Interviewed with regard to the reported loan of $40,000,000 _by Americnn financiers to the South 'Manchuria Railway, Dr. C..C. Wu, the 'Nationalist Foreign Minister, said that from press reports and other sources it seemed that the Joan might go through and that the American' State Department was allowing it to go through. It was also learned that other loans would follow. He had some days ago instructed the Nationalist representa tive in America to lodge a protest with the State Department and yesterday he had—telegraphed directly to Mr. Kellogg.
He pointed out to the correspondent that the South Manchuria Railway was not by any means a mere industrial enterprise. It was the instrument of Japan's political military and administrative control of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. The veal character of this railway was duly understood by successive American Administrations. Secre-
Known to the world and to none} better than the American Government that that railway is not mere industrial enterprise but the symbol and instrument of alien domination over a large and rich portion of Chinese territory. Japan sought to prolong that domination by means of notorious Twenty-one Demands. If Amerien which repeatedly demonstrated its sympathy with China in connection with those Demands were now to Iend means to strengthen that domination, Chinese people would, be at a loss to understand the fundamental change of attitude on the part of the American Government. Nationalist}
Government feels confident that American Government will not permit consummation of loan and depart- from its traditional policy which has been instrumental in promotion cordial friendship between. Chinese and American peoples.
Minister of Foreign Affairs. tary Knox. tried to neutralize the Manchurian Railways, though he! failed owing to Japanese and Russian opposition, In 1915, when Japan, presented the—notorious; Twenty-one Demands and coerced, China to prolong Japanese control over the South Manchuria Railway for n further period of 99 years, until the year 2002, the American Government and people cordially} sympathized with China, In 1918, in the negotiations for the Con sortium, Ameriew found that _the Japanese claimed that certain areas} in Manchuria and Mongolia _were outside the aphere of the Consortim, and she very properly objected to the claim ax being of the nature of an exclusive political The Washington Conference During the Harding administea tion, she called the Washington Condorence- in which the participating] governments agreed that they would not support their nationals in seck-Sng any arrangement which might purport to establish in favour of their interests any general superiority of rights with respect to com mercial and economic development, in any designated region in China und that they would not support any arrangement by their respective nationals with each other do-signed to create spheres of influence to provide for the enjoyment of mutually exclusive opportunities in designated parts of Chinese territory.
Such being the character of the railway and such the recor! of} successive American Administrations, Mr. Wu continued, the Chinese people had been astounded by the reports of the attitude of the present Administration towards the loan, an attitude which seemed to ply n departure that is nothing short of tragic in the traditional American policy. It meant the active approval and assistance by America of Japanese politico-economic control and "exploitation of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. It meant that now and stronger! rivets would be forged by Ame can gold further to strengthen Japfanese domination over a region, which bade fair to become the Alsuce-Lorraine of Asia. It meant also a blow to Chinese nationalism.
Mr, Wu thought that it was bound to have a reaction on Chinese sentiment towards America. He hoped that at the eleventh hour the!
American Government would appre. ciate the significance and sequences of the loan and prevent. its consummation.
'Telegram' to Mr. Kellogg Following is a text of the telegram despatched to Mr, Prank] Kellogg, Secretary of State of the! United 'States of America by Dr. C.C. Wu, Minister of Foreign' Affairs of the Nationalist Govern-Ment, concerning the flotation of the South Manchuria Railway loan, in Ameri Hon. Frank Kellogg, State Department, Washington.
Chinese people have heard alarm. imminent flotation of South Manchuria Railway loan in Ameri-ea and apparent acquiescence of American Government. It is. well
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.