THE 8EMI.WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
r . . , . ij
w jaw meLv Neeos,
mxvm inniuiMrKrr hi-Jinn m
The Oriental Empire has in
curred the enmity of Germany t
is not in harmony with aims
of revolutionary Russia, is un
der suspicion of England and
France for unfair activities in
China:: Mikado's people now
turn to Uncle Sam for comfort
and influence at IVorld Court
By WILMOT LEWIS, In New York World.
Mr. l.ewlH, editor nnd yit oorrmiionilriit,
Iiiih (ipent tweutr yenm uf 111" life In the
nervier uf Knr Knnlcrn Jiiiiriiitllxiii. He re
liortcil (lie Iloxer uprlnluir unil the Hunnu
Juiiiinrne W'nr. lie him written fur or helped
eilll niUHt uf the linpurliiiit piilillcatlotiN of
the (rent? portx, liicliiillnur I lie JVnrdi Clilim
Dully NeWN. Iir nIk cnr piiNt he linn been
eilltnr uf the Mniilln Tltnrx, the lending ilnlly
of the Philippine). .11 r. I.cvl HpriikH liolli
Chinese mill .Inpmirmr, mill thruiiKh IiIh Iiiiik
experience, linn luimteretl the. lutrlciieleM uf
Orlnilnl polltlm. ,
HERE may bo five or there muy be
twenty good reasonH for the dis
patch of Jnpnneso missions to the
Unlteil States at this time. Each
and nl. .' the five or the twenty
lmvo been guessed, and have, In
fnct, been publicly discussed. But
behind the live or the twenty
there Is one reason big enough to
swallow all the rest, and It has
not been mentioned at all.
Japan cotr.es seeking the friend
whip of the United Slates because she has not nn
other frhnd In nil the world, bccauMo sho occupies
a position of cruel and dangerous Isolation. Her
statesmen, when they look forward to that day
of the congress of nations which shnll reinuko a
tortured world, know that as things stand now
they will llnd at the council board suspicion
where they desire sympathy. They know that
there Is nono to whom they can turn with any
comfortable certulnty of support unless It bo
America. Can they win the friendship of Amcr
Icn, n friendship based on mutual trust and liking?
Only such a friendship will nvnll them.
Official Records Ignore Isolation.
The story of the Isolation of Japan, of the
paradox of the member of the great alliance
against the central powers who Is without a
friend, Is not to ho found In ofllclal documents,
hut Us truth Is nevertheless Indisputable.
When war came, three years agd, tho states
men of Japan believed that Germany would bo
defeated In six mouths, In other words, they
"played" the allies to win, and win quickly, and
they acted accordingly. They demanded the ovac
uatlon of Shantung by Germany, they Invested
und took Klaochau, nnd they made naval dispo
sitions In tho waters of tho far East which were
of undoubted assistance to the British admiralty.
The 'aggregate effort Involved was relatively suuill,
but It ranged Japan, ns her statesmen thought, on
tlio winning side, nnd they felt they could afford
Indifference to Mio bitterness nnd tho hostility
thus caused In Germany.
Japan's Early Part In the War.
Then, ns tho months went by, with their, ever
rccurrlng stories of German success on land, tho
(statesmen of Japan wero haunted by the fear that
they had backed the wrong horso. Llttlo by lltt'o,
therefore they allowed tho ttrdor of their cham
pionship of tho allied cause to weaken. The gov
ernment of Japan did not niovo ns much ns Its
llttlo finger when n powerful section of tho press
over which It exercises complete control became
openly contemptuous of the chnnccs of Entcnto
victory, when tho nttneks upon Great Britain grew
dally In volume nnd bitterness, when the -Anglo-Japanese
was flouted and n strong pro-German
tono became everywhere apparent. Nor did tho
government of Japan associate Itself savo In a
itnrdy and lukewnrm way with the commercial
.mensures against Germany which tho allies con
certed and carried out. Japan In those days of
fered the extraordinary Bpcctaclo of a country nt
war with Germany, but notably pro-German In
feeling. Small wonder that, as this condition of
Affairs nnd Its Inner meaning enmo homo to Grcnt
Britain and France, they grew suspicious and re
eecitful. Di liipiinMits outside .Tapnn wero not of n sort
allny this suspicion and resentment. In
Klaoclmu and througlmut Shantung It soon be
came clear that Japan Intended, a long stny, and
proposed 'lo that much morojhnn the lion's
nhare of the benefit of that stay should accrue to
her. The British and tho French found a hundred
ilitle hindrances there nothing largo enough In
miy Hlngle Instnnce to make dignified complaint
possible, but enough all told to exert a very pow
erful effect
In Chlnn generally, tho allies of Japan had to
rcnllr.o that their preoccupation with tho conduct
of tho war furnished nn opportunity which Japan
promptly nnd very cynically took. Japanese ng
crcsslon became more marked thnn ever. Japanese
demands upon poor, disrupted China were unend
ing. The nations of Europe, and with them tho
United Stntes, could seo nothing In this but a
desire on the pnrt of Jnpnn to mako profit out of
tho embarrassments of others a selfish and un
just profit, said tho embittered critics. Tho states
men of Jnpnn wero IndlfTcrcnt to this criticism.
