An article taken from “The Literary Digest” of March 5, 1921.

“Just a few” of the complicated diplomatic problems that Warren G. Harding is facing are listed as follows in a Washington dispatch to the New York Tribune (Rep.):

• “The Japanese situation growing out of the California land laws, an attempt to smooth over which already has resulted in loud outcries by the California Senators.
• “The discussions which representatives of the British dominions have been holding with Senator Lodge as to some plan of these dominions and the United States presenting a united front to Japan.
• “The Mexican situation, which apparently the Wilson Administration intends to leave on Harding’s door-step, just as Taft left it on Wilson’s.
• “The disarmament proposal, with its Important relations to Great Britain and Japan.
• “The situation Involved in foreign debts to the United States and the interest thereon, about which whole affair either the British Chancellor of the Exchequer is guilty of an extraordinary blunder or else the Wilson Administration has been concealing the truth from the American people.
• “The peremptory demand by the United States that Japan cease from occupying the other half of Saghalien Island and cease the attempt to set up buffer states in the south of Siberia.
• “The protest against Britain and France restricting development of natural resources of mandate territory, notably in Mesopotamia, to their own nationals.
• “The Cuban situation, which may easily lead at any time to the necessity for intervention.
• “The dispute with Japan over American rights, particularly cable rights, in the island of Yap, and also the general cable situation.
• “The Chinese situation, involving both the consortium and the open-door policy.
• “The Turkish-Armenian dispute, which Wilson has declared involves the whole question of attacks by small states encouraged by larger ones on Russia.
• “The problem about Russian trade and recognition of Soviet Russia.
• “The Irish situation.
• “Panama Canal tolls, involving, if it is raised, as Mr. Harding promised, the reopening of the dispute with Britain over the construction of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty.
• “The problem presented by American occupation or control of Hayti and other small Latin-American states.
• “The dispute with Costa Rica over the purchase of the option on the Nicaragua Canal route, and with Salvador and Honduras over the American purchase of a naval base in Fonseca Bay, both disputes being involved in the Nicaraguan treaty.
• “The Colombian treaty dispute, under which a treaty for the payment of $25,000,000 for alleged injuries in the Panama revolution is still pending.
• “The question of American interest in the fixing of German indemnities.

“These are just a few of the problems, and do not touch on the biggest one of all, the question of an association of nations, to take the place of the League of Nations, except in that they complicate it and make it much more difficult of accomplishment.”

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