he following memorandum of
the situation:

"At the Plenary Session of the Peace Conference this afternoon Baron
Makino spoke of his proposed amendment to the Covenant declaring
'racial equality,' but said he would not press it.

"I concluded from what the President said to me that he was disposed
to accede to Japan's claims in regard to Kiao-Chau and Shantung. He
also showed me a letter from ---- to Makino saying he was sorry their
claims had not been finally settled before the Session.

"From all this I am forced to the conclusion that a bargain has been
struck by which the Japanese agree to sign the Covenant in exchange
for admission of their claims. If so, it is an iniquitous agreement.

"Apparently the President is going to do this to avoid Japan's
declining to enter the League of Nations. It is a surrender of the
principle of self-determination, a transfer of millions of Chinese
from one foreign master to another. This is another of those secret
arrangements which have riddled the 'Fourteen Points' and are
wrecking a just peace.

"In my opinion it would be better to let Japan stay out of the League
than to abandon China and surrender our prestige in the Far East for
'a mess of pottage'--and a mess it is. I fear that it is too late to
do anything to save the situation."

Mr. White, General Bliss, and I, at our meeting that morning before the
plenary session, and later when we conferred as to what had taken place
at the session, were unanimous in our opinions that China's rights
should be sustained even if Japan withdrew from the Peace Conference. We
were all indignant at the idea of submitting to the Japanese demands and
agreed that the President should be told of our attitude, because we
were unwilling to have it appear that we in any way approved of acceding
to Japan's claims or even of compromising them.

General Bliss volunteered to write the President a letter on the
subject, a course which Mr. White and I heartily endorsed.

The next morning the General read the following letter to us and with
our entire approval sent it to Mr. Wilson:

"_Hotel de Crillon, Paris_

"_April 29, 1919_

"MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT:

"Last Saturday morning you told the American Delegation that you
desired suggestions, although not at that moment, in regard to the
pending matter of certain conflicting claims between Japan and China
centering a