Chapter 14

By Christmas it seemed that the Conference had accomplished about all that was possible, and that it would adjourn as soon as the agreements already reached could be put into treaty form and signed. At the end of the first week in January it looked as if the Chinese and Japanese had reached a deadlock, and that the Conference would adjourn without a satisfactory adjustment of any of the Chinese problems. Mr. Balfour and other important delegates had engaged return passage, and all indications pointed to an early dissolution of the Conference. But the unexpected happened. At an informal gathering of Administration leaders at the White House on Saturday night, January 7, stock was taken of the work of the Conference, and some of the senators present expressed the opinion that if it adjourned without doing more for China, there would be little hope of getting the treaties ratified. As a result Secretary Hughes persuaded the British and Japanese delegates to cancel their sailings, and with characteristic energy and determination took personal charge of the Far Eastern situation, which up to this time had been left mainly to Mr. Root. After a little pressure had been brought to bear on the Chinese by President Harding, and probably on the Japanese by Mr. Balfour, Secretary Hughes was finally able to announce at the plenary session of February 1 that China and Japan had reached an agreement as to the terms on which Shantung was to be restored. At the same session the agreements in regard to China reached by the Committee on Far Eastern Affairs were announced. These agreements were finally embodied in two treaties, one dealing with the tariff and the other with the open door, and a series of ten resolutions.

Since the middle of the last century Chinese tariffs have been regulated by treaties with foreign powers, the customs service organized and administered by foreigners, and the receipts mortgaged to meet the interest on foreign loans. China has never been permitted to levy duties in excess of 5 per cent., and, in fact, as a result of the methods of valuation the duties have not averaged above 3 1/2 per cent. This has been an unjust state of affairs, and has deprived the Chinese Government of what would naturally be one of its main sources of revenue. By the new agreement there is to be an immediate revision of tariff valuations so as to make the 5 per cent. effective. China is also to be allowed to levy a surtax on certain articles, mainly luxuries, which will yield an additional revenue. It is estimated that the total annual increase in revenue derived from maritime customs will be about $150,000,000 silver. It is claimed by some, with a certain degree of truth, that any increase in Chinese customs duties will be immediately covered by liens to secure new loans, and that putting money into the Chinese treasury just now is like pouring it into a rat hole. As soon as China is able to establish a stable and honest government, she should, without question, be relieved of all treaty restrictions on her tariffs.

The Conference also took certain steps to restore to China other sovereign rights long impaired by the encroachments of foreign powers. A commission is to be appointed to investigate the administration of justice with a view to the ultimate extinction of extraterritorial rights now enjoyed by foreigners. The powers also agreed to abandon not later than January 1, 1923, their existing postal agencies in China, provided an efficient Chinese postal service be maintained. The system of foreign post offices in China has been the subject of great abuses, as through these agencies goods of various kinds, including opium and other drugs, have been smuggled into China. The powers further made a general promise to aid the Chinese Government in the unification of railways into a general system under Chinese control. They also agreed to restore to China all radio stations other than those regulated by treaty or maintained by foreign governments within their legation limits.

In the treaty relating to the open door, the Contracting Powers other than China pledged themselves to the following principles:

"(1) To respect the sovereignty, the independence, and the territorial and administrative integrity of China;

"(2) To provide the fullest and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop and maintain for herself an effective and stable government;

"(3) To use their influence for the purpose of effectually establishing and maintaining the principle of equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations throughout the territory of China;

"(4) To refrain from taking advantage of conditions in China in order to seek special rights or privileges which would abridge the rights of subjects or citizens of friendly States, and from countenancing action inimical to the security of such States."

China on her part accepted fully the principle of the open door, and pledged herself for the first time to respect it. Pledges to respect the open door in China have been made by foreign powers upon various occasions in the past and broken as often as made. The expression "equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations" is not new. It occurs in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902, in the Root-Takahira agreement of 1908, and in numerous other documents. In recent years, however, the United States has been the only power which has tried to preserve the open door in China. Most of the other powers have regarded the Chinese situation as hopeless, and have believed that the only solution was to let foreign powers come in and divide and rule the territory of the empire. In view of the new treaty the open door is no longer merely an American policy, but an international policy, and responsibility for its enforcement rests not on the United States alone but on all nine parties to the treaty.

