The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1918. MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SIBERIA

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 260, 22 July 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1918. MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SIBERIA

The decision of Japan to ct operate with the United States'ii regard_ to intervention in Siberii is an important step which canno fail to strengthen the hands o those who arc endeavouring to pre vent the Germanisation of Russia and it must also exorcise a vcr; material influence favourable to th Allies on the whole course of th war. Owing to the good offices o Britain a great improvement ha recently taken place in the rcla tions between America and Japan Misunderstandings and suspicion have been removed, and now th barriers in* the way of combinet action have been broken down. Th Siberian question has been receiv ing much consideration in Japai for some time past. It was onl; .natural that the Japanese Govern ncut should be disinclined to un lertake an enterprise of this sor mtil it had satisfied itself as _ti the extent of the obligations in ,'olvcd, and was convinced that th n'ospeets ol success were sufficient y good. The announcement tha Japan has decided to act indicate ,hat the proper moment has arriv id, and the fact that she has agreec ;o dispatch troops to help tin jzecho-Slovaks shows that_ compe out authorities arc of opiuion tha ,he Czecho-Slovaks arc makinf olid progress, and with adcquat< Lssistauce may be able to offer effec ,ive resistance to the German-in pired and German-controlled 80l heviki. The position in Russi; las been so complicated and_ un sertain that it is not surprising hat the Japanese Government hai iound it difficult to make up its nind. The prevailing chaos was us); as puzzling to the American Government. Presides* Wij.so> vas at first by no means inclincc io atrree to military interventior n Siberia: but the logic of events ias shown him the danger of allowng things to drift. Germany has ■aken cve'rv advantage of the hesi iation of the Allies, and it has lecoine quite plain that unless trong measures are taken to couneraci German intrigue and_ aggrosion all Russia will soon lie hopeess and helpless under the brutal teel of Germany. Japan is very sensitive _ regardng her dignity and prestige. The Pokio correspondent of the London "imes recently stated that "the r apanese strongly resent the tone if recent messages from Europe extorting Japan to intervene in Siicria, and so worded as to suggest that Japan would be acting in ibcdience to t]ic Allies' bidding." Jut Japan has no desire to have Germany as a neighbour in thel'ar 7 ,ast, and she must know that n Germanised Russia would lie a trenendous menace to her interests nd safety. She fully understands he necessity of doing all in her lower to frustrate Germany s (ifort to enslave Russia. The Gernans have done their utmost ach Japan from the Allies. They lave tried to make '»> Allies beieve that Japan's war spirit is wakening and that she is not eally a full partner in the struggle. They have suggested to Japan hat it would be to her advantage o transfer her support to the Conral Powers. They have especially ndeavoured to cause friction hewee n America and Japanbut icre again their poisonous whisperngs have pfovetl ineffectual. llic leeision of these two nations J.o act n conjunction in Siberia is anithcr ignominious defeat for tho ying diplomacy fen - which Berlin ias become so notorious The exact latum and extent of the inlrrv"?'ion have not yet been disclosed; but t is reasonable to assume that_ it fill at least bo sufficient to give ho Czecho-Slovaks complete mas-

tery over Siberia, and also to render valuable assistance, direct and indirect, to the anti-German elements in other parts of Russia. The anxieties of Germany will certainly be greatly increased, and an additional strain will be placed_ upon her already overstrained military resources.

In the. course of an interview (published in Saturday's Dominion) between Barox Goto, the Japanese Foreign Minister, and the Bnilij Mail's special correspondent-'in the Far East, the journalist remarked that critics say that Japan is fighting for her own materialistic ends, and not for an ideal. The Minister repudiated this suggestion. He mentioned certain facts with the object of showing that Japan's war aims are not merely sordid and selfish. Baron Goto's repudiation of criticism of tho character indicated is supported bv two very interesting 1 letters which Professor Barrett I Wendell, of Harvard University, 1 recently received from his daughter, I Mrs. Wheelock. This lady gives an account of her conversations about t-kb war with some abbots of the Jodo sect. She heard a speech delivered by the Lord Abbot's secretary, who tolci the people that, according to the custom of the sect at •greatcrises, the heads had gone to Ise to worship and to get divine help, and to pray for the cause of the Allies and the downfall of the Germans. They intended to go through the country telling the people about I the wickedness of the Germans and the great evil they were doing in the world. Tho abbots were aware of tho German propaganda, and were well informed as regards the facts of tho war. They said that that was the first time that any religious sect had tried to interfere lin politics, but it was f-clt that all religions must try to down the devil who seems to have got into the Germans." This goes to show that tho Japanese are actuated by other and higher motives than tho desire for material gain in their fight against Germany. They have faithfully carried out all their treaty obligations. Material considerations cannot, of course, be entirely ignored; but the Japanese have shown bv'their actions that in this great world-crisis they see that their duty to themselves, _ their duty to their Allies, and their duty to mankind alike demand that t-hoy should lose no opportunity of striking an effective blow against the enemy.