"AIM OF AMERICA TO ACT AS FRIEND TO CHINA AND JAPAN"

On the question of the ownership or control of the Shantung Peninsula, a difficulty which has baffled solution by the experts at the Peace Conference, the majority of people in America may be divided into two groups; those who believe China should retain possession of Shantung, and those who believe the sovereignty of that land is necessary to development and prosperity of Japan. And these two classes are each partial to their own view, tending to disregard the claims of the opposite side. It is on the sentiment of the Chinese people toward this question that the words of the Right Reverend Logan Herbert Roots '91, D.D., Bishop of Hankow, China, are of special moment.

"Last August", he said, "just before I sailed from Hankow for America, I received an invitation to tea from a group of prominent Chinese merchants of Hankow. The opinion they presented to me on the Shantung difficulty represents the sentiment of the more modern Chinese business men, for my friends were not Chinese officials whose views are steeped in imperialism. They had called me in because they knew I was about to leave for America and they wished me to convey their views on Shantung to my friends here in America. What they said may best be retold in somewhat their own words.

Shantung Produced China's Great Men.

"'It is very commonly stated,' they said, that the Chinese have no patriotism and are quite indifferent as to the fate of one of their own provinces, even the sacred province of Shantung. For in Shantung, the Holy Land of China, are the birthplaces of Confucius and Menshious, the two greatest men in many respects China has ever produced.

"'That sort of statement we think is due to Japanese influence and is a slander on the Chinese people because we do care and are very concerned as to what is done in Shantung.

"'But we recognize the fact that the myriad troubles which beset China are not all due to foreign aggression; that which is probably the most serious is accounted for by the corruption of the Chinese officials themselves. Embezzlement and the misuse of public funds to the advantage of private affairs is a common practice, exercised with little or no check, while not infrequently officials have shamelessly accepted bribes in return for which they have sold the interests of their country. But', they continued, 'our troubles on this account, scandalous as they are, are greatly magnified when the money power of a foreign government or of some individual outsider is sent into the country to keep trouble brewing between the different factions in China. And in this manner we believe the financial backing of Japan has been used not infrequently since the establishment of the Republic by the revolution of 1911. What we want is sympathy and help from foreign countries. We need to be spared the further complication of our internal problems by the addition of foreign interference.

Should Modify Clause In Peace Treaty.

"'As to Shantung, we hope that if possible the clause of the Peace Treaty relating to that peninsula will be modified and that not only the political sovereignty, which is the shell, but also the economic rights, which are the kernel of the Shantung question, may be restored to China. If not restored, Shantung should be internationalized rather than surrendered to the sole control of the Japanese. If the Shantung clause of the Treaty cannot be modified we look to the sympathy and aid of the United States in securing to China equitable rights in the League of Nations.

"'Moreover we look to America to be the leader in the formation of an International Consortium which shall finance China. For three reasons the formation of such a partnership is essential to our welfare. First, in order to secure the large sums of money which are necessary to finance new railroads, and other forms of communication, to reform the monetary system of China, and to develop industrial and commercial enterprises. Secondly, to insure the expenditures of money so loaned to us upon the objects for which it is borrowed by the Chinese government.

Appoint Consortium to Lend Funds.

"'Lastly, such an international union is necessary in order to safeguard the political integrity of China from even a suspicion of intrigue on the part of any foreign power, such as would be sure to arise if the former methods of financing China were followed in the immediate future. If a consortium of this nature can provide the funds and appoint a commission on which there shall be representatives of China as well as of the great powers which lend the money, China may reasonably expect thereby very great assistance in her momentous problem of securing international peace and the establishment of the country as an independent and wholesome member of the family of nations.'"

In commenting on this view of the situation in China, Bishop Roots concluded with his feeling on the duty of the United States toward China. "I think there is very serious danger at the present time that the people of America may be moved by an undue prejudice against Japan, but friendliness to China must not imply animosity toward Japan. The real interests of Japan as well as of China require a policy of neutral helpfulness between the two countries and it should be the aim of America to act as the friend of both countries and to promote this policy."