The agenda or program of the Conference offered as one of the subjects to be considered the status of existing commitments in China. When Secretary Hughes brought this subject up before the Far Eastern Committee, Japan entered an emphatic objection to its consideration, and the matter was dropped immediately without argument. The treaty, therefore, is not retroactive, for it recognizes the status quo in Manchuria and to a less extent in other parts of China. The saving clause of the new agreement is, however, a resolution providing for the establishment of an international board of reference, to which questions arising in regard to the open door may be referred.

Will Japan respect the pledges she has made and live up to the spirit of her promises? If she does, the Washington Conference will prove to be a great success. If, on the contrary, Japan does not intend to live up to her pledges or intends to fulfill them only in part, her position in Asia has been greatly strengthened. She is more firmly intrenched in Manchuria than ever. She holds the Maritime Province of Siberia under a promise to get out, which she has repeatedly made and repeatedly broken, as was plainly stated by Secretary Hughes before the full Committee on Far Eastern Affairs, and repeated at a plenary session of the Conference. His statement was one of the most remarkable, by reason of its directness and unvarnished truth, in the history of American diplomacy. After reviewing the correspondence between the two governments and the reiterated assurances of Japan of her intention to withdraw from Siberia, assurances which so far had not been carried out, Mr. Hughes expressed his gratification at the renewal of these assurances before the Conference in plenary session. Unless Japan is utterly devoid of moral shame, she will have to make good her word this time.

When the treaties drafted by the Conference were submitted by the President to the Senate, they encountered serious opposition, but were finally ratified. The Republican leaders, particularly Senator Lodge, were twitted with charges of inconsistency in advocating certain features of these treaties when they had violently opposed the League of Nations. The Four-Power Treaty is much more of an entangling alliance than the Covenant of the League, and the Naval Treaty deprives Congress for a period of fifteen years of its constitutional right to determine the size of the navy and to provide for the defense of Guam and the Philippines. In fact, there were very few objections raised to the League of Nations which could not with equal force be applied to the Four-Power and Naval Treaties. The Four-Power Treaty was the main object of attack, and Senators Lodge and Underwood were greatly embarrassed in attempting to explain its meaning. Its "baffling brevity" demanded explanations, but no satisfactory explanations were forthcoming. They talked in general terms about the tremendous importance of the treaty, but they dared not state the real fact that the treaty was drafted by Mr. Balfour and Baron Kato as the most convenient method of terminating the Anglo-Japanese Alliance without making it appear to the Japanese public that their government had surrendered the alliance without due compensation. According to an Associated Press Dispatch from Tokio, January 31, 1922, Baron Uchida, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, replying to interpolations in the House of Peers, said: "The Four-Power Treaty was not intended to abrogate the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, but rather to widen and extend it." The real _quid pro quo_ for the termination of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was the agreement of the United States not to construct naval bases or new fortifications in Guam and the Philippines, and the clause terminating the Anglo-Japanese Alliance might just as well have been attached to the Naval Treaty, but this would not have satisfied Japanese public opinion. Great Britain and Japan were permitted to terminate their alliance in any way that they might deem best. After the Four-Power Treaty was accepted by the American delegates, they feared that it would look too much as if the United States had merely been drawn into the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It was decided, therefore, at the eleventh hour to give the agreement a more general character by inviting France to adhere to it. France agreed to sign, although she resented not having been consulted during the negotiation of the treaty.

The achievements of the Conference, although falling far short of the extravagant claims made by the President and the American delegates, are undoubtedly of great importance. The actual scrapping of millions of dollars' worth of ships in commission or in process of construction gives the world an object lesson such as it has never had before. One of the most significant results of the Conference was the development of a complete accord between England and the United States, made possible by the settlement of the Irish question and furthered by the tact and gracious bearing of Mr. Balfour. One of the unfortunate results was the increased isolation of France, due to the failure of her delegates to grasp the essential elements of the situation and to play any but a negative role. The success of the Conference was due largely to Secretary Hughes who, though handicapped at every point by fear of the Senate and by the unfortunate commitments of President Harding during the last campaign, may be said on the whole to have played his hand reasonably well.

