Without this Entente, the Entente concluded
with France in 1904 would have been useless, and the alliance which
defeated Germany could not have been created.
Without the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan could not have fought Russia
alone, but would have had to fight France also. This was beyond her
strength at that time. Thus the decisive step in Japan's rise to
greatness was due to our support.
The war ended with a qualified victory for Japan. Russia renounced all
interference in Korea, surrendered Port Arthur and Dalny (since called
Dairen) to the Japanese, and also the railway as far north as Changchun.
This part of the railway, with a few branch lines, has since then been
called the South Manchurian Railway. From Dairen to Changchun is 437
miles; Changchun is 150 miles south of Harbin. The Japanese use Dairen
as the commercial port for Manchuria, reserving Port Arthur for purely
naval purposes. In regard to Korea, Japan has conformed strictly to
Western models. During the Russo-Japanese war, the Japanese made a
treaty guaranteeing the independence and integrity of Korea; in 1910
they annexed Korea; since then they have suppressed Korean nationalists
with every imaginable severity. All this establishes their claim to be
fully the equals of the white men.
The Japanese not merely hold the South Manchurian Railway, but have a
monopoly of railway construction in South Manchuria.
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