1917,
makes the statement that Japan was desirous of securing "the succession
to all the rights and privileges possessed by Germany in the Shantung
province and for the acquisition of the islands north of the Equator."
In a secret treaty with Great Britain, Japan secured a guarantee
covering such a division of the German holdings in the Pacific.

These concessions are of great importance to Japan. By the terms of the
Treaty one of her rivals for the trade of the East (Germany) is
eliminated, and the territory of that rival goes to Japan. With the
control of Port Arthur and Korea and Shantung, Japan holds the gateway
to the heart of Northern China. The islands gained by Japan as a result
of the Treaty give her a barrier extending from the Kurile Islands, near
Kamchatka, through the Empire of Japan proper, to Formosa. Farther out
in the Pacific, there are the Ladrones, the Carolines and the Pelew
Islands, which, in combination, make a series of submarine bases that
render attack by sea difficult or impossible, and that lie,
incidentally, between the United States and the Philippine Islands.
Japan came away from the Peace Conference with the key to the East in
her pocket.

4. _The Lion's Share_

The lion's share of the Peace Conference spoil went to Great Britain. To
each of the other participants, certain concessions, agreed upon
beforehand, were made. The remainder of the war-spoil was added to the
British Empire. This "remainder" comprised at least a million and half
square miles of territory, and included some of the most important
resources in the world.

The territorial gains of Great Britain cover four areas--the Near East,
the Far East, Africa, and the South Pacific.

The gains of Great Britain in the Near East include Hedjez and Yemen,
the control of which gives the British possession of virtually all of
the territory bordering on the Red Sea. The Persian Gulf is likewise
placed under British control, through her holding of Mesopotamia and her
control over Persia and Oman. The eastern end of the Mediterranean is
held by the British through their control of Palestine.

Thus the gateway to the East,--both by land and by sea, the eastern
shores of the Mediterranean, the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates
and the basin of the Red Sea all fall into the hands of the British, who
now hold the heart of the Near East. The gains of Great Britain in
Africa include Togoland, German Southwest Africa and German Ea