. In such
event the officers and people of the locality
shall display their sympathy by render- ing full assistance, and their liberality by
furnishing the necessities required.
If a United States vessel carries
on a clandestine trade at a port not open to foreign commerce, such vessel
with her cargo shall be seized and
confiscated.
If a United States vessel be
wrecked on the coast of
Chosen, the local authorities, on being informed
of the occurrence, shall immediately render
assistance to the crew, provide for their present necessities, and take the measures
necessary for the salvage of the ship and the preservation of her cargo. They
shall also bring the matter
to the knowledge of the nearest Consular Representative of the United States,
in order that steps may be taken to
send the crew home and
to save the ship and cargo. The necessary
expenses shall be defrayed either by the
ship's master or by the United States.
Article IV.—All citizens
of the United States of
America in Chosen, peaceably attending to their own affairs, shall receive and enjoy
for themselves and everything
appertaining to them,
the protection of the local authorities of the Government of Chosen, who shall defend them from all insult and injury of any sort.
If their dwellings or property be
threatened or attacked
by mobs, incendiaries, or other violent or
lawless persons, the local officers, on requisition of the Consul, shall
immediately dispatch a
military force to disperse the rioters, apprehend the guilty individuals, and
punish them with the
utmost rigour of the law. Subjects of
Chosen, guilty of any criminal act toward citizens of the United
States, shall be punished by the
authorities of Chosen according to the laws of Chosen; and citizens of the United
States, either
on shore or in any merchant-vessel, who may
insult, trouble or wound the persons or injure the property of the people of
Chosen, shall be
arrested and punished only by the Consul or other public functionary of the United
States thereto authorized, according to
the laws of the
United States.
When controversies arise in the Kingdom of Chosen between citizens of
the United States and subjects of His Majesty, which need to be examined and
decided by the public officers of the two nations, it is agreed between the two
Governments of the United States and Chosen that such cases shall be tried by
the proper official of the nationality of the defendant, according to the
laws of that nation.
The properly authorized official of the plaintiff's nationality shall
be freely permitted to attend the trial, and shall be treated with the
courtesy due to his position. He shall be granted all proper facilities for
watching the proceedings in the interests of justice. If he so desires, he
shall have the right to be present, to examine and to cross-examine witnesses.
If he is dissatisfied with the proceedings, he shall be permitted to protest
against them in detail.
It is, however, mutually agreed and understood between the High
Contracting Powers that whenever the King of Chosen shall have so far modified and reformed the statutes and judicial procedure of his Kingdom that, in the judgment of the United States, they conform to the laws and course of justice in the United States, the right of exterritorial jurisdiction over United States citizens in Chosen shall be abandoned, and thereafter United States citizens, when
within the limits of the Kingdom of Chosen, shall
be subject to the jurisdiction of the native
authorities.
Article V.—Merchants and merchant-vessels of Chosen visiting the United States
for purposes of traffic, shall pay duties and tonnage dues and all fees
according to the Customs Regulations of the United States, but no higher or
other rates of duties and tonnage dues shall be exacted of them than are levied
upon citizens of the United States or upon citizens or subjects of the most favoured nation.
Merchants and
merchant-vessels of the United States visiting Chosen for purposes of traffic
shall pay duties upon all merchandise imported and exported. The authority to
levy duties is of right vested in the Government of Chosen. The tariff of
duties upon exports and imports, together with the Customs Regulations for the
prevention of smuggling and other irregularities, will be fixed by the
authorities of Chosen and communicated to the proper officials of the United
States, to be by the latter notified to their citizens and duly observed. It
is, however, agreed in the first instance, as a general measure, that the
tariff upon such imports as are articles of daily use
shall not exceed an ad valorem duty of ten per
centum; that the tariff upon such imports as are luxuries,
as, for instance, foreign wines, foreign tobacco, clocks and watches, shall not exceed an ad valorem duty of thirty per centum, and that native produce exported shall pay a duty not to exceed five per centum ad valorem. And it is further agreed that the duty
upon foreign imports shall be paid once for all
at the port of entry, and that no other dues,
duties, fees, taxes, or charges of any sort shall be
levied upon-such imports either in the interior
of Chosen or at the ports.
United States merchant-vessels entering the ports of Chosen shall pay
tonnage dues at the rate of five mace per ton, payable once in three months on
each vessel, according to the Chinese calendar.
Article VI.—Subjects of Chosen who may visit
the United States shall be permitted to reside and to rent premises, purchase
land, or to construct residences or warehouses in all parts of the country.
They shall be freely permitted to pursue their various callings and avocations,
and to traffic in all merchandise, raw and manufactured, that is not declared
contraband by law.
Citizens of the United States who may resort to the ports of Chosen
which are open to foreign commerce, shall be permitted to reside at such open
ports within the limits of the concessions and to lease buildings or land, or
to construct residences or warehouses therein. They shall be freely permitted
to pursue their various callings and avocations
within the limits of the port, and to traffic in all
merchandise, raw and manufactured, that is not
declared contraband by law.
No coercion or intimidation in the acquisition of land or buildings
shall be permitted, and the land-rent as fixed by the authorities of Chosen
shall be paid. And it is expressly agreed that land so acquired in the open
ports of Chosen still remain an integral part of the Kingdom, and that all
rights of jurisdiction over persons and property within such areas remain
vested in the authorities of Chosen, except in so far as such rights have been
expressly relinquished by this Treaty.
American citizens are not permitted either to transport foreign imports
to the interior for sale, or to proceed thither to purchase native produce. Nor
are they permitted to transport native produce from one open port to another
open port.
Violation of this rule will subject such merchandise to confiscation,
and the merchants offending will be handed over to the Consular Authorities to
be dealt with.
Article VII.—The Governments of the United
States and of Chosen mutually agree and undertake that subjects of Chosen
shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the ports of the United
States, and citizens of the United States shall not be permitted to import
opium into any of the open ports of Chosen, to transport it from one open port
to another open port, or to traffic in it in Chosen.
This absolute prohibition which extends to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels employed by them, and to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power and employed by other persons for the transportation of opium,
shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on
the part of the United States and of Chosen, and
offenders against it shall be severely
punished.
Article VIII.—Whenever the Government of
Chosen shall have reason to apprehend a scarcity of food within the limits of
the Kingdom, His Majesty may by Decree temporarily prohibit the export of all
breadstuffs, and such Decree shall be binding on all citizens of the United
States in Chosen upon due notice having been given them by the Authorities of
Chosen through the proper officers of the United States; but it is to be
understood that the exportation of rice and breadstuffs of every description is
prohibited from the open port of Yin-Chuen.
Chosen having of old prohibited the exportation of red-ginseng, if
citizens of the United States clandestinely purchase it for export, it shall be
confiscated and the offenders punished.
Article-IX.—The purchase of cannon, small
arms, swords, gunpowder, shot and all munitions of war is permitted only to
officials of the Government of Chosen, and they may be imported by citizens of
the United States only under a written permit from the authorities of Chosen.
If these articles are clandestinely im- ported, they shall be confiscated and the offending
parties shall be punished.
Article X.—The officers and people of
either nation residing in the other shall have the right to employ natives for
all kinds of lawful work.
Should, however, subjects of Chosen, guilty of violations of the laws of
the Kingdom, or against whom any action has been brought, conceal themselves
in the residences or warehouses of United States citizens, or on board United
States merchant-vessels, the Consular Authorities of the United States, on
being informed of the fact by the local authorities, will either permit the
latter to dispatch constables to make the arrests, or the persons will be
arrested by the Consular Authorities and handed over to the local constables.
Officials or citizens of the United States shall not harbour
such persons.
Article XL—Students of either nationality
who may proceed to the country of the other, in order to study the language,
literature, laws or arts shall be given all possible protection and assistance
in evidence of cordial good will.
Article X//.—This, being the first Treaty
negotiated by Chosen, and hence being general and incomplete in its provisions,
shall in the first instance be put into operation in all things stipulated
herein. As to stipulations not contained herein, after an interval of five
years, when the officers and people of the two Powers shall'have
become more familiar with each other's language, a further negotiation of com-
mercial
provisions and regulations in detail, in conformity
with international law and without unequal
discrimination on either part shall be had.
Article XIII.—This Treaty, and future official
correspondence between the two contracting Governments shall be made, on the
part of Chosen, in the Chinese language.
The United States shall either use the Chinese language, or, if English
be used, it shall be accompanied with a Chinese version, in order to avoid
misunderstanding.
Article XIV.—The High Contracting Powers
hereby agree that, should at any time the King of Chosen grant to any nation or
to the merchants or citizens of any nation any right, privilege or favour,
connected either with navigation, commerce, political or other intercourse,
which is not conferred by this Treaty, such right, privilege and favour shall
freely inure to the benefit of the United States, its public officers, merchants
and citizens, provided always that whenever such right, privilege or favour is
accompanied by any condition, or equivalent concession granted by the other
nation interested, the United States, its officers and people shall only be
entitled to the benefits of such right, privilege or favour upon complying with
the conditions or concessions connected therewith.-
In faith whereof the respective Commissioners Plenipotentiary have
signed and sealed the foregoing at Yin-Chuen in
English and
Chinese, being three originals of each test of even tenor and date, the ratifications of
which shall be exchanged at Yin-Chuen within one year
from the date of its execution, and immediately thereafter this Treaty shall
be in all its provisions
publicly proclaimed and made known by both
Governments in their respective countries, in order that it may be obeyed by
their citizens and subjects
respectively.
Chosen,
May, the 22nd, A. D. 1882.
[seal] R. W. Shufeldt, Commodore, U. S. N.
Envoy of
the U. S. to Chosen.
[seal] Shin Chen, Chin
Hong Chi,
Members
of the Royal Cabinet of Chosen
And whereas the Senate of the United States of America by their
resolution of the ninth of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three
(two-thirds of the Senators present concurring), did advise and consent to the
ratification of said treaty subject to the condition following, viz:
Resolved, That it is the understanding of the Senate in agreeing to the foregoing
resolution, that the clause, " Nor are they permitted to transport native
produce from one open port to another open port," in Article VI of said
treaty, is not intended to prohibit and does not prohibit American ships from
going from one open port to another open port in Corea
or Chosen to receive Corean cargo for exportation, or
to discharge foreign cargo.
And whereas, said
treaty has been duly ratified on both parts, subject to said condition, and
the respective ratifications thereof exchanged.
Now, therefore, be
it known that I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of America,
have caused the said convention to be made public, to the end that the same,
and every clause and article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good
faith by the United States and the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed.
Done at the city
of Washington this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-three and of the Independence of the United States of
America the one hundredth and seventh.
