The stern News Agency sends us some interesting extracts from Japanese papers which throw light on the guarded reception given by the Japanese Government to President Harding's proposal for a conference on Far Eastern affairs. Thus the Tokio "Asahi" says "We do not grudge our deep admjration of Pi lent Harding's spirit and at the same time cannot but argue that any nation, which claims to establish the open door principle in the Far Kast, shall as well permit the same principle to be established in its own territories.
This is rather adroit. President Harding stipulates for the "open door" in China. By the substitution of the two words, Far East, the "Asahi" gives an entirely new meaning to the "open door' and makes it appear as if he were asking for something which Japan has the right to refuse unless he in ture made concessions, of a kind which do not come into discussion at all unless China raises them. The "Yomiuri" is better, It say:
"That the participation of China in the Pacific Conference with the support of the United States and others will place Japan in a position of disadvantage is nothing but groundless fear on our part. It is rather opportune to arrive at a fundamental wnderstanding hetweenn Japan and China."
That is the right spirit of the Liberal party, which realizes that Japan can do nothing but gain by coming to the Conference in a frank and generous spirit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.