Abstract

Chine and Future Peace

The agreement between Secretary Robert Lansing and statesmen Viscount Ishii is not a treaty, it is an exchange of views and the purpose of the future policy respecting China. The structure of the document should be borne in mind in any discussion of its provisions, for, while it is important as a pronouncement, it is not final in committing our country as a covenant. The U.S. has thus far maintained a fairly creditable attitude towards the nations of Asia. It has remitted indemnities for injuries received in wars and tumults, it has proposed, in the "open-door" idea, the safest formula for international procedure thus far enunciated and it has abstained from acts of aggression and reprisal and while it is true that the U.S. occupy the Philippines, they have declared that they occupy the islands for the good of the people and are committed to a definite assurance of independence when they are prepared for self-government-- a promise that no other Power has made to its dependencies.