Chester A. Arthur.
By the President.
Fredk. T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State.
PETITION FROM THE KOREANS OF HAWAII TO
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Honolulu, T. H., July 12, 1905. To His Excellency, *—•
The President of the United
States. Your
Excellency,—The undersigned have
been authorized by the 8,000 Koreans now residing in the territory of
Hawaii at a special mass
meeting held in the city of Honolulu, on July 12, 1905, to present to your Excellency
the following appeal:—
We, the Koreans of the Hawaiian Islands, voicing the sentiments of
twelve millions of our countrymen, humbly lay before your Excellency the following
facts:—-
Soon after the commencement of the war between Russia and Japan, our
Government made a treaty of alliance with Japan for offensive and defensive
purposes. By virtue of this treaty the whole of Korea was opened to the
Japanese, and both the Government and the people have been assisting the
Japanese authorities in their military operations in and about Korea.
The contents of this treaty are undoubtedly known to your Excellency,
therefore we need not embody them in this appeal. Suffice it to state, however,
the object of the treaty was to preserve the independence of Korea and Japan
and to protect Eastern Asia from Russia's aggression.
Korea, in return for Japan's friendship and protection against Russia,
has rendered services to the Japanese by permitting them to use the country as
a base of their military operations.
When this treaty was concluded, the Koreans fully expected that Japan
would introduce reforms into the governmental administration along the line of
the modern civilization of
Europe and America, and that she would advise and counsel our people in a friendly manner, but to our disappointment and regret the
Japanese Government has not done a single thing in the way of improving the condition of the Korean people. On the contrary, she turned loose several thousand rough and disorderly men of her nationals in Korea, who are
treating the
inoffensive Koreans in a most outrageous manner.
The Koreans are by nature not a quarrelsome
or aggressive people, but deeply resent
the high-handed action of the Japanese toward
them. We can 'scarcely believe that the
Japanese Government approves the outrages committed by its people in Korea,
but it has done nothing to prevent this
state of affairs. They have been, during the last eighteen months, forcibly obtaining all the special
privileges and concessions from our Government, so that to-day they practically own everything
that is worth having in Korea.
We, the common people of Korea, have lost confidence in the promises Japan
made at the time of concluding the treaty of alliance, and we doubt seriously
the good intentions which she professes to have toward our people. For
geographical, racial, and commercial reasons we want to be friendly to Japan,
and we are even willing to have her as our guide and example in the matters of
internal reforms and education, but the continuous policy of self-exploitation
at the expense of the Koreans has shaken our confidence in her, and we are now
afraid that she will not keep her promise of
preserving our independence as a nation, nor assisting us in reforming internal administration. In other words, her policy in Korea seems to be exactly the same as
that of Russia prior to the war.
The United States has many interests in our country. The industrial,
commercial, and religious enterprises under American management, have
attained such proportions that we believe the Government and people of the
United States ought to know the true conditions of Korea and the result of the
Japanese becoming paramount in our country. We know that the people of America
love fair play and advocate justice toward all men. We also know that your
Excellency is the ardent exponent of a square deal between individuals as well
as nations, therefore we come to you with this memorial with the hope that your
Excellency may help our country at this critical period of our national life.
We fully appreciate the fact that during the conference between the
Russian and Japanese peace envoys, your Excellency may not care to make any
suggestion to either party as to the conditions of their settlement, but we
earnestly hope that your Excellency will see to it that Korea may preserve her
autonomous Government and that other Powers shall not oppress or maltreat our
people. The clause in the treaty between the United States and Korea gives us a
claim upon the United States for assistance, and this
is the time when we need it most.
Very
respectfully,
Your obedient servants,
\{Sgd.) P. K. Yoon,
Syngman Rhee.
1
AMERICAN POLICY IN THE
CASES OF KOREA AND BELGIUM1
The Special Envoy of the Korean Emperor tells for the time the full story of his
attempt to get
President Roosevelt to intervene against Japan.
By Homer B. Hulbert
A few weeks ago I
published in The Times a letter asserting that Theodore Roosevelt's
attack upon President Wilson for his failure to protest against Germany's attack upon
Belgium came
with poor grace from a man who himself was
guilty of a far more reprehensible breach of international obligation in 1905, when Japan forced her protectorate upon Korea.
Mr. Roosevelt has now come out with a statement that he was wholly
justified in acquiescing in the
extinction of Korean independence, and 1 From the Neiv
York Times, March 1916,
he makes the specific charges that my statement was consciously false when I said that he
was aware, in advance, of the
contents of the letter which I
brought to him from the Emperor of Korea.
In view of this charge there is nothing left me
to do but to give a full and detailed account of the entire transaction and
leave it to the
American people to judge whether Korea received
a fair deal at the hands of the Roosevelt Administration.
At the beginning of the Japanese-Russian War the Korean Government
declared its neutrality, but the Japanese ignored this declaration and
committed a direct breach of international law in landing troops on the soil of
the peninsula. The fact that the Korean army was too small to oppose this act
detracts nothing from the culpability of Japan. Having entered the country thus
illegally, Japan hastened to make a treaty with Korea whereby the latter
virtually became her ally in the war and put herself in jeopardy of lawful
seizure and annexation by Russia in case of Russia's ultimate success. In this
treaty Japan specifically guaranteed the sovereignty of Korea from
molestation. It was a war measure necessitated by the circumstances and was of
a temporary character merely. In allowing Japan to take charge of the
communications of the empire, Korea merely acted up to the spirit of the
alliance, which was that Japan should be given every facility to prosecute the
war against Russia. Whether this was pleasing to the
Korean Government or not has nothing whatever to do with the legal
aspect of the case. None of
the treaty powers took any action that indicated
in any way their impression that this treaty
was a genuine impairment of Korean autonomy,
as indeed it could not be if its terms were
faithfully lived up to. For Theodore Roosevelt
to say that Japan by this act virtually assumed
a protectorate over Korea shows either that he
has only the most rudimentary notions of
international law or else that the wish was father to the thought. It was no more an impairment
of Korea's sovereignty than the presence of British troops in France is an
impairment of French sovereignty.
But after the war was over it soon became apparent that Japan had no
intention of carrying out her treaty obligations. The Emperor of Korea became
convinced that the autonomy of his country was about to be impaired by his
ally, the Emperor of Japan. This being the ' case, the time had arrived when
the first clause in the treaty between Korea and the United States might
rightly be cited. The Emperor asked me to be the bearer of a message to
President Roosevelt, calling upon him to implement that clause of the treaty.
Now, I had been favourable to the Japanese
side in the struggle against Russia, as is amply proved by my editorials^ in
the Korea Review, of which I was the editor and
proprietor. I realized that the military weakness of Korea would give Japan a
chance to say that a protectorate
over the country would be necessary for Japan's safety. I therefore advised the Emperor that his appeal would be greatly strengthened if
he should insert the statement that
if it seemed proper
to the United States and the other treaty powers interested, Korea would consent to
the establishment of a joint
protectorate over Korea for a
period of years until things should have been so
adjusted that the permanent neutrality of the
country would be assured. The Emperor inserted
such a clause in the letter. Having received
this document for transmission, I immediately went to the United States
Minister in
Seoul, Mr. E. V. Morgan, and made a clear and full statement of my mission. I told him I was about to start for America with a
letter to President Roosevelt from the
Emperor, ask- ♦
ing the American Government to interfere with its good offices to prevent the unlawful
seizure of
Korea by Japan, which seemed to be threatening. I did not propose to indulge
in any clandestine operations which
might embarrass my own
Government. Naturally I did not make
any public statement of my intentions, although several of my friends in Seoul
were aware of the purpose of my going.
Mr. Morgan listened with interest to what I had to say, made no
objection of any kind, and even went so far as to advise me that when I arrived
in America I should retain a good international lawyer to help me put the
matter through. Not only so, but he allowed me to send the document to America
in the legation mail pouch, for I was somewhat in
fear that the Japanese might take it from my person as I passed through Japan on my way.
There was considerable gossip in Seoul over my sudden resignation from
the service of the Korean Government and my departure from Korea with my family
so promptly, and the Japanese doubtless divined the cause back of it. On the
day before I started the Japanese Charge d'Affaires
in Seoul met me and urged me not to go, giving various plausible reasons, and
finally making some broad hints at substantial financial advantages that I
should enjoy by giving up my contemplated trip. However, I went.
I sailed from Yokohama on the China, of
the Pacific Mail Steamship Line. Just before we sailed a spy in the employ of
the Japanese came aboard. I recognized him, and just for the fun of the thing I
kept out of his way till just a moment before the anchor was raised. Then I
came upon him suddenly. He started perceptibly and stammered out something
about tny going on the China
or the Empress of China, which sailed
the same hour. I laughed and said that I was booked for the China. I have always regretted that I did not change
over to the Empress boat after he went ashore,
for I should have reached Washington four days earlier. At this point I would
like to ask any reasonable American citizen whether it is possible to believe
that Mr. Morgan did not notify the Washington Government by cable and secure
instructions in the premises. If he did not do so it was a gross breach of diplomatic duty. It is simply unthinkable.
The Japanese authorities immediately began to bring pressure on the
Emperor and his Cabinet to grant a Japanese protectorate. They were met by a
firm refusal. The Emperor held firm, and declared that under no circumstances
would he consent to such an impairment of Korea's suzerain rights. Again and
again the Japanese returned to the attack, but without success. Meanwhile I
passed Honolulu, San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburg, and was only one day from
Washington. Japan had not yet been able to force her " protection"
upon Korea. But it had to be done at any cost, either of ethics or of blood.
That night, while I was crossing the Cumberland Mountains, the Japanese
seized the palace in Seoul, filled it with gendarmes and police, blocked every
approach to the Emperor, brought the Emperor and his Cabinet together, and
peremptorily demanded that they sign the death warrant of Korean independence.
The Emperor and all his Ministers refused point- blank. Entreaties, flatteries,
threats, all were unavailing. But the reader may say, " How do you know?
You were in America.,, This is how I know. In 1909, in the City of
Seoul, at two o'clock in the morning, escaping from the espionage of fifteen or
more Japanese spies, I climbed over the back wall of my compound, made my way
down through the tortuous streets of that city until I reached the home of
Han Kyu-Sul, who was Prime Minister at the time the deed was performed. I spent the
rest of the night with him, and it is
from his lips I heard
the damning details. All the older residents of Seoul knew Han Kyu-Sul as a thorough gentleman,-against
whom, even in that Oriental country,
there had never been a suspicion of graft or
official indirection. I would take his word as
implicitly as my own brother's. And this is
what happened:
The Japanese, made desperate by
the failure of
cajolery and menace, took Han Kyu-Sul, the Premier, into a side room. There Field Marshal Hasegawa and Minister Hayashi demanded his consent. He refused. Hasegawa drew his sword on the unarmed man, but he stood firm. They left him there under guard and went
back to the rest of the Cabinet. These
men believed that Han
Kyu-Sul had been killed, and they were, from their standpoint, justified in
their suspicions. I should have
believed the same thing.
