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Show PRESS ENTHUSIASTIC 01 CKP0SIT1 Heartily Commend Decision De-cision to Join U. S. in Submarine Protest. OPPOSITION IS ACTIVE German Financiers and Diplomatists Try to Prevent Pre-vent Action. PEKING, March 24. China's decision deci-sion to join with the United States iu its protest against the new German submarine sub-marine campaign was received with marked enthusiasm by a great majority of tho Chinese press. For days before the cabinet reached the decision to support the American position the more progressive nowspa-pers nowspa-pers and younger members of parliament parlia-ment were active in urging China to assert itself and tako an international position along with the great world powers pow-ers which are resisting the new submarine subma-rine regulations. It was new China, rather than old China, which aligned itself with the United States. Many of the older members mem-bers of the cabinet", as well as older parliamentarians, were opposed to the movement. Tried to Prevent It. German financiers and diplomatist worked hard to prevent China from taking tak-ing a position along with the United States. Offers of loans were made, the past acts of friendship on the part of Germany were recalled and the recent "aggression" on the part of Japan was cited by the Germans as a reason why China should retain Germany's friendship friend-ship and invoke her aid in preventing Japanese expansion after the war. Japan's opposition to China's entrance en-trance into the war, which prevented China from becoming a belligerent on two previous occasions, was not wholly relaxed. Japanese politicians worked far more quietly, however than on previous pre-vious occasions. The invitation from the United States for China to join in the protest against the German submarine subma-rine campaign was far different from the overtures from England, France and Russia for the entrance of the Chinese republic into the entente. Much as the Chinese leaders dislike to see China take its position along with the world powers, with a chance that it will figure in the peace conference confer-ence following the present war, they could not consistently offer open opposition. oppo-sition. Chinese officials were solicitously solicitous-ly advised against haste, and many efforts ef-forts were made indirectly by Japanese to prevent China from accepting the invitation in-vitation of the United States. Parliament Enthusiastic. When the cabinet reported to a joint session of the house and senate that it had decided to avail itself of President Wilson's invitation there was much enthusiasm. en-thusiasm. All the members of the cabinet cab-inet appeared before parliament and asserted as-serted that hundreds of Chinese lives already had been lost as a result of the German submarine campaign. A very large number of Chinese were killed when the British steamer Har-palyce Har-palyce was torpedoed between Rotterdam Rotter-dam and Newcastle. Many Chinese also were killed on French and Japaneso steamers torpedoed in the Mediterranean. Mediter-ranean. The cabinet members explained that the extension of the German submarine sub-marine campaign would mean a greater Iobs of Chinese lives and property. Should the Chinese government fail to protest against the new campaign tho cabinet members insisted that China would be supinelv permitting new principles prin-ciples to bo written into international law which are wholly in violation of human warfare. Paul S. Reinsch, the American minister, min-ister, has been highly praised by the Chinese press for his successful efforts in winning the leaders of the Chinese government over to the position of the United States and inducing them to . take a stand against the extension of the submarine campaign. The Peking Daily Gazette, which is representative of the more modern newspapers in China, says of the Chinese action: "Although the maximum maxi-mum so far contemplated by China is simply rupture of diplomatic relations with Germany, it is quite certain that she. will not hesitate to follow where-ever where-ever America may lead; and that the United States will be involved in open warfare almost immediately is certain." |