An American Diplomat in China

by Paul S. Reinsch

I told the Japanese minister that we were not proposing any platonic arrangement as Americans were both able and willing to furnish arms to the Chinese under legitimate contracts, if the American Government would permit it. Moreover, as to the transaction of those three Japanese banks—since the Government of Japan had an interest both in them and in the munitions company mentioned, their alliance with the War Participation Bureau would be dissociated with difficulty in the public mind from the Japanese Government.

The War Participation Bureau clique was actually getting ready to equip an army against the south while the North-and-South Peace Conference was sitting at Shanghai. Tang Shao-yi, chief peace representative of the south, formally remonstrated to the British minister, as dean of the diplomatic corps, against such doings of this "Bureau" and its Japanese support.

Now, the Bureau had been established as its name implied, to facilitate participation of China in the Great War. Japan's financial support of it was ostensibly given also in behalf of the other Allies. If it were to be prostituted to the fomenting of civil war the others as well could not escape responsibility. A meeting was held on the 12th of February by the Allied and Associated ministers. Several strongly urged that outside money continually given for recruiting of troops was opposed to the aim of restoring settled conditions in China and to the policy of the joint declaration of December. The Japanese minister was silent. He said he must await instructions.

He informed me on February 21st that Japan had called a halt on the shipping of ammunition and equipment to the War Participation Bureau, but the payment of the balance of the loan could not be stopped. Just then, as it happened, an American firm would soon be ready to begin delivery of a certain amount of equipment in China, contracted for in good faith during the previous August. America had proposed a joint declaration against the furnishing of arms, which Japan had blocked. As the declaration had not been made, I could not then stop the American delivery though I did so later. But America would still be only too glad to join in the declaration as proposed.

As the Japanese were still paying the loan funds into the War Participation Bureau, another diplomatic "indignation meeting" was held about it on March 6th. The Japanese minister said his banks could not help paying over those funds, but he had suggested to the Chinese Government that it might be well, in the circumstances, to refrain from drawing the money; Japan could not object to this. Forthwith one of the ministers spoke up: "Then let us all make this recommendation which Japan has made."

At this the Japanese minister was taken aback, almost shocked. He had always argued that the War Participation Bureau was a Chinese internal affair, not one in which the powers that had helped form it should presume to dip. But the suggestion was quickly adopted. As a result, the representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States, all solemnly called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, expressing their opinion that to draw the war participation funds was not advisable, as it constituted an obstacle to internal peace.

But Japan's advice had been merely for the record, not at all to be acted upon. Soon there came over to Sir John Jordan an informal memorandum from the Foreign Office, taking the Japanese line of thought that the War Participation Bureau was China's internal affair. It might be construed as an intimation that we were meddling. Indeed, two Chinese of high position told me that the President and the Premier had held up the memorandum for several days for fear that it might give offense, until the Minister of War absolutely insisted upon its being sent.

Through these two men I sent a quiet intimation to the President that withdrawal of the memorandum would prevent unpleasant feelings among men who were sincerely friendly to him and to China. The memorandum was pulled back without delay; thereupon all the Chinese officials, except the few directly connected with the War Participation Bureau, rejoiced.

The five representatives who signed the original declaration of December met again on the 11th of March, because the French minister had instructions favouring action upon the Bureau. The Japanese minister advanced his arguments about its being China's business, not ours. But the others took the view that as it was an Allied war institution and Japan had dealt directly with it, it was quasi-external in character. "Is it not quite clear," protested the Japanese minister, "that the loan was purely a commercial affair, made by certain banks, and not controlled by the Japanese Government?" How, then, it was asked in reply, does it happen that in connection with this loan, officers of the Japanese army had been assigned to the War Participation Bureau as advisers and instructors; was it customary to make such extraordinary arrangements in connection with a purely commercial transaction?

"I am not sufficiently informed," Mr. Obata responded evasively. "I shall have to refer to the reports of these transactions."