Three of them capitulated and signed the
document. The Emperor never signed it, nor did
his Prime Minister, nor were these three traitors
given orders by the Emperor to sign. It is
said, with what truth I cannot say, that the Japanese themselves stole the Great Seal of State from the Foreign Office and themselves affixed it to the paper. This seal was
affixed within sixty minutes of my
arrival at the railway station in Washington, D. C.
I immediately secured the
Emperor's letter from the
friend in Washington, to whom it had
been sent, as I have said, in the legation mail pouch. I then consulted an old-time acquaintance
of mine, who held, and still holds, a high official position at Washington, and asked
him the best way to approach the
President, since I was
unacquainted with the rules of etiquette which govern such transactions. This friend sent a message to the President telling him
that I had arrived in Washington from
the Emperor of
Korea with an important communication. The
answer came back that, since it was a diplomatic matter, the President could
not see me himself,
but that the missive should be taken to the
State Department.
I hastened to do so, but was told that the Secretary of State was
extremely busy and that I had better come the following day. They were too busy
to receive a message from a friendly power that was in its death throes! I went
straight to the President's office building adjoining the White House and
asked to see the President's secretary. This was refused me, but I was met by
an under-secretary, whose name I never ascertained, who very blandly said,
" Mr. Hulbert, we know all about this letter. You have been given
instructions to go to the State Department. Nothing can be done here."
There seemed to be nothing for it but to wait. Meanwhile I was being
importuned by the newspaper men to divulge the purpose of my coming. Why should
they have pressed the matter so strongly? I had told no one of my mission
excepting those who would be discreet.
I see here another evidence that the fact had leaked out through official channels. Therefore,
the men at the head of affairs must have known
the nature of my mission. It is one of the
keenest regrets of my life that I did not, then and there, make a full statement for
the press, and tell the American
people that the Emperor
of a friendly power was standing at the
door of this Government demanding without avail a courteous hearing. But I
thought it would
be discourteous to the President and to the
Secretary of State* to divulge the matter before I had laid it before them.
Discourteous!
The following day I went to the State Department and asked admittance
to the Secretary of State. I was told that this was the day when the various
Ambassadors and Ministers from other countries were accustomed to call on the
Secretary and that for this reason it would be impossible to see him. I had
better come next day! On that day the American Government accepted Japan's
unsupported statement that the protectorate had been secured and that it was
all satisfactory to the Korean Government. Without a word of inquiry at the
Korean Legation at Washington, without a word to the Emperor of Korea,
without a single diplomatic formality in consideration of the Korean people
and Government, the American Administration accepted Japan's bald statement,
cabled the American Minister in Seoul to close the legation and broke off
friendly intercourse with a treaty power, weak, to be sure, and needing all
things, but a power to which we had been saying for twenty-five years that America stands for a square deal, for right as against mere brute force, a power that had given to Americans more opportunities for productive enterprise than to all other peoples combined, a power to which we had given our promise that if in her hour of need she should appeal to us we would exert our good offices in her behalf.
The next day I was allowed to see the Secretary of State. Assistant
Secretaries Bacon and Adee were present, and perhaps
one or two others. I do not remember.
Now I had made what may be called a technical mistake. I had consented
to act as a messenger from the Emperor without receiving from him any
credentials except the message which I brought. I came simply to transmit the
document and let that speak for itself. Nor did this Government, either then or
later, question the genuineness of that missive, as indeed, they could not well
have done since it bore the Emperor's private seal.
The Secretary of State asked Assistant Secre-
' tary Adee whether, in
view of the fact that I bore no special credentials, the matter could be
discussed with me. The reply was that it could not. The Secretary of State
received the document, then turned to me in a very pointed manner, which may
not have been but certainly sounded like a rebuke: " Mr., Hulbert, do you
want us to get into trouble with Japan? "
Coming upon the expert decision of Assistant
Secretary Adee that I was in no position to
discuss the matter, this question nettled me a trifle and I declined to discuss it. I have
sometimes wished
that I had not, and yet perhaps it was as well, for if I had said anything it would
have been this: " If it lies
between the stultification of the
American Government and trouble I will take
the trouble every time," but of course this might have been considered discourteous! I said that I was merely commissioned to
deliver the document,
and then retired.
I am told that a few d.ays after this^occurred one of the most eminent international lawyers
in America went to Secretary Root with a copy of the Korean treaty, placed his
finger on that first clause in which we guarantee to use our good offices for
Korea, and asked the Secretary to read it; and that when the Secretary had read
it he exclaimed, " I did not know that was there."
The following day I received a cablegram from the Emperor. It had been
taken over to Chefoo by boat so as to escape
transmission by Japanese lines. In it the Emperor declared that the treaty was
null and void, that it had been » secured at the point of the sword, that it
had been wrested from his Foreign Minister under duress, and that he himself
had never signed it or acquiesced in its signature. > I took that cablegram
to the State Department. I was received by Assistant Secretary Bacon, who took
the cablegram and said that it would be put on file, or words to that effect. A
few days later I received from Secretary Root a letter referring.to the document that I had placed in his hands, and saying that since
the Emperor of Korea had desired
secrecy to be observed and had already taken final action in this matter referred to, it would be impossible
for the American Government to move
in the matter.
No, our Government had done all its moving earlier in the game. Why the
matter of secrecy should have been brought up I do not know. The Emperor is no
such novice in politics as to suppose that the American Government could have
moved to help Korea without letting the Japanese Government suspect that he
(the Emperor) had appealed for such help. They did not expect me to shout the
matter from the housetops, I should fancy.
Soon after this I returned to Korea. I was told there by some friends
that Mr. Morgan had, perhaps inadvertently, intimated that " We knew that
Japan was going to take Korea, but we did not expect it quite so soon."
This brings up the question why it was that two months before the
seizure of Korea by Japan the American Minister at Seoul, Dr. H. N. Allen, was
suddenly recalled and Mr. E. V. Morgan>put in his place. I believe an effort
was made to learn the reason, that the President and the Secretary of State
were non-committal, but that another member of the Cabinet intimated that Dr.
H. N. Allen was so friendly with the; royal family in Seoul that without 3
change ir\ the legation it
would be difficult for the Administration to carry out the policy upon which
it had determined.
One question remains. When was that policy determined upon? I do not
know; but taking all things into consideration, and putting two and two
together, I am forced to believe that it was determined upon at the time of the
Portsmouth Treaty.
This is a correct account, so far as I can remember, of the seizure of
Korea by Japan and the part that our Government played in it. Some of my
statements can be corroborated by others, some rest upon my unsupported word,
but the part that can be corroborated is sufficient to prove my main
contention.
I am quite willing to grant that my belief in President Roosevelt's
previous knowledge of the contents of that letter rests upon circumstantial
evidence, but I ask the American people to decide for themselves whether his
memory is not, perhaps, slightly at fault when he declares that he did not know
the exact wording but the essential gist and purport of the letter several days
before it was delivered. I trust it is within- the bounds of courtesy to ask
him to tell the people of this country why the message from the Emperor was
held off for two days until he had taken action in the matter. If he was at
that time convinced that Korea's autonomy was already injured beyond repair,
why did he not receive the message and answer it according to the tenor of his
belief? If he says that it was because I had 110 credentials, how comes it that he did not also know what I had come to do without credentials? I ask him how it came about that one of his under-secretaries in
the White House knew more about the
contents of that
letter than he himself did.
In conclusion, I may say that in my estimation comparatively little
blame should rest upon Elihu Root in this matter. He
was necessarily under instructions. Whether those instructions were agreeable
to him or not the world will never know, but I hope they were not. To my mind
he was less culpable than unfortunate.
K
KOREA UNDER JAPAN*
Henry
Chung " If
the lips are destroyed, the teeth get cold." This is a literal translation of a Korean
proverb, Chinese
in origin. The Chinese orator and diplomat in the feudal period of the Chow
dynasty who originated this epigram conceived, long
before the birth of European nations, the principle of balance of power as necessary to the
peace and independence of nations contiguous in
territory. At the opening of the twentieth century Korea was the lips and
China was the teeth.
Now the lips are destroyed, and the unprotected surface of the Chinese teeth
are ex-
J From
the Chinese Students' Monthly, vol.
XIII, No. 7, pp. 400-403, May, 1918.
posed to the corrosion of Japanese aggression. Every Chinese who carries the welfare of his Fatherland in his heart ought, therefore, to study with vital interest the recent history
of Korea, for there we find the
example of what may
befall China, unless the present tendency of Japanese imperial expansion on Asiatic
mainland is checkmated either by China herself or by a concerted action of Western powers in the Eastern theatre of international politics.
In destroying a nation—if the destruction be complete—two things are
essential: economic subjection and spiritual massacre. The former is a
comparatively easy matter as its execution is based entirely on physical force,
but the latter requires time and assiduous effort on the part of the conquering
nation. Japan, profiting by the experience of the colonizing nations of the
West, is applying in Korea a method the most unique and effective known in the
history of imperial conquests. When Bismarck wanted to .Prussianize
Poland, he .moved several million Germans into German Poland to help assimilate
the Poles. Money was appropriated by the German Government to buy land from the
Poles for these newcomers. The Poles clung to their lands and refused to be
assimilated, with the consequence that the price of land in German Poland went
up and the Poles became prosperous. Japan pursued the same policy in a more
efficacious way. The Oriental Colonization Company was organized under the
direction of the government, and is supported by an annual
subsidy of 500,000 yen ($250,000) from the imperial treasury. Its
purpose is to colonize Korea
with Japanese who are unable to make a living
in Japan proper. A Japanese emigrant is
given free transportation to Korea, and is provided with a home and a piece of land together
with necessary implements and provisions when he gets there. He is expected to
pay back to the company in three or
four years what he thus
receives. For this purpose the Japanese Government
in Korea confiscated all public lands
formerly under the control of local communities, and all lands owned by
Buddhist temples and cultivated by Buddhist priests. But these were far from being enough to meet the demand. Korea has an area of 80,000 square miles inhabited by 15,000,000 agricultural
population. The Oriental Colonization Company tried to buy lands from the Koreans, but the Koreans refused to sell them. Here the
government aid was brought in. All financial machinery in Korea is controlled
by the Bank of Chosen,
a government bank in Seoul. This powerful
financial institution through its branch banks
and agencies called in all the specie in the country and made the land practically moneyless
as far as the circulating medium was concerned. Cash the Koreans must have to
pay taxes and to buy the necessities
of life. The only
way they could get money was to sell their » real estate. The value of land dropped to
one- half, in many localities as low
as one-fifth, of its original
value. Then the Bank of Chosen sent
out agents all over the country and bought the land for tens of thousands of Japanese emigrants
sent over by the Oriental Colonization Company.
