793.94/285a
The Secretary of State to
President Wilson
Washington,
April 6, 1915
.
My Dear Mr. President: I am sending you a
flimsy of a despatch just received from Tokio. You will see that it puts
the Japanese demand in a very different light. You will remember how the
despatch from Peking17 construed it
to mean that it was to turn over the entire Yangtze Valley to the
Japanese.
Japanese capitalists have advanced about $40,000,000 for the development
of these mines and they are very important to Japan—she not having any
iron ore near her. It seems to me that her desire to avoid foreign-owned
mines in the immediate vicinity is not unreasonable, provided the
concession which she asks is not larger than she describes.
The thing that disturbs me most in this eastern trouble is the feeling of
suspicion on both sides—a feeling that does not give assurance of peace.
These two nations must remain neighbors and unless they deal with each
other in the spirit of friendship there is no way of avoiding great
antagonism.
With assurances [etc.]
[Enclosure—Telegram]
The Ambassador in Japan (Guthrie) to the Secretary of State
18
Tokyo,
April 6, 1915—12 noon
.
[Received 8:30 a. m.]
Your telegram of April 2, 9 p. m.19 Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
yesterday informed me that Japan’s demands touching the
Han-yeh-p’ing works are confined substantially to the Taiyeh mine
and two other mines in the immediate vicinity of the latter, all of
which she believes should be worked together and that Japan depends
for her supply of ore chiefly on these mines whose loss would
destroy her iron industry. Kato says Japan’s proposition is that if
China agreed to the principle of joint control and operation of
these mines a joint commission shall be appointed to determine the
territory to be included in the concession: that he could not say it
would be only “a few miles for it might include a few tens of miles
but certainly it would not run into the hundreds.”
Previous to my interview the British Ambassador had told me that
Baron Kato had given him substantially the same information, Kato’s
[Page 416]
words being that “one
could see from the Taiyeh mine the other two mines,” The Ambassador
also said that Great Britain had given Japan notice of her
established rights in China and as she expected that these would be
respected she had not taken any further action although she would
have preferred that the negotiations had not been taken up at the
present time or at the very least that the Allies had been consulted
in advance.
Kato told me the negotiations are proceeding steadily though slowly;
that China is willing to consent to the acquisition by foreigners of
land leases which if long enough would be satisfactory to Japan but
still objects to absolute ownership; that she is willing to
establish numerous open marts but objects to the responsibility
implied in permitting residents in remote country districts; that
the differences as to extraterritoriality, land taxation and
policing are very near adjustment and that the question of Fukien
has not yet been taken up.
There has been uneasiness about the Han-yeh-p’ing works for some
time, Japan fearing that the owners of the Taiyeh mine might sell
its control to some hostile interest and it is believed that
recently certain parties did actually endeavor to secure the
adjacent mines.