TUoy saw German victory approaching, and they
ttcrc strengthening themselves against that day.
For they had another enrd up their sleeve.
They had before them tho possibility Indeed, It
was at ono time n probability that n separato
peace would he concluded between Germany and
Ituasla, nnd that Immediately thereafter a Ger-ennn-Russlnn-Jnpaneso
alliance would bo con
eluded, a pnet botween countries contiguous In
territory, n plunderbund to be conducted on tho
qutocnitlc principle to which nil wero loyal.
Machiavellianism Astray.
And tho months woro on. however, and lplO drew
to a close, this faith In full German victory weak
oncd. Tho strategy of the allies was Increasingly
coherent nnd orfetftvc, tho Britain they had con
demncd was making u gigantic effort and was
chievlng an unexpected nnd admirable national
XUcy. nnd there was anxiety In tho .councils o
fl'okyo. They hau antagonized Gerwuny, they had
JAPAN'S WAR PROFITS BIG
Doctor Iyenaga Is the semiofficial
representative of the Japanese gov
ernment in this country as the director
of the East and West News bureau In
New York city. These remarks wero
made as a part of the National Securi
ty league's cumpnlgn of patriotism
through education to arouse the people
of the country to n realization of the
possibilities of the war.
"Tho position Japan occupies in
thrj world war Is singularly unique.
Sho entered the war In obedience to
the terms of the Anglo-Japanese nlll
nnce, which Imposed upon her tho duty
of conducting military operations In
common with her nlly In the regions
of eastern Asia and of safeguarding
mutual Interests therein.
"But since the capture of the Ger
man stronghold In the Far East on No
vember 7, 1014, and the sweeping of
enemy war ships out of the Eastern
seas, Japan hns apparently been stand
ing aloof from the great conflict. While blood and treasure arc being expend
ed on tho European battlefields with a prodigality that staggers Imagination,
Jnpnn keeps her youth lutnet; nay, more, she presents the nnomuly of u
belligerent thnt hns made money out of the war. Iler foreign trade has al
ready reached the billion mark, counted In American dollars. Iler mills, her
shipyards, her factories are busy day and night and arc reaping enormous
profits. The present financial strength of tho Island Empire, as compared
with that before the war, stands in general terms something like this: Bank
clearings have more than doubled; industrial 'and steamship shares have
trebled and quadrupled In value; earnings of some concerns have gone up
100, 200, even 800, per cent; national banks are up four to six points; the
commercial discount rate bus dropped from 8 per cent to C even 3."
DEALS WITH POTATO PROBLEM
VJCOMrJM, MAO OFL?APA6yS3JOf TO UNJTJTD STATES, WJTi Mf AND DAUGHTER
fallen deep Into the bad graces of England and
France, Remained only the possibility of thnt al
liance with Gormnny nnd Hussla which was splen
didly to rehabilitate their International position.
And then two events of extraordinary Import
played hnvor with their plans, knocked out the
supports of the structure they had been building.
First, Russia flnmed up Into revolution, nnd the
world heard of tho sequestration of the czar and
tho downfall of his vicious and reactionary grand
ducal circle. Whore now was tho plunderbund?
A liberalized Russia, It was true, might innkc a
separate peace with Germnny, but It would never .
lend Itself to the aggressive schemes so dear to the
hearts, and so profitable to the pockets, of au
tocracies. Looking Toward Peace.
Sdcond, tho United Stntes severed .relations
with Germany, and then, In quick succession,
declared war, passed a conscription law, made
hugo appropriations and set seriously about the
business of building up an army and n navy com
mensurate with Its size and Importance. If nny
hope of Gcrmitn victory, and of a final rnppronch
ment between Germany nnd Jnpan had been left
to the calculating statesmen of the mikado, It
went glimmering when tho United States ranged
Itself on tho sldo of Germany's1 enemies.
They looked forwnrd to the day of peace, but
now thoy know It could never bo n day of Touton
triumph. They nsked themselves what posltlou
Japan would find at tho council board of the na
tions. Sho had profited from tho war, sho Is not
so poor ns she has been, nnd yet she Is still n poor
nation. Tho swift growth of her teeming popula
tion menns a cry for room, more room. Whero?
