And here we reach the crux of the matter. One of the little known
peculiarities of the day lies in the fact that Japan is the land of
political inaction _because there is no tradition of action save that
which has been built up by the military and naval chiefs since the
Chinese war of_ 1894-95. Having only visualized the world in
international terms during two short decades, there has been no time for
a proper tradition to be created by the civil government of Japan; and
because there is no such tradition, the island empire of the East has no
true foreign policy and is at the mercy of manufactured crises, being
too often committed to petty adventures which really range her on the
side of those in Europe the Allies have set themselves to destroy. It is
for this reason that the Chinese are consistently treated as though they
were hewers of wood and drawers of water, helots who are occasionally
nattered in the columns of the daily press and yet are secretly looked
upon as men who have been born merely to be cuffed and conquered. The
Moukden Governor, General Chang Tso-lin, discussing the Chengchiatun
affair with the writer, put the matter in a nutshell. Striking the table
he exclaimed: "After all we are not made of wood like this, we too are
flesh and blood and must defend our own people. A dozen times I have
said, 'Let them come and take Manchuria openly if they dare, but let
them cease their childish intrigues.' Why do they not do so? Because
they are not sure they can swallow us--not at all sure. Do you
understand? We are weak, we are stupid, we are divided, but we are
innumerable, and in the end, if they persist, China will burst the
Japanese stomach."

Such passionate periods are all very well, but when it comes to the
sober business of the council chamber it is a regrettable fact that
Chinese, although foreign friends implore them to do so, do not properly
use the many weapons in their armoury. Thus in this particular case,
instead of at once hurrying to Chengchiatun some of the many foreign
advisers who sit kicking their heels in Peking from one end of the year
to the other and who number competent jurisconsults, China did next to
nothing. No proper report was drawn up on the spot; sworn statements
were not gathered, nor were witnesses brought to Peking; and it
therefore happened that when Japan filed her demands for redress, China
had not in her possession anything save an utterly inadequate defence.
Mainly because