Copyright, 1922, By E. P. Dutton & Company All Rights Reserved 2066 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE JAPAN has gone home from the Washington Conference on probation. Although she made a fairly good impression at the Conference, that impression is, as I see it, neither profound nor durable. What America and Europe will really think of her will depend upon what she does in China and Siberia in the coming few years. If Japan withdraws her troops from Siberia without delay if she conforms to the spirit of the policy adopted by the Conference with regard to China—if she proves herself more far-sighted and generous in dealing with her neighbors, the good impression she has made at Washington will not only endure but will grow better. Let her, in addition, reduce her army and curb the power of her militarists without awaiting an international agreement on land armament, and the world's estimate of her statesmanship and good sense will become immeasurably higher. If, on the other hand, Japan clings to old ideas and practices in dealing with Siberia and China, what success she has achieved at Washington will be immediately set at naught. In saying this, I am advancing no opinion that Japan is the sole, or even chief, sinner among the Powers. So far from it, I am prepared to assert that her diplomatic history is bright enough when compared with the dark leaves recording the international dealings of some Western Powers. Indeed, Japan could have made herself an enfant terrible at the Washington |