This process has been repeated time and
again. The Koreans know the game of the government,
but they have no means to counteract this government speculation. Technically,
the Japanese Government in Korea has never
carried on a wholesale confiscation of individual property, but this
governmental speculation is nothing short of confiscation. Already more than one-fifth of the richest land in
Korea is in the hands of the Japanese,
and the amount is
increasing steadily.
In commerce and industry, the
Japanese have the
complete monopoly. While Korea was independent, all nations enjoyed equal
commercial privileges.
Now the Nipponese tradesmen practically drive out all other nationals and have
the market to themselves. The Korean
merchant cannot
compete with his Japanese competitor because
of the preferential treatment shown by the
government. All the rights to develop the resources
of the country are given to the Japanese, and Korean enterprise, even of the
humblest sort, is insidiously hampered by the Japanese. Thus the Korean
people are reduced to industrial
serfdom, and are forced to submit to Japanese
rule through economic pressure.
The Korean has a proud history
and a civilization of four thousand years back of him, and he is unwilling to abandon his traditional
culture under any circumstances. Something more
than mere economic pressure and political domination is needed to
extinguish the soul of Korea. History
and literature are the records of past achievements,
and language is the medium of expression
that gives birth to the pregnant genius. The Japanese statesmen fully
appreciate the importance
of this triple support of national consciousness.
They made a systematic collection of all works of Korean history and literature
in public archives and private homes and burned them. This is undoubtedly the
greatest injustice
that the Korean people have suffered at the
hands of the Japanese. Korean scholars consider
this as an irreparable loss second only to the
destruction of the Alexandrian Library by Omar
in 640. Priceless treasures have been destroyed
in this needless vandalism of the Japanese.
All Korean periodical literature— from
local newspapers to scientific journals— has been completely stamped out. In order to create in the West a favourable
impression of their
rule in Korea, the Japanese Government has a
subsidized organ, the Seoul Press. This daily, published in English, disseminates
only the kind of news that the
Japanese wish to have . known
in the West. It is an official camouflage. This publicity channel is further
strengthened by the
" Annual Report on Reforms and Progress in Chosen," a well illustrated volume published in English by the
government, and sent out
gratis to all great men and large libraries in America and Great Britain. These
publications picture
vividly the " contentment and prosper- ity "
that the Japanese rule is bringing to the Koreans. And what they say usually find echoes in the West through a few men who
have been decorated in Japan with gold
war medals and the
insignias of the Rising Sun. These men
take delight in returning the favours that they have received in Japan by singing the
glory and grandeur of Japanese Asiatic
policy, and by picturing
Japanese administration in Korea as a "
benevolent assimilation." 2
The Japanese language has been made the official tongue, not only in
official documents but in schools and public gatherings. Here the Christian
Church stands as an obstacle. A vast majoiity of
Korean Christians cannot read Japanese, and the church services cannot be intelligibly
conducted in a foreign tongue. To curb the spreading influence of Christianity
and to crush out completely the one obstacle to the denationalizing of Korea,
the Governor General Terauchi (now Premier of Japan), in 1912, instituted what
is known in the church annals of Korea as "The Persecution of the
Church." Prominent church men, leaders in Korean thought and education,
were charged with conspiracy and put in prison, and their activities ended.
Prominent American missionaries were brought in the trial as being connected
with the conspiracy to assassinate the governor general of Korea. Here,
however, the Japanese over-
9See G.
T. Ladd, "Annexation of Korea: An Essay in Benevolent Assimilation," Yale Review n. s. 1:639-656, July, 1912.
stepped themselves. Their charges against the Korean church aroused considerable criticism
in the West, and when they saw that
their attempt was
producing a reaction, they stopped the persecution of the Korean Christians,
and satisfied themselves
in limiting the activities of the church.
At present there is pending a negotiation between the Japanese authorities and
the missionary body in Korea
concerning the missionary schools in the peninsula. The mission schools in Korea have been deprived of their former rights under the old Korean
administration, and are denied the privileges that Christian mission schools enjoy in Japan proper. They are insidiously discriminated against by the
Japanese authorities on the ground that they serve as the hiding places of Korean nationalism.[10]
Under pretext of unifying the
educational system of Korea and bringing it up to a " higher standard," the Japanese Government in
Korea passed educational regulations
which forbid religious services and the teaching of history, geography, and the Korean language in all
the schools in Korea. Furthermore,
they provide that all
Korean schools shall be under the strict supervision
of Japanese educators, and that the Korean
children shall be taught to salute the Japanese
flag and worship the Japanese Emperor's tablet. Korean students who go to
Japan to complete their education are advised to attend trade or technical schools, but
they are practically barred from
higher institutions of
learning. It is almost impossible for a Korean student to specialize in such
subjects as law, - history
or economics in the Imperial University at
Tokyo, and no Korean student is permitted to go to
Europe or America to finish his education. " Korea has been Prussianized," says Tyler Dennett, who has visited the East
twice, once as a magazine writer, and
later in connection with the Centenary Commission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. " Japan has
even gone so far as to forbid Korean
students to come to
the United States to finish their education. The Prussianizing
of Alsace-Lorraine never
went to such an extent as that." 4
The tragedy in the case of the Korean is
that he suffers the fate of a
conquered race, alike with the
Poles and the Bohemians, yet his plight is
unknown to the outside world. Japan knows the
value of honourable intentions in the public opinion of the West, so she, through the
clever manipulation of publicity
propaganda, has created an impression in the West that she is a gallant knight that guards Asia from the
European dragon. She compares her position toward Korea and China with that
of the United States
toward the Philippines and Mexico, and has
announced, through the Lansing-Ishii agreement of last year, her imperial
policy in the
* Tyler Dennett, "The Road to Peace,
via China," Outlook, ii7:168-169, October 3, 1917.
East as the "Asiatic Monroe Doctrine/' The same policy that undermined Korea—the policy of an opportunist with all its necessary
accompaniment of deceit, cajolery, intimidation, and treachery—is in full operation in China. In
the same manner as she professed to
guarantee the political
independence and territorial integrity of Korea
up to the very eve of the destruction of
Korean independence, Japan now declares that
" Japan not only will not seek to assail the integrity or the sovereignty of China, but
will eventually be prepared to defend
and maintain the
integrity and independence of China against any aggressor," as Viscount Ishii puts
it. Indeed, it would be the greatest of all tragedies in the world's history, should China, the
oldest of nations
and the cradle of Oriental civilization, follow
the footsteps of Korea into the pit of national destruction. Will China awake
to the impending danger before it is too
late?
L
THE ROOT-TAKAHIRA
AGREEMENT DECLARING THE MUTUAL POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES AND
JAPAN IN THE FAR EAST
|
|
Imperial Japanese Embassy, ^ _ Washington, November 30, 1918.
Sir:
The
exchange of views between us, which
has taken place at the several interviews which I have recently had the honour
of holding with you,
has shown that Japan and the United States
holding important outlying insular possessions in the region of the Pacific
Ocean, the Governments
of the two countries are animated by a
common aim, policy, and intention in that region.
Believing that a frank avowal of that aim, policy, and intention would
not only tend to strengthen the relations of friendship and good neighbourhood, which have immemorially existed between
Japan and the United States, but would materially contribute to the
preservation of the general peace, the Imperial Government have authorized me
to present to you an outline of their understanding of that common aim, policy,
and intention:
1. It is the wish of the two Governments to encourage the free and peaceful development of their commerce on the Pacific Ocean.
2. The policy of both Governments, uninfluenced by any aggressive tendencies, is directed to the maintenance of the existing status quo in the region above mentioned and to the defense of the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry in China.
3. They are accordingly firmly resolved reciprocally to respect the territorial possessions belonging to each other in said region.
4. They are also determined to preserve the common interest of all powers in China by supporting by all pacific means at their disposal the independence and integrity of China and the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry of all nations in that Empire.
5. Should any event occur threatening the status
quo as above described or the principle of equal opportunity as above
defined, it remains for the two Governments to communicate with each other in
order to arrive at an understanding as to what measures they may consider it
useful to take.
If the foregoing outline accords with the view of the Government of the
United States, I shall be gratified to receive your confirmation.
I take this opportunity to renew to Your Excellency the assurance of my
highest consideration.
K. Takahira.
Honorable Elihu Root, Secretary of State.
Department of State, Washington,
November 50,1908.
Excellency :
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
of your note of to-day setting forth the result of the exchange of views
between us in our recent interviews defining the understanding of the two
Governments in regard to their policy in the region of the Pacific Ocean.
It is a pleasure to inform you that this expression of mutual
understanding is welcome to the Government of the United States as appropriate
to the happy relations of the two coun-
tries and as the occasion for a concise mutual affirmation of that accordant policy
respecting the Far
East which the two Governments have so
frequently declared in the past.
I am happy to be able to confirm to Your Excellency, on behalf of the
United States, the declaration of the two Governments embodied in the following
words:
1. It is the wish of the two Governments to encourage the free and peaceful development of their commerce on the Pacific Ocean.
2. The policy of both Governments, uninfluenced by any aggressive tendencies, is directed to the maintenance of the existing status quo in the region above mentioned, and to the defense of the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry in China.
3. They are accordingly firmly resolved reciprocally to respect the territorial possessions belonging to each other in said region.
4. They are also determined to preserve the common interests of all powers in China by supporting by all pacific means at their disposal the independence and integrity of China and the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry of all nations in that Empire.
5. Should any event occur threatening the status quo'as above described or the principle of equal opportunity as above defined, it remains for the two Governments to communicate with each other in order to arrive at an understanding as to what measures they may consider it useful to take.
Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurance of my highest consideration.
Elihu Root.
His Excellency
Baron Kogora Takahira, Japanese Ambassador.
M
THE PREMIER OF JAPAN TO
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
A
Message from Count Okuma.1
I gladly seize the opportunity to send, through the medium of The
Independent, a message to the people of the United
States, who have
always been helpful and loyal friends of Japan.
It is my desire to convince your people of the sincerity of my Government and of my people in all their utterances and assurances
connected with
the present regrettable situation in Europe and the Far East.
