“WHITE WAR”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 July 1939, Page 7

“WHITE WAR”

UNITED STATES CUTS IN VIEWS OF NEW YORK papers NEED OF BRINGING JAPAN TO ORDER. POSSIBILITIES OF BLOCKADE AT LONG RANGE. By Telegraph Press Association —Copyright NEW YORK. July 27. The Xew York “Daily Xews,” with the largest circulation in America, has a significant editorial on the abrogation of the treaty with Japan. It stales that the abrogation has “cut tin' I nited Stales in on the 'white war. which -Japan is fighting with the British in China.

“We cannot say we deplore the State Department’s action.” the newspaper adds. “It seems to us that the times continue appropriate for Ameiicans and Britons to consider the advisability of a certain ’whole-hog’ move which has been suggested for the deflation of the Japanese military caste. “We mean a joint American-British long-distance naval blockade of Japan, keyed to Singapore. Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands. Such a blockade would, in all likelihood, be bloodless, since the Japanese navy could not come out in force far enough to try to break it.” The “New York Times” in a leader says: “To each of the throe protagonists a great drama is now being played in Asia. The abrogation carried a message of capital importance. “To China it cannot fail to bring encouragement in a dark hour .... “For the British Government the action has a message of no less significance than that to the Government of China. It notifies Britain that if she adopts a stronger policy in. the face of Japanese pressure she will stand not alone . . . For the British are not unaware that the first line of defence of their own Imperial interests in Asia lies in China.

“Finally, to the Government of Japan the action says that we still take our promises seriously; that we still regard ourselves and Japan, too, as bound by the terms of the Nine Power Treaty, which pledges mutual recognition of the independence and territorial and administrative integrity of China, and that we still intend to use that influence. ‘We can, by means which are short of war, make certain that this independence and integrity are respected.” ACTION NOT HASTY DECISION BASED ON STUDY. MANY PROTESTS MADE IN VAIN. NEW YORK. July 28. The Washington correspondent of the Associated Press of America intimates that the decision to abrogate the treaty was not sudden, but had been studied for a considerable time. Officials had been carefully checking American sentiment toward Japan for several months, and they came to the conclusion that Japan’s actions one by one had been adding a few blocks of American opinion against her. They believe that Japan by now has affronted, injured or damaged missionaries or missions of practically every American religious group represented in China and lost the sympathies of most of them. They think by now that Japan has damaged all American companies having branches or interests in China, and has aroused their resentment. Repeated protests by the American chambers of commerce in China attests to this viewpoint.

ONLY CORRECT THING TO DO. The New York “Herald-Tribune,” in a leading article, says: “Short of an ultimatum to Japan servering diplomatic relations unless she gave prompt evidence of respect for the treaties she has signed, it was the only correct thing to do. “The very resentful official reaction in Tokio to Mr Hull’s notification is extremely interesting as a confession that Japan intends to deserve six months hence all the punitive restrictions on her trade with the United States which the expiration of the treaty will make possible. “It does not seem likely that the Japanese army will wait six months to experiment with some reprisal measures, which Tokio is in such haste to think up. and, once they start, as their tactics against the British give us good reason to know, no one in the State Department will have time to waste on redrafting the commercial treaty with Japan.” w AMERICA PRAISED STATEMENT BY CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER. STOPPING INTERNATIONAL LAWLESSNESS. (Received This Day, 10.45 a.m.) CHUNGKING. July 28. The Foreign Minister. Mr Wang Chung Hui, referring to President Roosevelt’s denunciation, of the trade treaty with Japan, said that America’s sense of justice always secured the unswerving faith of the Chinese, who welcomed the Washington announcement as an indication that the United States desired to maintain its position of prestige in the Pacific. He hoped President Roosevelt’s action presaged a more definite American intention to do the utmost possible to stop international lawlessness and restore peace and confidence. America could exercise a decisive influence in this respect without resort to war. GERMANY & JAPAN ECONOMIC AGREEMENT. (Received This Day, 10.5 a.m.) BERLIN, July 28. German}' and Japan have .initialled an economic agreement increasing their mutual trade. The terms arc not disclosed. AMBITIOUS CLAIMS. HOPES OF COMPENSATING LOSS OF TRADE. (Received This Day. 10.45 a.m.) LONDON. July 28. “The Times” Berlin correspondent

says the German-Japanese trade treaty is expected largely to compensate for the loss of trade after the termination of the American Treaty. Germans hope that this demonstration of the solidity of the anti-Comintern countries will offset the American action, which is considered not to be due to domestic policies and not justified by existing American-Japanese relations, but intended to demonstrate the solidarity of the democracies. The Press, despite English and American disclaimers, declares that America, by previous agreement, has taken up the cudgels when Britain, for strategical reasons, had laid them down. The German-Japanese treaty operates from October 1 and aims at extending trade partly by means of German credit to Japan. JAPAN TO WAIT NO IMMEDIATE MOVE INTENDED. TOKIO. July 28. The Foreign Minister, Mr Arita, is reported to have told the Cabinet that ho intended to wait for further developments before taking action over Iho United States’ abrogation of the commercial treaty and that Japan docs not intend in the meantime to initiate a move for a new treaty. JAPAN & THE AXIS MISSION VISITS ROME. GOING ON TO NUREMBURG. (Received This Day. 10.5 a.m.) ROME, July 28. A Japanese mission headed by Mr Terauchi and Admiral Osumi is discussing with Signor Mussolini possible Japanese adherence to the Axis. The mission will visit the Nuremburg Congress, after which it will proceed to Berlin and Rome for political and military discussions.