Being tossed about in society, Witte rolled out with maneuvering for public opinion such as deliberately leaking information about on-going negotiation, which was suppose to be the secrets between the two countries, to American newspaper reporters in expectation of receiving a favor in return, but Komura kept the secret as a representative of the country.
社交界で揉まれたウィッテは両国間で秘密とされた交渉途中の内容をアメリカの新聞記者に漏らして恩を売るなど世論工作を繰り広げたが小村は国の代表として秘密を守った。