Every sense of loyalty and honour oblige Japan to cooperate with Great Britain to
clear from these waters the enemies who
in the past, the
present and the future menace her interests, her trade, her shipping and her people's
lives.
This Far Eastern situation is not of our seeking.
'Published
in The Independent (New
York), August 31,
1914-
It was ever my desire to maintain peace as will be amply proved; as
President of the Peace Society of Japan I have consistently so endeavoured.
I have read with admiration the lofty message of President Wilson to
his people on the subject of neutrality.
We, of Japan, are appreciative of the spirit and motive, that prompted
the head of your great nation and we feel confident that his message will meet
with a national response.
As Premier of Japan I have stated
and I now again
state to the people of America and of the world that Japan has no ulterior motive, no desire
to secure more
territory, no thought of depriving China or any other peoples of anything which they now
possess.
My Government and my people have given their word and their pledge,
which will be as honourably kept as Japan always
keeps promises.
Tokyo,
August 24, 1914.
THE TWENTY-ONE DEMANDS
Official translation of Document handed to President Yuan Shi Kai by Mr.
Hioki, the Japanese Minister, on January 18, 1915.
Group I
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government being desirous of
maintaining the peace of Eastern Asia and of further
strengthening the friendly relations existing between the two neighbouring nations,
agree to the following Articles:
Article i.—The Chinese Government agrees
that when the Japanese Government hereafter approaches the German Government
for the transfer of all rights and privileges of whatsoever nature enjoyed by
Germany in the Province of Shantung, whether secured by Treaty or in any other
manner, China shall give her full assent thereto.
Article —The Chinese Government agrees
that within the Province of Shantung and along its sea border no territory or
island of any name or nature shall be ceded or leased to any third Power.
Article 5.—The Chinese Government
consents to Japan's building a railway from Chefoo or
Lungkou to join the Kiaochow-Tsinanfu
Railway.
Article 4.—The Chinese Government engages,
in the interest of trade and for the residence of foreigners, to open by
herself as soon as possible certain important cities and towns in the Province
of Shantung as commercial ports. What places shall be opened are to be jointly
decided upon in a separate agreement.
Group II
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, since the Chinese
Government has always acknowledged the special position en- joyed by Japan in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, agree to the following articles:
Article i.—The
two contracting parties mutually agree that the term of lease of Port Arthur and
Dalny and the term of lease of the South Manchurian
Railway and the Antung-Mukden Railway shall be extended to the period of
ninety-nine years.
Article 2.—Japanese subjects in South Manchuria
and Eastern Inner Mongolia shall have the right to lease or own land required
either for erecting suitable buildings for trade and manufacture or for
farming.
Article 5.—Japanese subjects shall be
free to reside and travel in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia and to
engage in business and in manufacture of any kind whatsoever.
Article 4.—The Chinese Government agrees to
grant to Japanese subjects the right of opening the mines in South Manchuria
and Eastern Mongolia. As regards what mines are to be opened, they shall be
decided upon jointly.
Article 5.—The Chinese Government agrees
that in respect of the (two) cases mentioned herein below the Japanese
Government's consent shall be first obtained before action is taken:
(a) Whenever permission is granted to the subject of a third Power to build a railway or to make a loan with a third Power for the purpose of building a railway in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia.
(b) Whenever a loan is to be made with a third Power pledging the local taxes of South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia as security.
Article 6.—The Chinese Government agrees
that if the Chinese Government employs political, financial or military
advisers or instructors in South Manchuria or Eastern Mongolia, the Japanese
Government shall first be consulted.
Article 7.—The Chinese Government agrees
that the control and management of the Kirin- Changchun Railway shall be handed
over to the Japanese Government for a term of ninety-nine years dating from the
signing of this agreement.
Group III
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, seeing that Japanese
financiers and the Hanyehping Company have close relations
with each other at present and desiring that the common interests of the two
nations shall be advanced, agree to the following articles:
Article 1.—The two contracting parties
mutually agree that when the opportune moment arrives the Hanyehping
Company shall be made a joint concern of the two nations and they further agree
that without the previous consent of Japan, China shall not by her own act
dispose of the rights and property.of whatsoever
nature of the said company nor cause the said company to dispose freely of the
same.
Article 2.—The Chinese Government agrees
that all mines in the neighbourhood of those owned by the Hanyehping Company
shall not be permitted, without the consent of the said company, to be worked by other persons outside of the said company; and further agrees that if it is desired to carry out any undertaking which, it is apprehended, may directly or indirectly affect the
interests of the said company, the consent of the said company shall first be
obtained.
Group IV
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government with the object of
effectively preserving the territorial integrity of China agree to the
following special article:
The Chinese Government engages not to cede or lease to a third Power any
harbour or bay or island along the coast of China.
Group V
'Article i.—The Chinese Central Government
shall employ influential Japanese as advisers in political, financial, and
military affairs.
Article 2.—Japanese hospitals, churches
and schools in the interior of China shall be granted the right of owning land.
Article 5.—Inasmuch as the Japanese
Government and the Chinese Government have had many cases of dispute between
Japanese and Chinese police which caused no little misunderstanding, it is for
this reason necessary that the police departments of important places (in
China) shall be jointly administered by Japanese and Chinese or that the
police departments of these places shall employ
numerous Japanese, so that they may at the same time
help to plan for the improvement of the Chinese Police Service.
Article 4.—China shall purchase from Japan
a fixed amount of munitions of war (say 50 per cent, or more of what is needed
by the Chinese Government) or that there shall be established in China a
Sino-Japanese jointly worked arsenal. Japanese technical experts are to be employed
and Japanese material to be purchased.
Article 5.—China agrees to grant to Japan
the right of constructing a railway connecting Wuchang
with Kiukiang and Nanchang, another line between
Nanchang and Hangchow, and another between Nanchang and Chaochou.
Article 6.—If China needs foreign capital
to work mines, build railways and construct harbour
works (including dockyards) in the Province of Fukien, Japan shall be first
consulted.
Article —China agrees that Japanese subjects
shall have the right of missionary propaganda in China.
A RESUME OF JAPAN'S PROCEDURE IN CONNECTION
WITH THE TWENTY- ONE
DEMANDS1
(a) Presentation of demands in tzventy-one ar- 1 From
Millard, 44 Our Eastern Question," pp. 147-148.
tides, coupled with a strong admonition to China that both haste and secrecy were
insisted on by
Japan.
(b) Continuous pressure on China to force her to concede the demands en bloc, without discussion.
(c) Repeated warning to China not to inform other Powers of the negotiations, even confidentially.
(d) First publications of news about the demands were categorically and officially denied by Japan.
(e) Newspapers in Japan were warned by the Government not to publish or discuss news about the demands.
(/) Japan's diplomatic representatives abroad were instructed to deny
and discredit news about the demands.
(g) The Minister at Peking denied to inquiries of other legations that any demands had been made.
(h) When copies of the original demands, procured from the Chinese Government, were received by other foreign Governments, Japan still denied the twenty-one demands, and presented a list of eleven articles, omitting the most objectionable matters.
THE REVISED DEMANDS
Presented by Mr. Hioki, the Japanese Minister, to the Chinese Government
on April 26, 1915, Yielded to by the Chinese Government on May 8, 1915
Group I
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government being desirous of
maintaining the peace of Eastern Asia and of further strengthening the
friendly relations existing between the two neighbouring
nations agree to the following articles:
Article 1.—The Chinese Government agrees that when the Japanese Government
hereafter approaches the German Government for the transfer of all rights and
privileges of whatsoever nature enjoyed by Germany in the Province of Shantung,
whether secured by treaty or in any other manner, China shall give her full
assent thereto.
Article 2.—The Chinese Government engages that within the Province of Shantung and
along its sea border no territory or island or land of any name or nature shall
be ceded or leased to any third Power.
Article 5.—The
Chinese Government consents that as
regards the railway to be built by China herself
from Chefoo or Lungkow, to
connect with the Kiaochow-Tsinanfu
Railway, if Ger- many is willing to abandon the privilege of financing the Chefoo-Weihsien
line, China will approach
Japanese capitalists to negotiate for a loan.
Article 4.—The Chinese Government engages,
in the interest of trade and for the residence of foreigners, to open by China
herself as soon as possible certain suitable places in the Province of Shantung
as commercial ports.
The Following to be
Subject of an Exchange of Notes:
The places which ought to be opened are to be chosen, and the
regulations are to be drafted, by the Chinese Government, but the Japanese
minister must be consulted before making a decision.
Group II
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, with a view to
developing their economic relations in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner
Mongolia, agree to the following articles:
Article 1.—The two contracting Powers
mutually agree that the term of lease of Port Arthur and Dalny
and the term of the South Man- churian Railway and
the Antung-Mukden Railway, shall be extended to ninety-nine years.
Article 2.—Japanese subjects in South Manchuria
may lease or purchase necessary land for erecting suitable buildings for trade
and manufacture or for prosecuting agricultural enterprises.
Article 3.—Japanese subjects shall be free
to reside and travel in South Manchuria and to engage in business and in
manufacture of any- kind whatsoever.
Article 3a.—The Japanese subjects referred
to in the preceding two articles besides being required to register with local
authorities passports, which they must procure under the existing
regulations, shall also observe police laws and ordinances and tax regulations
which are approved by the Japanese Consul. Civil and criminal cases in which
the defendants are Japanese shall be tried and adjudicated by the Japanese
Consul; those in which the defendants are Chinese shall be tried and
adjudicated by Chinese authorities. In either instance the authorities on the
plaintiff side can send a delegate to attend the proceedings; but mixed civil
cases between Chinese and Japanese relating to land shall be tried and
adjudicated by the delegates of both nations conjointly in accordance with
Chinese laws and local usage. When the judicial system in the said region is
completely reformed all the civil and criminal cases concerning Japanese
subjects shall be tried entirely by Chinese law courts.
Article 4.—The Chinese Government agrees
that Japanese subjects shall be permitted forthwith to investigate, select,
and then prospect for and open mines at the following places in South
Manchuria, apart from those mining areas in which mines are being prospected
for or worked; until the mining ordinance is, definitely settled, methods at present in force shall be followed:
|
Province of Feng-tien
Province of
Kirin {Southern Portion) Sha
Sung Kang Ho-Lung C. & I. KangYao Chi-lin
(Kirin) Coal Chia P'i
Kou Hua-tien Gold |
Article 5.—The Chinese Government
declares that China will hereafter provide funds for building railways in South
Manchuria; if foreign capital is required the Chinese Government agrees to
negotiate for a loan with Japanese capitalists first.