Meanwhile we are still drifting, so far as a general European policy is concerned. President Harding's idea of holding aloof from "Europe's league," as he prefers to designate the League of Nations, and of having a little league of our own in the Pacific, will not work. The world's problems cannot be segregated in this way. Europe's league includes all of the principal American nations except the United States and Mexico, while our Pacific league includes the two leading European powers. As soon as the American people realize--and there are indications that they are already waking up to the reality--that the depression in domestic industry and foreign commerce is due to conditions in Europe and that prosperity will not return until we take a hand in the solution of European problems, there will be a general demand for a constructive policy and America will no longer hesitate to reassume the leadership which she renounced in the referendum of 1920, but which the rest of the world is ready to accord to her again.

INDEX

ABC alliance, 162, 165.

Aberdeen, Lord, opposes annexation of Texas by United States, 108.

Adams, Charles Francis, 114.

Adams, Henry, letter from Hay to, 90.

Adams, John Quincy, opposes joint action with England, 31; accepts invitation to send delegates to Panama Congress, 154.

"Alabama Claims," 66, 113, 114.

Alaskan Boundary Dispute, 122, 124.

Algeciras Conference, 74; American participation in, 76, 77.

Alliance, of 1778 with France, 5-8; proposed alliance with England, 13, 26; Holy Alliance, 22, 24; Anglo-Japanese alliance, 92, 120. _See_ "Entangling Alliances."

Alverstone, Lord, member of Alaskan boundary commission, 123.

American Colonisation Society, 59.

American delegation to Peace Conference, 225.

American Institute of International Law, 157.

American Republics, Bureau of, 156.

American Revolution, significance of, 99.

Anglo-American ideals, 126, 127.

Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 92, 120, 265, 279, 288.

Arbitration, international, 64. _See_ Hague Court, Olney-Pauncefote Treaty.

Armistice, negotiations preceding, 213-217.

Arms and ammunition. _See_ Munitions of war.

"Aroostook War," 106.

Austria-Hungary, protests against trade in munitions, 182.

Balfour, Arthur James, 274, 288, 289.

Beer, George L., quoted, 99.

Belgium, German invasion of, 79; restoration of, demanded, 207.

Beresford, Lord Charles, advocates open door in China, 86.

Berlin Conference of 1884, 6l.

"Big Four," at Peace Conference, 230.

Bingham, Hiram, on Monroe Doctrine, 131.

Bismarck, Prince, on Monroe Doctrine, 45; on English control of North America, 126; forces war on Austria, 47; forces war on France, 48.

Blaine, James G., efforts to modify Clayton-Bulwer treaty, 115; issues invitation to International Conference of American States, 155, 156.

Bliss, Gen. Tasker H., 225.

Board of Reference, in China, 286.

Bolivar, Simon, 153.

Bolsheviki, 203.

Bonaparte, Napoleon, acquires Louisiana, 12; fails to establish control over Spain's Colonies, 25.

Bowen, Herbert, 51.

Boxer uprising in China, 88

Brest-Litovsk, peace negotiations at, 203, 210, 212.

Brussels Conference on African slave trade, 62.

Bryan, William Jennings, negotiates treaty with Nicaragua, 135; with Colombia, 144; refuses to modify neutrality laws at demand of Germany, 182.

Bryce, Lord, quoted, 125, 126.

Bülow, Prince von, 75, 91.

California, danger of English occupation of, 109.

Canada, insurrection of 1837, 103.

Canning, George, British foreign secretary, proposes Anglo-American alliance, 26; delays recognition of South American republics, 33, 34; interview with Prince Polignac, 35; boasts of calling new world into existence, 39; opposes Pan-American movement, 155.

Caribbean Sea, American supremacy in, 121; advance of United States in, 132; new American policies in, 132, 137, 144.

_Caroline_, the, 103.

Carranza, Venustiano, 162, 163.

Castlereagh, Viscount, 20.

China, treaties relating to tariff and open door, 282-285. _See_ Open-door policy.

Choate, Joseph H., at Second Hague Conference, 68, 69.

Civil War, foreign policy of United States during, 65; disputes with England, 112.