In China, of course. Yet experience has shown
thnt tho Individual Japanese lnborcr cannot com
pete on cqunl terms, with tho Chinese. If the gov
ernment of Japan is nllowed Its way In Chlnn
this condition can Lo remedied nnd It must be, say
tho Japanese, for tho nlternntlvo Is revolution at
home at some time In the future
In this perplexity, where was Japan to turn?
fjho has turned to tho United Stntes. Can her
mission persundo America that Japanese Inten
tions In China nro not selfish or Imperialistic?
Cun tho Washington government bo brought to
see tho dire need for a ccrtnln freedom of Japan
ese action In China? Finally, can Japan look for
wnrd, on that day of the grent peace conference,
to finding nt least ono powerful nnd sympathetic
friend? If not, tho outlook Is dnrk Indeed.
First nnd foremost, then, nhovo nnd beyond nil,
the nlsslon from Jnpnn to America comes ,ln
quest of friendship. Jnpan needs tho sympathy
and the support of the United Stntes more today
than she needs anything In tho world.
And sho should lmvo friendship If sho shows
by nets which support her words that sho realizes
and will live up to the obligations of that friend
ship. Theso obligations nro Incompatible with. the
currying out of purely Imperialistic designs In
Chlnn, with dcllberuto nnd selllsh uggresslvcness,
with tho pntent llllbernllty of her designs In tho
fur East. In short, Japan must mend her ways
If sho Is to hope for American sympathy and sup
port. Her Interest In China.
There Is no renson why the peculiar situation
of Japan In relation to China should not be ad
mitted by Washington. There Is no reason why
Jnpan should not llnd the outlet she so sorely
needs to effect her economic salvation, and nt the
Biune time bring Immense benefit to China. All
this can be done honestly, frankly, In fair and
open competition with the other nations of tho
world, for Japan has tremendous udvnntn'ses Jn
her geographical position, to sny nothing of a com
mon script nnd of u hundred minor nuftters. But
sho cannot expect tho United Stntes to help her If
sho seeks salvation by means of aggression nnd In
tlmtdutlon, und she cannot expect tho United
States to stand tamely by and Bee these methods
used.
For sixteen years Amerlcn has been tho chnm
plon of the policy of tho opon door, which seeks
to secure equnllty of opportunity In China's mar
kets to all nations. Yet It Is curious that. In whut-
ever part of China the Japanese exert political
control or Influence, there docs Amerlcnn nnd Eu
ropean trade diminish and dlsnppear, while thnt
of Janan swells amazingly. Mny not those bo
pardoned who nssert that Japan's oft-declared
loyalty to the policy of thq open door Is mere Hp
service?
For sixteen yenrs tho United States has stood
behind the pledge thnt Chlnn's1 Integrity should
be maintained, nnd Japan has fervently protested
her agreement. Yet be would be blind or a fool
who should deny that for a quarter of a century
past Japan has In, effect aimed at nothing less
than complete military, police and political control
over China.
Much to Correct In Policy.
These principles of the open door and the In
During tho coming year, presum
nbly, the housewife will be relieved of
the task of struggling with tho potato
problem.
Mr. Lou D. Sweet of Colorado, who
has been sometimes called the "Potnto
King," will exercise such control over
the tuber as Is necessary to Insure Its
presence on the Amerlcnn table at an
expense thnt Is reasonable In relation
to the marketable quantities.
Mr. Sweet has been appointed
head of the potato division of food ad
ministration by the government. The
bureau of which he Is the chief already
has started on the work of getting In
toisuch relatlpns with the growers of
potatoes as will irako possible the
equitable and economical distribution
of this vegetable. Mr. Sweet will not
fix the prices of potatoes. That will
be attended to by price-fixing com
mission. His work will be to gather
and systematize Information about po- ,
tato growers and their crops so that attempts to corner the market or other
efforts at artificial price boosting may be speedily and effectively frustrated.
-m- , n -i .i Mnnrl will fQ mnn In til o finmo 1lnf nf
tegrlty of China were propounded by John Hay In sweet nns me commence .u ; " " " "
. .. .: . .. .... TOrv thrniiirhnnr thn rmintrv. ns is testified to by the iact tnac tnej nae
ibuu anu lvw, respectively, ana iney are sun uie -?. : .T"" ""I..." .r. "' " tw A,on,.!nHnn nf America. Ills
leading motives of American policy In tho For eiecteu mm to uio pMiuujr . u. y --" - - f
East. Their maintenance has been more seriously growing lands are situated In the irrigated district along the slope of the
leonnrdlzcd bv .Tnnnn thnn bv unv other nation. UOCKy mountains.
" and nt no time so seriously as since the outbreak
of the great war.