Article $a.—The Chinese Government agrees
that hereafter, when a foreign loan is to be made on the security of the taxes
of South Manchuria (not including customs and salt revenue on the security of
which loans have already been made by the Central Government), it will
negotiate for the loan with Japanese capitalists first.
Article 6.—The Chinese Government declares
that hereafter, if foreign advisers or instructors on political, financial,
military, or police mattery are to be employed in South Manchuria, Japanese will be
employed first.
Article 7.—The Chinese Government agrees speedily to make a fundamental revision
of the Kirin-Changchun Railway Loan Agreement, taking as a standard the
provisions in railway loan agreements made heretofore between China and foreign
financiers. If, in future, more advantageous terms than those in existing
railway loan agreements are granted to foreign financiers, in connection with
railway loans, the above agreement shall again be revised in accordance with
Japan's wishes.
Matters
Relating to Eastern Inner Mongolia
1. The Chinese Government agrees that whenever a loan is to be made with a third Power, pledging the local taxes of Eastern Inner Mongolia as security, China must negotiate with the Japanese Government first.
2. The Chinese Government agrees that China will herself provide funds for building the railways in Eastern Inner Mongolia; if foreign capital is required she must negotiate with the Japanese Government first.
3. The Chinese Government agrees, in the interest of trade and the residence of foreigners, to open by herself as soon as possible certain suitable places in Eastern Inner Mongolia as commercial ports. The places which ought to be opened are to be chosen and the regulations to be drafted by the Chinese Government, but
the Japanese Minister must be consulted before reaching a decision.
4. If there are Japanese and Chinese who desire to cooperate in
agricultural enterprises, including incidental manufacture, the Chinese
Government shall forthwith give its permission. *
Group III
The relations between Japan and the Han- yehping
Company being very intimate, if the said Company comes to an agreement with the
Japanese capitalists for cooperation the Chinese Government shall forthwith
give its consent thereto. The Chinese Government further agrees that without
the consent of the Japanese capitalists China will not convert the company into
a state enterprise, nor confiscate it nor cause it to borrow and use foreign
capital other than Japanese.
Group IV
China to make a declaration by herself in accordance with the following
principle: No part of China's coast, bays, harbours
or islands shall be ceded or leased to another power.
Group V
Yangtze -Railways—to be confirmed by exchange of notes
A
As regards the right of financing by loan the Wuchang-Kiukiang-Nanchang Railways, the Nanchang-Hangchow Railway,
and the Nan- chang-Chaochow Railway, if it is clearly ascertained that other powers
have no objection China shall grant the said right
to Japan.
As regards the right of financing by loan the Wuchang-Kiukiang-Nanchang Railways, the Nanchang-Hangchow Railway,
and the Nan- chang-Chaochow Railway, the Chinese
Government shall promise not to grant the said
right to any foreign power before Japan comes
to an understanding with the power which is heretofore interested therein.
Fukien—to
be confirmed by exchange of notes
The Chinese Government agrees that no power shall be permitted to
establish along the coast of Fu-kien a dockyard, a
coaling station for military use, or a naval base; nor will any other
installations for military purposes be permitted. The Chinese Government
further agrees that China will not use foreign capital to put up by herself the
above-mentioned establishments or installations.
Mr. Lu, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated as follows:
1. The Chinese Government shall, whenever in future it considers this step necessary, engage numerous Japanese advisers.
2. Whenever in future Japanese subjects desire to lease or purchase land in the interior of China for establishing schools or hospitals the
Chinese Government shall forthwith give its consent thereto.
3. When a suitable opportunity arises in the future the Chinese
Government will send military officers to Japan to negotiate with Japanese
military authorities the matter of purchasing arms or that of establishing
joint arsenals.
Mr. Hioki, the Japanese Minister, stated as
follows:
As relates to the question of propagating religion (Buddhism), the same
shall be taken up again for negotiation in the future.
Q
CHINA'S REPLY TO THE JAPANESE ULTIMATUM
The reply of the Chinese Government to the Ultimatum of the Japanese
Government, delivered to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs on the 8th
of May, 1915.
On the 7th of this month, at three o'clock p. M., the Chinese Government
received an - Ultimatum from the Japanese Government t<p- gether with an Explanatory Note of seven articles. The
Ultimatum concluded with the hope that the Chinese Government up to six o'clock
P. M. on the 9th of May, will give a satisfactory reply, and it is hereby declared
that if no satisfactory reply is received before or at the designated time, the
Japanese Government will take steps she may deem necessary.
The Chinese
Government with a view to preserving the peace of the Far East, hereby accepts,
with the exception of those five articles of Group V postponed for later
negotiation, all the articles of Groups I, II, III and IV, and the exchange of
notes in connection with Fukien Province in Group V as contained in the revised
proposals presented on the 26th of April and in accordance with the Explanatory
Note of seven articles accompanying the Ultimatum of the Japanese Government
with the hope that thereby all outstanding questions are settled, so that the
cordial relationship between the two countries may be further consolidated. The
Japanese Minister is hereby requested to appoint a day to call at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to make the literary improvement of the text and sign the
Agreement as soon as possible.
AMERICAN NOTE OF PROTEST IN REGARD TO THE
AGREEMENT BETWEEN JAPAN
AND CHINA
Delivered to the Chinese Government by the American Minister at Peking
on May 16, 19151
In view of the circumstances of the negotiations which have taken place
or which are now
'An identical note was handed to the
Japanese Government through the American embassy at Tokyo.
DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE 287
i
pending between the Government of China and the Government of Japan and the agreements which have been reached and as a result
thereof, the
Government of the United States has the honour to notify the Government of the Chinese Republic that it cannot recognize any agreement
or undertaking which has been entered into,
or which may be entered into between the Governments of China and Japan impairing the treaty rights of the United States and its
citizens in China, the political or territorial integrity of the Republic .of
China, or the international policy, commonly known as the open door policy.
S
THE
PEKING PETITION
To the President of the United States, Washington: We whose names are subscribed to this petition
and to the accompanying Memorial do most urgently
beg that the American Government, in compliance
with the high mandates of the Christian
civilization of the twentieth century, and in
defense of the vital interests of the American as well as of the Chinese
republic, and in furtherance
of the sacred cause of world peace on the
Pacific . . . will immediately, in conjunction
if possible with Great Britain and the
other powers, but if necessary alone, demand of the Chinese—not the
Japanese—government representation, as parties in interest, in the conferences on the Twenty-one Demands now proceeding, which demands vitally affect American and world interests guaranteed
under the Open Door Agreement. We
further beg that,
pending the arrival of such representatives of America and of Great Britain and other powers, the Chinese and Japanese Governments shall be requested to suspend negotiations,
in order that the interests of all
nations may be effectively
secured against infringement. And still
further we beg that the governments both of
China and Japan may be notified that the presence
of unusual bodies of Japanese troops on
Chinese soil at this time not only embarrasses freedom of negotiations but constitutes an
outrage on the rights, and a serious menace to the peace and safety, of Americans and of
foreigners generally,
and that pending the removal of such excessive
contingents of Japanese troops all negotiations
should be suspended. With all sentiments
of profound respect we submit this Petition
and accompanying Memorial, claiming no
superior wisdom but only superior opportunities of acquaintance with the
situation in its present
serious aspect, and in its inevitable future
consequences. We request that if not incompatible
with the public interest this Petition
atfd Memorial, with our names attached, may be
communicated to the Associated
Press for such further use as may serve the interests involved.
Peking, Easter, 1915.
Charles F. Hubbard,
Minister of the Union Foreign
Church. W.
A. P. Martin,
Ex-President of the Imperial
University. Chauncey Goodrich,
Chairman of the Mandarin Revision Committee4 H. H. Lowry,
President of Peking University. John Whorry,
Chairman of the Union Wen-Li Bible Revision Committee. Courtney H. Fenn,
Principal Union Theological
College. Edward W. Thwing,
Superintendent International Reform Bureau.
T .
THE
LANSING-ISHII AGREEMENT
Department of State, Washington,
November 2, 1917.
Excellency :
I have the honour to communicate herein my
understanding of the agreement reached by. us in our recent conversation
touching the questions of mutual interest to our governments relating to the
Republic of China.
In order to silence mischievous reports that have from time to time been
circulated, it is believed by us that a public announcement once
more of the desires and intentions shared by our two governments with regard to China is advisable.
The Governments of the United States and Japan recognize that
territorial propinquity creates special relations between countries, and,
consequently, the Government of the United States recognizes that Japan has
special interests in China, particularly in the part to which her possessions
are contiguous.
The territorial sovereignty of China, nevertheless, remains unimpaired,
and the Government of the United States has every confidence in the repeated
assurances of the Imperial Japanese Government that, while geographical
position gives Japan such special interests, they have no desire to
discriminate against the trade of other nations or to disregard the commercial
rights heretofore granted by China in treaties with other powers.
The Governments of the United States and Japan deny that they have any
purpose to infringe in anyway the independence or territorial integrity of
China, and they declare, furthermore, that they always adhere to the principle
of the so-called open door," or equal opportunity for commerce and
industry in China.
Moreover, they mutually declare that they are opposed to the acquisition
by any Government of any special rights or privileges that would affect the
independence or territorial integrity of China, or that would deny to the subjects
or citizens of any country the full enjoy- ment of equal
opportunity in the commerce and industry of
China.
I shall be glad to have your Excellency confirm this understanding of the
agreement reached by us.
Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurance of my highest consideration.
(Signed) Robert Lansing.
Hi9 Excellency, Viscount Kikujiro Ishii,
Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Japan,
on special mission.
The Special Mission of Japan, Washington,
November 2, 1917.
Sir:
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt'
of your note of to-day, communicating to me your understanding of the agreement
reached by us in our recent conversations touching the questions of mutual
interest to our governments relating to the Republic of China.
I am happy to be able to confirm to you, under authorization of my.
government, the understanding in question set forth in the following terms:
[Here the Special Ambassador repeats the language of the agreement as
given in Secretary Lansing's note.]
(Signed) K. Ishii. Ambassador
Extraordinary^ and Plenipotentiary of
Japan, on special mission,
Honorable
Robert Lansing, §ecr$tary of State%
THE NEW SI NO-JAPANESE MILITARY AGREEMENT
The Substance of the Secret
Agreement Concluded on March
19, 1918, between Premier Tuan Chi-jui of China and the Japanese Military
Commission in
Peking(From
Millard's Review,
Shanghai, China,
May 25, 1918.)