Clay, Henry, opposes joint action with England, 31; instructions to delegates to Panama Congress, 154.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, 44, 111.

Cleveland, Grover, intervenes in Venezuelan boundary dispute, 48; withholds Kongo treaty from Senate, 61; Venezuelan policy justified by events, 115; favours general arbitration treaty with England, 116.

Cobden, Richard, essay on America, 102.

Colby, Bainbridge, secretary of state, 259, 260.

Colombia, aggrieved at seizure of Canal Zone, 142; attempts of United States to settle controversy, 143, 144.

Consuls, status of, in European leases in China, 87, 88.

Continuous voyage, doctrine of, 72, 124, 176, 177.

Cowdray, Lord, seeks concession from Colombia, 142.

Cox, James M., candidate for President, 255.

Crampton, British Minister to United States, dismissal of, 111.

Declaration of London, 71-73, 175, 177.

Declaration of Paris, 64, 65.

Declaration of Rights and Duties of Nations, adopted by American Institute of International Law, 158, 159.

Democracy against autocracy, 198.

Dewey, Admiral George, on withdrawal of Germany from Venezuela, 51; demands apology from German admiral in Manila Bay, 119.

Dickens, Charles, "American Notes," 102.

Diederichs, German Admiral, 119.

Diplomacy, secret, 76, 77.

Dunning, William A., "British Empire and the United States," quoted, 102, 111.

Durfee, Amos, 103.

Egypt, financial administration of, by Great Britain, 134.

England. _See_ Great Britain.

"Entangling Alliances," warning of Jefferson against, 12; Wilson's views on, 187.

Entente treaty of 1904 between England and France, 74.

European balance of power, interest of United States in preserving, 76; disturbed by Japan, 171.

Fenian movement, encouraged in United States, 112, 113.

Ferdinand VII, king of Spain, 20, 25.

Fish, Hamilton, secretary of state, renews negotiations for settlement of "Alabama Claims," 113, 114.

Fiume, and Treaty of London, 195.

Foch, Ferdinand, 217-219, 236.

Fonseca Bay, United States acquires naval base on, 135, 136.

Forsyth, John, secretary of state, 104.

Fortifications in the Pacific, limitation of, 272.

Foster, John W., letter from Hay, to, 89.

Four-power Treaty, 278-280, 287-289.

Fourteen Points, 205-210, 220, 221.

France, treaty of alliance with, 5-8; refuses to accept plan for limitation of navies, 270, 271; isolation of, 289.

Gases, use of poisonous, prohibited, 274, 275.

Gênet, Edmond C., minister of the French Republic, 6.

George, David Lloyd, defines British war aims, 204-205; pre-election pledges of, 227; opposes French demand for Left Bank of Rhine, 234.

Germany, intervenes in Venezuela, 50; excluded from South America by aid of England, 53; designs of, on Philippine Islands, 85; adopts naval policy, 120; influence of, in America, 126; submarine policy of, 178, 179; attempts of, to justify, 181; protests against munitions trade, 181; organizes propaganda and conspiracy in United States, 184.

Great Britain, withdraws from European alliance, 22; intervenes in Mexico, 46; not unfavorable to Monroe Doctrine, 52, 53; forms alliance with Japan, 92; points of contact with United States, 100; unfriendly attitude, 101; change of attitude in Spanish War, 118; naval policy of, 120; interference with shipments to Germany resented in United States, 124; size of navy, 127; so-called blockade of Germany, 174-178. _See_ Anglo-American ideals.

Great Lakes, disarmament on, 103.

Guarantee treaties, offered to France, 235.

Gummeré, S. R., delegate to Algeciras Conference, 75.

Hague Conference, of 1899, 67; of 1907, 68.

Hague Conventions, status of, 71.

Hague Court of Arbitration, 68.

Haiti, Republic of, United States acquires financial supervision over, 136, 137.

Hamilton, Alexander, opinion on French treaty of 1778, 6.

Harding, Warren G., elected president, 255; ignores League of Nations, 262; calls Washington Conference, 266; differs with Hughes as to meaning of Four-Power Treaty, 279; attitude toward Europe, 290.

Harris, Townsend, 95.