America has nothing to be nshnmed of, and
.Japan has (to put It mildly) much to correct In
matters of Far Eastern policy. If today Japan
finds herself alone she has none to blame but her
self, and the opportunity Is the more favorable
for seeing to It that she correct her faults. Not
until she hns done so can there be any settlement
of such questions ns the acquirement of citizenship
by Japanese nnd the modification of the land laws
of California nnd other Western states.
These questions enn only' be settled, nnd the
obstncles to full and henrty friendship between
Amerlcn and Jnpan can only be removed, when
the Amerlcnn people have confidence In the good
faith of the Japanese government In tho larger
problems of Fnr Eastern policy.
SOLD COUNTRY FOR MONEY?
BELGIAN GEMS SOLD IN NEW YORK.
It Is said thnt quite recently n number of dia
monds have been put on the market nt Amster
dam, London nnd New York which there Is very
good renson to bellevo have como from Germnny,
nnd In nil probability form part of the looting of
Belgium and Franco. Tho London Horologlcnl
Journal describes them ns being cut In n manner
which mndo It clear that they onco formed pnrt of
old Jewelry. In many instnnces old Jewelry has
been offt-red for sale under circumstances which
leave llttlo room for doubt that It came from prov
inces occupied by Gorman troops. Just now on
the Continent a lot of old Jewelry Is being offered
for sale. It Is not all loot; some of It represents
the sncrlflces which the people of France and
Belgium lmvo been obliged to make. Some of It
has found Us way Into the "market trom Itussla,
Itoumnnln nnd eastern Europe.
"It was not that Soukhomllnoff
loved Itussla less, but that ho loved
money more."
John H. Snodgrnss, who until No
vember. 1010, was consul general ut
Moscow, n post which ho had held for
seven years, thus explained tho case
of the man now oq trial in Petrograd
the Russian ex-minister to whom the
continuance of the war has been at
tributed. For had he loved Russia more
nnd money less, tho German nrmles on
tho eastern front might have been
beaten long ago, If not by power or
strategy, then by sheer force of num
"Popular opinion in Russln has It
that his acts of conspiracy were
brought on by his desire to please his
wife, to whom he wns grently attached.
Sho was twenty-five when lie married
her, nnd ho nt least sixty. There Is a
story In Petrograd that Mine, bouic-
homllnofr was a waitress at Kiev in
her early youth. The love he hnd for his wife and the pinco ne neiu in ine
good graces of tho cznr, togetner witn nis position in uie ministry, iimue m
nets of nldlng tho enemy nn easy matter for him. He wns a major general
of tho army, besides being minister of war. That, by the way, is one of tho
requirements of tho 'Russian government a man must hold a military rank
before he can become minister oi war.
IMPORTS OF PLATINUM.
In 1015, 01,437 ounces of platinum (exclusive of
manufactured products) wero imported into tho
United States, nnd Its total vnluo was S'2,330,470.
In 1010, the quantity fell to 53,48-1 ounces, but tho
value of this wns $3,138,300. These figures oro
those of n report of the United States geological
survey According to tho Engineering and Mining
Journal, the price of refined plntlnum In the New
York mnrkct, which averaged $40,03 an ounce In
101R, ranged In 1010 errutienlly from ?02.r0 an
ounce In August to $101.25 nn ounce In November.
IMWllTH
CANADA'S GRAND OLD MAN
FAMILY ARRANGEMENT.
"I notice you sisters never go nwny together."
"No, our wardrobe would not permit of that
So we fike our vocations one at a tlmo nnd pool
the clothes." Loulsvlllo Courier-Journal.
DEPTH OF DEGRADATION.
Turk
Rookey Wliy is tho ferocious-looking
prisoner weeping so bitterly? t
Lieutenant Ho wns captured by a mnn wearing
a wrist vntch.
The Right Honorable Sir Wilfrid,
Lnurter, G. C. M. G D. C. L., LL. D.,
K. C, Is tho most picturesque figure In'
Canadian political life, and one of tho,
lust of the old school of "silver
tongues." Today at the nge of seventy
six he Is the leader of the liberal party
and around him rages the conscription
controversy. He Is the stnndnrd bear
er of the Quebec nationalists and of
the nntlconscrlptlonlsts of Canada.
Ho was the first colonial premier
to become widely known In tho moth
er country nnd his trip to Englnnd, nt
tho time of tho queen's Jubilee, In 1870,
wns tho occasion of the first entry
of nn oversens prime minister Into tho
official councils of Great Britain. Sir
Wilfrid wns given nn almost regal re
ception In Englnnd, nr.d, besides be
ing created n knight of the Order of
Michael nnd George, ho hnd n number
of extra Initials added to his name by
tho universities of Oxford nnd Cain-
bridge. If ho should succeed lu reconciling tho liberals of westorn Cnnndn to
bis views on conscription bo stands a good chance of again becoming premier.