Just why there has been so much secrecy concerning the nature of the
negotiations between Japan and China which are now said to be terminated if
indeed they are of so excellent a nature as the guarded statements concerning
them would lead one to believe, is rather hard to understand. . . . The public
can gain some sort of an idea as to the nature of the new agreement by a
perusal of the following translation of the purported agreement as it has been
made public in some of the native newspapers: Article
I.—In view of the penetration of enemy influence into the eastern
territory of Russia, and of the likelihood of the peace of the two contracting
parties being disturbed thereby, China and Japan mutually agree actively to
undertake the obligations of war participation by measures designed jointly to
guard against the action of the enemy.
*A full discussion of the agreement is given
in Millard's Review
(Shanghai), May 25, 1918, vol. IV, pp. 453"455» 457-463,
480-483.
Article II.—The two countries shall mutually
recognize and respect the equality of the other regarding position and
interests in carrying out joint military measures.
Article III.—When it is necessary to take action
based on this agreement, orders will be issued by both China and Japan to their
troops and people, calling on them to be frankly sincere in dealing with each
other in the area of milir tary
operations; and the Chinese officials shall cooperate and assist the Japanese
troops in the area involved so that there, may be no hindrance to military
movements. Japanese troops shall on their part respect Chinese sovereignty and
shall not cause any inconvenience to the Chinese people by violating local
customs and traditions.
Article IV.—Japanese troops in Chinese territory
shall withdraw from China as soon as war is ended.
Article V.—If it be found necessary to send
troops outside of Chinese territory, troops will be jointly sent by the two
countries.
Article VI.—The war area and war responsibilities
shall be fixed by mutual arrangement of the military authorities of the two
countries as and when occasion arises in accordance with their respective
military resources.
Article VII.—In the interests of convenience,
the military authorities of the two countries shall undertake the following
affair's during the period necessary for the execution of joint measures:—
1. v The two countries shall mutually asgist
294 DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE
-v
and facilitate each other in extending the means of communications (post and telegraph) in
connection with military movements and transportation.
2. When necessary for war purposes construction operations may be carried on and the same shall be decided, when occasion arises, by mutual consent of the chief commanders of the two countries. The said construction-operations shall be removed when the war is ended.
3. The two countries shall mutually supply each other with military supplies and raw materials for the purpose of jointly guarding against the enemy. The quantity to be supplied shall be limited to the extent of not interfering with the necessary requirements of the country supplying the same.
4. Regarding questions of military sanitation in the war area the two countries shall render mutual assistance to each other.
5. Officers directly concerned with war operations shall mutually be sent by the two countries for cooperation (the two countries shall exchange staff officers for military cooperations?). If one party should ask for the assistance of technical experts, the other shall supply the same.
6. For convenience; military maps of the area of war operations will be exchanged.
Article VIII.—When the Chinese Eastern Railway
is used for military transportation, the provisions of the original treaty
relating to the management and protection of the said line shall
be respected. The method of transportation shall be decided as occasion arises.
Article IX.—Details regarding the actual performance
of this Agreement shall be discussed by mutual agreement of the delegates
appointed by the Military Authorities of the two countries concerned.
Article X.—Neither of the two countries
shall disclose the contents of the Agreement and its appendix, and the same
shall be treated as military secrets.
Article XL—This Agreement shall become
valid when it is approved by both governments after being signed by the
military representatives of the two countries. As to the proper moment for the
beginning of war operations, the same shall be decided by the highest organs of
the two countries. The provisions of this Agreement and the detailed steps
arising therefrom shall become null and void on the day the joint war measures
against the enemy end.
Article XII.—Two
copies of the Chinese and of the
Japanese text of this Agreement shall be drawn,
one of each shall be kept by China and Japan.
The Chinese and Japanese texts shall ' be identical in meaning.
i.
Bibliographies There
are no general bibliographies covering the Orient. Tne
following are a few of the most important on special topics and countries:
Cotirant, M., Bibliographie CorSanne (3
Vols.,
Paris,
1896). Select List of Books (with
references to periodicals) Relating to the Far East, and
Select List
of References on Chinese Immigration, compiled by A. P. C. Griffin, Library of Congress,
Washington, 1904. Japan
Year Book, bibliography (Tokyo). Von Wenckstern,
F., Bibliography of the Japanese Empire (Vol.
1, Leiden, 1895; Vol. 2, Tokyo,
1907). Bibliographies appear at the end
of each country in:
The Encyclopedia Britannica (nth edition,
London,
1910). The New International
Encyclopedia (2d edition, New York, 1914). Statesman's Year Book
(London). For all
books published on the subject in the British' Empire consult:
British
Museum Catalogues (London). The Publishers' Circular ltd.
(Fetter Lane, E. C., London). For American publications consult: Book Review Digest
(monthly) and Record of Cumulative Book Index
(annual), published by the
H. W. Wilson Co., White Plains, N. Y.
Publishers' Trade List Annual and The
Publishers' Weekly, published by the R. R. Bow- ker Co.,
New York City.
United States Catalogue of Books
in Print (Jan. i, 1912).
United States Library of Congress Catalogue.
1
II. Sources Treaties, Documents, Government Reports, Memoirs,
etc.:
1 Drage,
Geoffrey, Russian Affairs,
Appendix,
647-729 (London, 1904). v Hertlet, China
Treaties: Treaties, etc., between Great
Britain and China, and between China and
Foreign Powers, 3d
Edition, 2 Vols. (London,
1908).
McKenzie, F. A., The
Tragedy of Korea, Appendix, 263-312 (New York, 1907).
Mannix, W.
F., Memoirs of Li Hung Chang (New
York, 1913).
Millard, Thomas F., Our
Eastern Question, Appendix, 393-543 (New York, 1916).
Pooley, A. M., The
Secret Memoirs of Count Tadasu Hay as hi (London, 1915).
Consult also the United
States Statutes at Large, Diplomatic
Correspondence, Foreign Relations, Consular
and Trade Reports
(Government Printing
Office, Washington). The Bureau of Statistics has published:
Commercial China in 1904: Area,
Population, Production,
Railways, Telegraphs, and Transportation Routes, and Foreign Commerce and Commerce of the United States zuith China (Summary
of Commerce and Finance, January, 1904).
Commercial Japan in 1904: Area,
Population, Production,
Railways, Telegraphs, and Transportation Routes, and Foreign Commerce and
Commerce of the Unitel States with Japan (Summary of Commerce and Finance, February, 1904). Much source material will be found in the
British
Parliamentary Papers, China.
British Foreign
Office Reports on the Trade of Korea,
Annual Series.
British Annual
Consular Reports
(London).
Chinese Imperial Customs Reports (Shanghai). Japanese Official
Publications (Tokyo) :
Constitution of the Empire of Japan (1889).
Financial and Economic Annual of Japan.
Reports of the Various Government Departments (annual).
Returns of the Foreign Commerce and Trade of Japan (annual). The Japanese Government also publishes the
following books primarily for the purpose of informing the Western public:
Annual Report on Reforms and Progress in Chosen (Seoul).
Korea Year Book (Seoul).
An Official Guide to Eastern Asia: Vol.
I., Manchuria and Chosen; Vols. II. and III., Japan; Vol. IV. China (Tokyo and London, 1916).
III. Secondary Works on Political, Historical, Economic, and Diplomatic
Relations A. Histories:
Boulger,
Demetrius C., The History of China, revised edition (London, 1900).
Brinkley, Frank, Japan and China, 12
Vols. (London, 1903-1904).
Griffis, William
Elliot, Corea, the Hermit
Nation (New
York, 1897).
The Mikado's Empire, 2 Vols. (New York, 1904).
Hosie, Alexander,
Manchuria: Its People, Re- sources,
and History
(London, 1901).
Hulbert, H. B., The History of Korea, 3
Vols. (Seoul, 1905).
Longford, Joseph
H., The Story of Old Japan (London,
1910).
The Story of Korea (New York, 1911).
Macgowan, J., A
History of China from the Earliest
Days Down to the Present (London, , 1897).
McLaren, Walter W., A
Political History of Japan
During the Meiji Era, 1867-1912 (Ne\y York, 1916).
Parker, Edward H., China, Past and Present (London, 1903).
Williams, Samuel W., A History of China (New York, 1897).
" The Middle Kingdom, 2 Vols. (New York, 1883).
B. American Relations with the Far East:
Callahan, J. M.,
American Relations in the Pacific and the Far East (Baltimore, 1901).
Colquhoun, A. R., Greater America (New
York, 1904).
Coolidge, A. C., The
United States as a World Power (New York, 1908).
Fish, Carl Russell, American Diplomacy (New York, 1915).
Foster, John W., American Diplomacy in the Orient (New
York, 1903).
v/Latane, J. H.,
America as a World Power (American
Nation, XXV., New York, 1907).
C. American-Japanese Relations Including the Question of Japanese Immigration, Naturalization in America, etc.
v Flowers, Montaville,
Japanese Conquest of American
Opinion (New York, 1916),
Gulick, Sidney
L., The American Japanese Problem (New
York, 1914).
" American Democracy and Asiatic Citizenship (New York, 1918). v Kawakami, K. K.,
American Japanese Relations (New York, 1912).
"
Asia at the Door (New York, 1914). v Japan
to America, edited by Naoichi
Masaoka (Japan,
1915).
Mills, Harry Alvin, The
Japanese Problem in the United
States (New
York, 1914). ^ Nitobe, Inazo O.,
Intercourse between the United States
and Japan
(Baltimore, 1891).
America to Japan, edited by Lindsay Russell (New York, 1915).
u Steiner, J. F., The
Japanese Invasion (Chicago, 1917).
Treat,
Payson J., Early Diplomatic Relations between the United States and Japan (Baltimore, 1917).
[Books on Chinese Immigration are not listed in this bibliography. Those who desire to study
the subject should consult
Select List of References on Chinese
Immigration, compiled by A. P. C. Griffin, Library of Congress, Washington, 1904.]
D. China-Japanese War:
History of Peace Negotiations between China and Japan, officially revised (Tientsin, 1895).
United States Foreign
Relations, i&g4, appendix i.
" Vladimir," The China-Japanese War (London, 1896).
E. Boxer
War: British
Parliamentary Papers (1900),
China, Nos. 3,
4.
Clements1
Paul H., The Boxer Rebellion: A
Political
and Diplomatic Review in Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, Vol. 66 (New York, 1915).
v Martin,
W. A. P., The Siege in Peking (New York, 1900).
Rockhill, W. W., Report
on Affairs in China, published in Foreign
Relations (1901).
Thompson, H. C., China and the Powers (London, 1902).
F. Russo-Japanese War:
Asakawa, K., The
Russo-Japanese Conflict: Its Causes
and Issues (New
York, 1904).
Hershey, Amos S., The
International Law and Diplomacy
of the Russo-Japanese War (New York, 1906).
