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Show 4 THE CITIZEN : figufe in solving these problems which have to do with the Insive development ;of our natural resources. fSoiifle of our foreign problems are of profound import. We find n thl struggle for wealth and power among the nations is keener Y nf because of the losses incurred by the war and the necessity Oration if the nations are to meet their obligations and attain o1 : prosperity. Our negotiations with Great Britain will be especially delicate ."difficult. from the questions involved in the world association for mice there are suc questi0118 as the Mesopotamian oil dispute, the 'avment of loans, the control of cables and the Panama canal tolls. Already the propagandists for Great Britain are finding outlets his country for the expression of their opinions regarding canal d- - 0r it. will be recalled that the Republican platform declares in favor Exempting American coastwise vessels from the payment of tolls. :aoes pot say whether this is to be done by reversing the action of treaty or by United States senate on the Hay-Pauncef- ote enter-K'into- ." new negotiations with Great Britain for an amendment of treaty. The original point in dispute was the wording of the caty . fit was President Wilsons view that the meaning was perkily clear that all nations were to receive equal treatment and eit the phrase all nations included the United States, the owner the .canal. who champion the cause of Great Britain urge that if nnjchange is to be made it should be through amendment of the toty on a basis of barter and trade, which is to say that we ought grant concessions to Great Britain in return for her assent to a ?aty. by which we may exempt our own ships from tolls. The suggestion will not meet with enthusiasm in this country, becially in view of the fact that so many senators were by no convinced that the Wilsonian interpretation of the treaty was fcjrect.V They still believe that the treaty does not bind the owner of canal to pay the rates exacted of all other countries. The sentiment of the country will be somewhat adverse to Great :jtain' because she obtained so much out of the war and because latpyd George proved himself so superior to President Wilson as a n:ider.y We obtained nothing from the war except expense and a jstige that is not easily translatable into cash. Great Britain, according to some experts, added $100,000,000,000 ,vher wealth if the mandated countries are cast into the balance, rciese regions, of course, are supposed to be under the control of the fcague.of Nations, but inasmuch as the league is apt to disintegrate inasmuch as the leading powers are not willing to let it function the chances a; accordance with the terms of the treaty of Versailles, n5 that a mandate is as good as annexation. nr. The action of Great Britain and France with reference to the of Mesopotamian oil fields is an indication of the unyielding spirit which prevails in those countries. While ralry; and eat Britain insists that we shall impose on our coastwise ships the me canal tolls as are charged the ships of other countries, she around. In point of ikes no concessions to us the wide-worl- d :t, fair treatment of Americans in Mesopotamia would not be in the ture of a concession. It would be rather exact justice accorded a untry which made it possible for Great Britain to obtain a mandate er Mesopotamia. Moreover, it was the understanding of those who )at-Tho- se I M-an- s t ; : d self-intere- st -- , , i in treaty that all countries should receive equal treatment mandated territory. Great Britain is strong for equal treat-ti- 5 Great Britain would be vastly the gainer were she able to continue this supervision of our cable messages, for her officials would be in a position to impart our trade secrets to British firms and' thus help them to capture commerce by unfair competition. While these problems are all of a difficult nature there is no reason to be pessimistic about the outcome. Being good traders the British, of course, will take all they can get ; nor would they be wise to surrender all their claims in advance. The danger of such a procedure was illustrated at Versailles when President Wilson surrendered everything to obtain a League of Nations his countrymen did not want. That the European nations cling to sharp practice in diplomacy is illustrated by the case of Yap. At Versailles the president, in the confiding manner of American statesmen, suggested that the Island of Yap be internationalized so that no nation would have a monopoly of control. Taking the silence of the delegates for consent, he left the conference satisfied that Yap would be disposed of in accordance with his proposal. No sooner had the Versailles conference disbanded than Japan asserted her supremacy at Yap, repudiating the agreement at the peace table. It was distinctly, a breach of faith, but the forbidding aspect of the whole case is that the European powers back up the breach of faith. International peace is based on good faith and when a great nation like Japan adopts international outlawry as a policy the entire structure of peace is weakened at the foundation. The debate in the senate a few days ago is illustrative of the principle. In secret session the senators discussed Borahs proposal of naval disarmament. Senator Lodge took the position that inasmuch as Japan had broken faith in the Yap affair it was manifest that she was committed to the scrap of paper view of international agreements and that, therefore, she could not be trusted to keep her word in any naval agreement. If statesmen place too low a valuation on Japan's morality it is her own fault ; but that is a trivial matter compared with the distrust aroused in international dealings. The laudable plan of reducing naval armaments may go to wreck on that very rock. However desirable it is to decrease expenditures for our navy we cannot afford to take the word of a government which breaks its word. And that the Tokio government must bear the odium of bad faith is due not alone to the Yap affair but to the broken promises of other years such for example as the breach of faith involved in the promise to evacuate Korea. When the nations insist that the United States not only shall keep the letter of every agreement but shall display a charity unparalleled in history wc allude to the proposal to remit the $10,000,000,-00- 0 debt , and when, at the same time, they resort to sharp practices in their dealings with us, demanding their. pound of flesh, wc can realize the difficulties in which Mr. Hardings administration will be involved at the very outset. It is not so much the questions themselves as the spirit back of them that will give President Harding many trying hours of anxiety. 'Hie office boy used to steal an afternoon game: now he steals a million dollars. olT to go to the ball Sitned the le nt in the canal zone and strong in opposition to equal treatment Mesopotamia. The cable dispute also has in it some explosive elements. Great rifaiti asserts the right to censor our cables, and because it controls the cables between this country and Europe it is able to insist on its privilege. In the Pacific Japan, Great Britain s ally, has to sentence himself to Germany, why should we object? liell have to pay some of that war indemnity. If Bergdoll wants it. . iu-irft- ed upon the same privilege. Great Britain, with the aid of the Western Union, is striving to jbnopolize cable communication to South America. good thing about making women bosses in business is that they dont have to learn how. A Henry Ford says be will produce milk that does not come from a cow. Oh! milkmans milk. If you turn your back on the farm isnt that fack to the farm? |