No. 2 for Bullies

Ambassador Joseph Clark Grew, for 35 years in the U. S. Foreign Service, is rated one of the ablest career diplomats in U. S. employ. For the last seven years he has held down one of the toughest diplomatic assignments which the State Department has to hand out, the post of Ambassador to Japan. No small measure of his success has been the amiable, unostentatious way he has done so.

Last week, however, an hour came when the spotlight unavoidably played on him. He marched in to see Japanese Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita and delivered to Japan in the name of the U. S. a vigorous diplomatic kick in the pants. The booting took the form of a long, strong reply to Japan's "unresponsive" answer last November to Secretary Hull's protest against Japan's slamming the open door in China to U. S. trade. Its chief points:

> Japan's denial of U. S. rights in China is a downright violation of "several binding international agreements" (notably the Nine-Power Treaty of 1922) to which Japan, the U. S. and other powers are parties.

> The U. S. is well aware of what Japan calls the "changed" situation in China, but also aware that the change has been wrought by Japan's armies.

> Japan has acted like a sovereign in China, laying down new law on her own authority only. "This Government does not admit . . . that there is need or warrant for any one power to take upon itself to prescribe what shall be the terms and conditions of a 'new order' in areas not under its sovereignty and to constitute itself the repository of authority and the agent of destiny in regard thereto."

> The U. S. cannot be accused of arrogance in its Far Eastern policy: for several years up to and including 1931, when Japan began marching into China, the U. S. had been planning to surrender its extraterritorial rights there.

> The U. S. has always been willing, and still remains so, to discuss treaty revisions, provided China and all other nations interested are admitted to the discussion.

There the matter was left, with the U. S. firmly refusing to recognize Japan's conquest of China (her Manchukuoan conquest is still unrecognized, too). Japan may still do as she likes since the U. S. is too far away to interfere, but until Japan behaves like a civilized state and makes lawful, orderly proposals, the U. S. will lot condone her behavior.

That this reply was made on Mr. Grew's advice there was little doubt, but its wording came from Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles. Coming on top of Mr. Welles's refusal last fortnight to apologize to Germany for Secretary Ickes' remarks on Adolf Hitler, it looked like step No. 2 in a new U. S. policy of speaking to international bullies in language which they can understand.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.