/ Kuropatkin, A. M., The
Russian Army and the Japanese
War
(London, 1909).
McCarthy, Michail J., The
Coming Power (London, 1905).
Ross, C., The
Russo-Japanese War (London, 1912).
^ Sedgwick, F. R., The
Russo-Japanese War (New
York, 1909).
Smith, F. E.,
International Law as Interpreted during
the Russo-Japanese War (Boston, 1907).
War Department, U. S. Army, ^Epitome of the Russo-Japanese War
(Washington).
G. Political and Economic Questions:
/ Blakeslee,
G. H. (Editor), China and the Far East (Clark University Lectures, New
York, 1910).
Brown, Arthur Judson, The Mastery of the Far East (New Yoi;k, 1919),
Colquhoun, A. Q^The Mastery of the Pacific (New York, 1902)^
1/ Douglas, R. K.,
Europe and the Far East (London, 1913).
Gulick, Sidney
L., The White Peril in the Far East (New
York, 1905).
Harding, Gardner L., Present-day China (New York, 1916).
- Hornbeck, Stanley K.,
Contemporary Politics in the
Far East (New York, 1916).
Hozumi, N., The New
Japanese Civil Code (Tokyo, 1904).
P Hsu, Mongton Chih, Railway
Problems in China (Columbia
University Studies in History, Economics,
and Public Law, Vol.
66, New York, 1915).
Japan Year Book (Tokyo).
The Japan Directory (annual), published by Japan Gazette
(Yokohama).
v Kent, P.
H., Railway Enterprise in China .(London, 1907).
J Knapp, A. M.,
Feudal and Modern Japan (Boston, 1897).
s Lawton, Lancelot,
Empires of the Far East (Boston,
1912).
Lee, Homer, The Valor of Ignorance (New York, 1909).
Lenox, Simpson Bertram, Manchu
and Muscovite (New
York, 1904). " The True in the East and Its
Aftermath (New York, 1907).
The Coming Struggle in Eastern Asia (New
York, 1908).
Little, A., The
Far East (London, 1905).
McKenzie, F. A., The
Tragedy of Korea (New York,
1907).
The Unveiled East (New York 1907).
- Mahan, A. T., The
Problem of Asia and its Effect on
International Policies (Boston, 1900).
Martin, W. A. P., The Awakening of China (New York, 1907).
Millard,
Thomas F., The New Far East (New York, 1906).
" America and the Far Eastern Question (New
York, 1909).
" Our Eastern Question (New York, 1916).
,/ "
Democracy and the Eastern Question (New York, 1919).
The New
Atlas and Gazetteer of China, published by the North-China Daily News (Shanghai, 1917).
Norman, Henry, The
Peoples and Politics of the Far East (New York, 1895).
Okuma, Count Shigenobu, Fifty
Years of New Japan,
English version edited by Marcus B. Huish, 2
Vols. (London, 1909).
Porter, Robert P., Japan, the New World Power (London, 1915).
Reinsch, Paul S.,
World Politics (New York, 1900).
" Intellectual and Political Currents
in the Far East (New York, 1911).
Wagel, S.
R., Chinese • Currency and Banking (Shanghai, 1915). .
China Year Book, edited by H. G. W. Wood- head and H. T. Montague Bell (London).
Yen, H. L., A
Survey of Constitutional Development in China (New York, 1911). )
IV. Books of Travel, Description, and Interpretation
Allen, Horace N., Things Korean (New
York, 1908).
Ball, J. D., Things Chinese (Hongkong, 1903).
Birth, J. G., Travels
in North and Central China (London, 1902).
Bishop, Isabella Bird, Unbeaten Tracks of Japan, 2 Vols, (fourth edition, London,
1885).
Korea and Her Neighbors, 2 Vols. (London, 1897).
" The Yangtze Valley and
Beyond, 2 Vols. (New York, 1900).
Chamberlain, B. H., Things Japanese (fifth
edition, London, 1905).
Clarke, J. I. C., Japan at First Hand (New York, 1918).
Davidson, J. W., The Island of Formosa (London, 1903).
Dickinson, G. Lowes, Letters
from a Chinese Official (New York, 1903). An Essay
on the Civilization of India, China,
and Japan
(London, 1914).
Fang, Wu Ting, America Through the Spectacles of an
Oriental Diplomat (New
York, 1914).
Finck, Henry
T., Lotus Time in Japan (New York, 1898).
Griffis, W. E., The
Religions of Japan (New York, 1895).
" The Mikado—Institution and
Person (Princeton University Press, 1915).
Gulick, Sidney
L., Evolution of the Japanese (New
York, 1903).
Hamilton,
Angus, Korea
(London, 1903).
Hearn, Lafcadio,
Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (New York, 1894). "
Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (New York, 1904).
Hulbert, H. B., The Passing of Korea (New York, 1906).
Kemp, E. G., The Face of Manchuria, Korea, and Russian Turkestan (London, 1912).
Lowell, Percival, Chosen: the Land of Morning Calm (London, 1886),
Mabie, H. W., Japan
To-day and To-morrow (New York, 1914).
Martin, W. A. P., The Lore of Cathay (New York,
1901).
Nitobe, I.,
Bushido (New York, 1905).
" The Japanese Nation (New York, 1912).
Ross, E. A., The Changing Chinese (New
York, 1911).
Scherer,
James A. B., Japan To-day
(Philadelphia, 1904).
Young
Japan (Philadelphia, 1905).
Smith, Arthur H., Village Life in China (New York,
1899).
Starr, Frederick, Korean Buddhism
(Boston, 1918).
'. Newspapers and Magazines Devoted to Far Eastern Affairs
A. Published in the West:
Asia:
Journal of the American Asiatic Association (monthly, New York).
The Asiatic Review (formerly The
Asiatic Quarterly,
published every six weeks, London).
The
Chinese Review (monthly, London).
Japan Society Bulletin (published by the Japan Society of America, New York).
Revue d'Asiatique,
published by La soceite del Asiatique
(monthly, Paris).
B. In China:
(1) Periodicals:
The Chinese Recorder (monthly, Shanghai). The Chinese Social and Political
Science
Review
(quarterly, Peking). The
Far East (monthly, Shanghai). The Far Eastern Review
(weekly, Shanghai).
Millard's
Review (weekly, Shanghai). The
National Review (monthly, Shanghai). North-China Herald
(weekly, Shanghai). (2)
Dailies:
China Press
(Shanghai). North-China Daily News (Shanghai). Peking
Gazette
(Peking). Peking Daily News (Peking). Shanghai
Gazette
(Shanghai).
C. In Japan:
(1) Periodicals:
The Far East (weekly, Tokyo). The Japan Magazine
(monthly, Tokyo). The
New East (monthly, Tokyo). Oriental Economist
(trimonthly, Tokyo). Tokyo
Economist (weekly, Tokyo).
(2) Dailies:
Japan Advertiser (Tokyo). Japan Chronicle (formerly Kobe
Chronicle, Kobe).
Japan Gazette (Yokohama). Japan Mail (Tokyo). Japan
Times
(Tokyo). Kobe Herald (Kobe). Nagasaki
Press
(Nagasaki).
D. In Korea:
The Korea Magazine (a
monthly started by American
missionaries in Korea, January, 1917,
devoted to ancient culture and civilization of Korea; published in Seoul). Seoul Press (an
English daily subsidized by the Japanese
Government; published in Seoul).
Printed
in the United States of America
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11 For full discussion of this incident, see
Millard, "The New Far
East," chap. V.
14 Ever since the birth of the American
nation, there has been no
serious friction of any kind between the United States and Russia. During the Civil War the Russian fleet anchored outside the New York Harbour. It was
generally understood, although not officially stated,
that in case England and France took sidoc with the
South, Russia would intervene
on behalf of the North. Thus the Russian fleet gave no small moral support to the cause of the Union.
,B See full text of the petition, Part III, I.
26 See Henry Sumner Maine's "Ancient I^aw" and his theory of progressive and
non-progressive races together with the
theories advanced by his followers along the same line.
2. Reception of the Agreement With the exception of a few publicists who
10 Press
dispatches from New York, October I, 1017.
"See
Part III, T.
"From the official statement given to the press by the State Department, November 6, 1917.
3. Effect on Japanese Attitude "Is
there any substantial reason for the Chinese distrust of Japanese policy in
China? " the American reader may ask. Had the United States Government
given China the same pledge that Japan has given in the recent American-
Japanese pact, China would be elated, for it has been the history of commercial
development in
Published in the Sacramento Bee, quoted in the Literary Digest, November 24, 1917, pp. 16-17.
[1] Kang was
premier under the late Emperor Kwang-Hsu, and was the leader of the reform movement of 1898. He has been the head of Pao Huang Hwei (empire
reform association), and is known among the
Chinese as the " Modern Sage." He made a trip around the world in 1905-06 at which time the writer heard him in California.
8«
Thirteenth Census of U. S., Abstract" (1910), p. 79.
[2] In 1850
California had a population of 92,597 (most of whom went out there after gold was discovered in 1848); Oregon had only 13,294; and the territory of Washington was not yet setoff from Oregon, which act came on March 2, 1853.
4 For a
full account, see Callahan, " American Relations in the Pacific and the Far East," Johns Hopkins University Studies, XIX: 13 ff.; also, Coolidge, "The United States as a World Power,"
[3] On the
historical relations between Japan and the United States, P. J. Treat, " Early Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Japan;" John W. Foster, " American Diplomacy in the Orient;" W. E. Griffis, " America in
the East; " J. M. Callahan, "
American Relations in the Pacific and the Far East," are among the best accounts. For full treatment of the Japanese question in the United States, see : Sidney L. Gulick, «
The American Japanese Problem;"
K. K. Kawakami, " American Japanese Relations,
[4] See
Allen, " Things Korean," pp. 215, ff.
[6] Secretary
Taft was welcomed at Shanghai, China, October 8, 1907, " The World's
Almanac and Encyclopedia," 1908.
p. 314- 1
[7] Note sent
to Wai Wu-Pu. See full text
of the note, Millard, ibid., p. 17.
[8] Order
issued in September, 1914, quoted by Samuel G. Blythe, Saturday Evening Post, May 22,
IQ15.
"See Park, "The Tragic History of Korea" (Chinese edition, Shanghai), Sec. 3, chap. 36.
[9]
"Real Japanese Character," Independent,
56:641-644, March 24,
1904.
8 Millard, " The Far Eastern
Question," p. 185.
[10]A full
discussion of the negotiation between the Japanese authorities and the
missionaries in Korea concerning the school
regulations is given by Arthur Judson Brown in International Reviezv
of Missions, VI: 74-99, January, 1917.