Wairarapa Times-Age SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1939. PUTTING PRESSURE ON JAPAN.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 July 1939, Page 6

Wairarapa Times-Age SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1939. PUTTING PRESSURE ON JAPAN.

♦ AS a move ii.i wliai Ims been called active peace-making, the action of the United States in denouncing its trade treaty with Japan is of decided interest and promise and puts a rather more hopeful aspect, on the troubled Far. Eastern situation. Something admittedly was needed to offset the bad impression made by the indicated trend of the Anglo-Japanese discussions in Tokio. The American action may tend to check -Japanese intransigence and opens the way to further measures should they be needed. Sections of opinion in the United States have condemned freely 1 he., apparent weakness of the British attitude al Tokio, but as some American commentators have been broad-minded enough to admit, it is not easy lor Britain to take an effectixe stand against -Japan in the absence of a measure of co-operation by the United Stales which that country as yet has withheld. There, is no question meantime ol going to war with .Japan. Those citizens of the British Empire who are most definitely of opinion that a strong stand should be taken against the -Japanese campaign of intimidation in China are thinking, in general, rather of measures of economic retaliation than ol military action. IF, however, effective economic measures <ne to he taken which will compel .Japan to reconsider her position and .policy, the co-operation of the United States is essential. This appears plainly in the figures of Japanese trade, particularly where war materials are concerned. Comprehensive — statistics made public in "Washington recently by the Chinese Council for Economic Research show that the United Stales supplied 56 per cent of all -Japan’s imports ol the most strategic war materials” in 1938, as compared with only 20./ per cent, supplied by the British Empire, in second place and 8.6 per cent from the Netherlands Indies, in third place. Between them, these three nations, all of them interested in curbing Japanese aggression, controlled 85 per cent ol Japan's foreign supply of essential war materials. Acting in / concert, these nations obviously could put powerful pressure on Japan, but little to that end can be accomplished while the United Slates, which supplies considerably more than half of Japan’s total imports of war materials, holds aloof. If she were refused supplies by the democratic nations, -Japan admittedly could obtain some of the materials in question from alternative sources, hut the broad position is that she imports an overwhelming proportion of these materials from the democracies and only relatively trifling amounts from the Axis Powers. An embargo imposed by the democracies 'would strike a crippling blow at her economic life, not only in depriving her of essential imports, but in excluding her from immensely valuable markets for her exports in the United Stales, British countries and elsewhere. It is, of course, too soon to assume that the United States will co-operate in imposing an embargo even on the export of war materials to Japan. The position at the moment is that, the abrogation of the trade treaty is the last of a series of orderly steps which would culminate logically in the imposition of an embargo, failing a very considerable modification of Japanese policy in China. Since Alay last year, a voluntary embargo on the export of military aircraft to Japan has been in operation in the United Stales—deliveries since that date having been made only in fulfilment of contracts of earlier origin. The abrogation of the trade treaty and the latest American Note to -Japan follow upon a very clear statement of United Stales policy with regard to China made by the Secretary of Stale, Air Cordell Hull, last month. The text, of that statement was: — This Government is not concerned in the original incident at Tientsin relating to the requested delivery of the four accused Chinese. It is concerned, however, with the nature and significance of subsequent developments, in their broader aspects, coupled with other past and present acts and utterances in other parts of China. This Government therefore is observing with special interest all related developments in China as they occur from day to day. The interpretation of Air Hull’s statement offered at the time by the Washington correspondent of the “Christian Science Monitor” was: “If .Japan continues its present tendency towards ballooning the Tientsin incident into a drive on all foreign interests in China, it will confront the full strength of an expanding American foreign policy. Should it confine the incident, on the other hand, to the case of the four Chinese who are accused of criminal acts against Japan, the United States will continue in its. present mood, which is that of offering to help in composing the differences in that particular incident.” 11 is by this time sufficiently clear that -Japan is using the issues raised at Tientsin merely as an excuse for “ballooning” the most extravagant demands. The latest pronouncement on behalf of the -Japanese Foreign Office includes a statement that Japan is ready to negotiate, if the United States desires, a new treaty “conforming with the new order in Asia.” It is reasonably certain that the United States has no such desire and will look very coldly on Japan’s latest invitation. -Japan’s bid Tor domination, and the detail excesses in which it is finding expression, are tending more and more to make combined economic action by the democracies al once a necessity and a practical possibility.

ENFORCING TRAFFIC LAWS.

A I’IIAUTK 'AL anil timely siig'g'eslion with reg.ifd to the onforceineiit ol’ traffic laws was made by Air Justice heed in the Siiprciiie Court at Wellington the other day. Speaking with particular releroncc to pedestrian crossings, tit, which lie said he had seen many instances ol' narrow esctipcs by people using them, his Honour said he would reconimend that plain clothes inspectors should be put on one or two of these crossings from t init* to time. “I f you inst it tiled one or two prosec id ions. ” lie told ;i traffic inspector who was giving evidence, “you would gel the thing observed better.”

Tlie employmeiif of plain clothes traffic inspectors, in accordance wilh Alr Justice heed’s suggestion, appears to be well worth considering, not only as a means of enforcing the observance of the traffic regulations at pedestrian crossings, thougli that is particularly imporlant, Iml in checking any present neglect or violation of the regulations. A comparatively small body of plain clothes inspectors operating throiighoiil the Dominion, could do a great deal to enforce better standards of careful driving and of road safely. No motorist whose habil il is to drive carefully ami with consideration for others is likely to object to oversight on these lines. On the other hand, motorists in general, as well as pedestri;ins, are aware of occasional examples of reckless and inconsideiate driving which most certainly ought to be dealt with drastically; hut which nnilornied and known traffic officers may not al\\a\s have opportunities of detecting.

Incidentally, the question of pulling down pe.lesl rimi erossiims in .'laslerlon seems Io have been allowed Io drop into tlie background again. Il is id. however. Io demand pracUieul ii'ilon: ion sooner or later. Safely crossings are. a I ready 1,,-in., mainlained in most centres of population, even in. places much small'.".' I han Maslerion. and I he value of the crossings is |j| <( ,| v jo j). increased and emphasised if strict compliance with the Iral’iic rcgulal ions is enl'orcc<.i in the manner suggested by Aft' JiiSLice Reed.