Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-12-30 | Page 25 | China Protesting Rule of Japanese

CHINA PROTESTING" llllLEJNilPIESE New Civil Administration in Shan Tung Made Theme j of Memorial, i SHANGHAI, Dee. CO. The establish- ment by the Japanese ot a civil admin- 1 istration in Shang-Tung territory out- i side of the Tsing Tan area, captured by , Japanese from the Germans early in j the war, is attracting widespread at tention. This action by Japan, thus replacing re-placing the military regime with a civil administration, was the subject of a protest pro-test lodged recently at Tokio by China. According to the China Press, delegates who have gone to Pckin from Shan-Tung are engaged actively in circulating a j memorial setting forth in the plainest j terms what thev represent to be the ; present state of" affairs in the area in- ! volvcd. The memorial, as quoted in the China Press, charges ''unbelievable tortures" are being imposed upon those who do : not conduct themselves as the Japanese direct and that in "certain extreme I cases victims are beaten to death as i punishment. " The delegates declare I they do not dare to return to Shan-Tung j unless it be with news of the eancella- I tion of the entire arrangement for the j Civil administration. "The substitution of military for j civil administration," says China) Press, "antedates the agreement recently re-cently reached between Japan and the United States respecting China and yet we understand that it is being referred to by the Shan-Tung delegates as partly to blame for the present Japanese deportment. de-portment. AVe are inclined to believe the Chinese government upholds this view which is not based on fact, for the contrary is true under the terms of the Lansing-Ishii agreement Providing Provid-ing the matter is properly and forcefully force-fully presented by the Chinese government govern-ment Japan is most likely to recognize the necessitv of withdrawing from a political policy in Shan-Tung which even the Germans did not have the hardihood to attempt and which is proving prov-ing most objectionable to the people of the province, even though that policy was being put into effect by the Japanese Japa-nese at the time the Lansing-Ishii agreement agree-ment was made. "The matter is one that should be settled immediately and it can be settled set-tled immediately and with little difficulty diffi-culty if the terms of the Lansing-Ishii agreement are properly interpreted.'1