Hay, John, secretary of state, protests against persecution of Jews in Rumania, 78; formulates open-door policy for China, 85; defines status of consuls in European leases in China, 88; insists on "territorial and administrative entity" of China, 89; private correspondence on Chinese situation, 89-91.

Hay-Pauncefote treaty, 120, 121.

Henry, of Prussia, Prince, visit of, to United States, 118.

Hitchcock, Senator G. H., 252.

Holy Alliance, 22, 24.

House, Edward M., 225, 233.

Huerta, Victoriano, 160, 162, 193.

Hughes, Charles E., suggests changes in Covenant of League, 232; asserts rights of the United States in mandated areas, 261; proposes reduction of navies, 267; details of plan, 268, 269; offends the French delegates, 270; takes personal charge of Far Eastern question, 281; success of Washington Conference, due to, 290.

International Conference of American States, 156.

International Court of Arbitral Justice, plan for, 70; Permanent Court of International Justice, 263.

International Law, attitude of United States toward, 64; attempts to codify, 68, 72.

International Law, American Institute of, 157.

International Prize Court, plan for, adopted by Second Hague Conference, 68.

Isolation, policy of, distinct from Monroe Doctrine, 3, 5; policy no longer possible, 170.

Jameson Raid, in the Transvaal, 50.

Japan, beginning of American intercourse with, 83, 84; forms alliance with Great Britain, 92; goes to war with Russia, 94; disturbing factor in world politics, 171; advocates principle of racial equality, 233, 238; demands German leases in Shantung, 239; secures consent of Allies, 240; reluctantly accepts invitation to Washington Conference, 266; objects to 5-5-3 ratio, 269; expansion of, 276.

Jefferson, Thomas, opinion on French treaty of 1778, 7; warns against "entangling alliances," 12; plans alliance with England against France, 12-14; favors joint action with England against Holy Alliance, 28-30; author of doctrine of recognition, 161.

Jews, diplomatic protests against harsh treatment of, 78, 79.

Johnson, Senator Hiram, 246.

Johnson-Clarendon convention, 113.

Knox, Philander C., proposes neutralisation of railways of Manchuria, 95; negotiates treaties with Honduras and Nicaragua, 134, 135; proposes settlement with Colombia, 143; opposes League of Nations, 228, 231.

Kongo Free State, treaty establishing, signed by American delegates but withheld from Senate by President Cleveland, 6l, 62.

Kruger, Paul, 50.

Lansing, Robert, secretary of state, replies to Austro-Hungarian note on munitions trade, 182, 183; dismisses Austrian Ambassador and German military and naval attachés, 185; delegate to Peace Conference, 225, 233.

Lansing-Ishii agreement, 95.

League of Nations, 188, 196, 205, 209, 211, 230, 244-254.

League to Enforce Peace, 197, 232.

Left Bank of Rhine, French demand for, 234.

Liberia, Republic of, 59

Limitation of Armament, commission of League on, 265; Conference on, 266-290.

Liverpool, Lord, 20.

Livingston, Robert R., minister to France, 12.

Lodge, Senator Henry Cabot, on Oregon dispute, 110, 111; denies existence of secret treaty with England, 120; stands for unconditional surrender of Germany, 217; issues round robin, 231; presents reservations to Treaty of Versailles, 248; presents Four-Power Treaty, 278, inconsistency of, 287.

London Naval Conference, 71.

_Lusitania_, sinking of, 179.

Madero, Francisco, 160.

Madison, James, favors joint action with England against Holy Alliance, 30.

Mahan, Alfred T., 99.

Maine, boundary dispute with New Brunswick, 106.

Manchuria, Russian encroachments on, 91-93, 95.

Marcy, William L., secretary of state, views on Declaration of Paris, 65.

Maximilian, Prince, placed by Louis Napoleon on throne of Mexico, 46.

Merchant vessels, proposal to arm, 185.

Mexico, French intervention in, 46; Huerta revolution in, 160; American policy toward, 160-164.

Monroe, James, sent to Paris to aid Livingston in negotiations for purchase of New Orleans and West Florida, 13; consults Jefferson and Madison on subject of British proposals for joint action against Holy Alliance, 26-28; message of December 2, 1823, 36-39; emphasizes separation of European and American politics, 43.