May 10, We are inundated with eorrespondence, manifestoes, student resolutions, copies of telegrams sent abroad, all putting the Chinese view of the Tsinanfu affair. There is a monotonous sameness in them all:—Japan deliberately sent troops into Shantung to thwart the Nationalists' northern expedition; they made an unprovoked attack on the Chinese and killed over thousand of them; they mutilate ed_and murdered % Chinese official; and so forth, We regret to say that we cannot open our columns to propaganda of this kind, That is said with no lack of understanding of the Chinese attitude. Most of them cannot read anything but their own papers, never have heard, never will hear, the Japanese side of the case.' The position of those who write to us in excellent English is less easy to understand. They are able to see doth sides; many of them, it clear, have done so; bt' it is also Clear that they remain dear all reason, To the impassioned plea for "righteousness, justice and humanity" voiced by one Chinese correspondent to-day one can only reply. "Physician heal thyself." We do not invite such men to take sides openly against their wu countrymen. That is asking too much. We do ask them to refrain from further propagation of palpable Jantruths and we warn them frankly that such propaganda does China far more harm than good. For the world has learnt something of the truth of what has been happening in China in the last two or three years and is disposed to form its own No Chinese can say that thie paper has rushed to conclusions "bull-headed" about the fighting at Tsinan, Nor can they say that in recent months we have been unfair to the Nationalist cause or unsympathetic with its ideals. Much about Tsinan which has reached this office has been rejected from publication: and the conclusion we arrived at as to the responsibility for the outbreak was reached after careful consideration of all reports and probabilities, and was set out without heat or abuse.
The case for believing that Japan was the aggrieved party may be summed up in one sentence: in her vast interests in Shantung (not to mention other parts of China) she has every reason for acting in defence of her own, and every reason for not acting with defiance to others. One word as to the atrocity stories. We never beved that Japanese troops mutilated and murdered Mr.
Tsai Kung-shih and the Japanese answer to this charge, namely, that he was not in the Bureau of Foreign Affairs when they got there, appears to us believable. But atrocity stories are unpleasant things from every point of view. Those reported from Tsinanfu by both sides have had plenty of pub-laity. They do not affect the essential rights and wrongs of the dispute and we think it will best to publish no more of them,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.