The Washington herald., 1911-03-11

Baltimore, March 1O-That the Mexican
revolution is being wholly financed by
the Japanese government was the en-
phatic statement of a United States army
official in Baltimore to-day.
He asserted that the information reach
ed him through officials of the State De-
partment at Washington. He further
declared that the movement had been
started with a view Of establishing a
new government in Mexico, which would
be friendly to japan, and would either
concede or lease Magdalena~Bay and
ajoining land to Japan for naval pur-
poses and coaling station. He also
said that it had been an open secret
among government officials for a long
time that Japan had been trying to
secure a portion of Lower California as
a base of operation in that part of the
Pacific.
The official who made the foregoing
statement was prominently connected
with the Spanish-American war. He is
in close touch with the various depart
ments in Washington. and added that
the government information on the SER
iousness of the present outbreak in Mex
leo came from the American consular
agent in that country.
Plan to Land 10000 Men.
The government was in possession of
unquestionable information that Japan
contemplated landing in Mexican terri
tory $4,000 soldiers of what is known as
the foreign legion. made up exclusively of
Japanese who saw service in the Russo
Japanese war. These men are" he said.
the pick OF the japanese army and are
men who have seen service of the rough
est kind, not only in the Russo-Japanese
war, but in other military conflicts as
we'll.
They are trained to the minute in
military tactics, and had not this gov
ernment made the quick movement 1t
did few days ago in sending a quarter
of the regular army to Texas, Japan
would have taken steps to land this large
force OF men in Mexico.
THE naval forces of this country are
likely to be greatly REINFORCED in the
Pacific Ocean within a short time. But
the present naval vessels on the Pacific
coast are we'll able to take care of any
emergency that might arise at present, at
least
Want Naval Base.
He called attention to the fact that
with the opening of the Panama Canal
drawing near, Japan, as we'll as other
countries across the seas. are anxious
to secure coaling stations as near the
canal as possible.
THAT Japan wants a strong naval and
coaling station in the Pacific within easy
reach of this country. has long been
known among the naval experts of the
United States" continued this army Of
ficer. Had the japanese government Sc
cured Magdelena Bay. she would have
been given a great advantage in the
event of war with this country. With the
opening OF the canal. even If ii is forti-
fed. Japan will try to get possession of
it. which would save the japanese ships
the long trip around Cape Horn in case
the japanese navy wished to strike at
this country from the AtlanrIc side
For the past ten years Japan has been
colonizing along the west coast of Mex
leo and particularly in Lower California
At present there are about 10000 Japa-
nese scattered from the northern to the
southernmost point on the west coast of
Mexico. These colonists, if so ordered
by their home country. would take up
arms in a minute and fight the Mexican
army to a standstill
Rebels Modern Guns.
This move would be made with the
hope that a new government would be
established in Mexico which would lease
to Japan anything. that country wanted
on the west coast, whether it was Magda-
lena Bay or some other part of Lower
California
Where they got them, I cannot say,
but from what has been learned within
the past few weeks the revolutionists are
in possession of the finest kind of guns.
Now. if the revolution had started on the
eastern coast, We might surmise that
these field pieces had been furnished the
revolutonists by a European power. OF
course, we have our suspicious where
those field pieces came from, and one
does not have to stretch his imagination
very far to know that they were fur
nished by the same country that is try
ing to secure coaling rights On the west
coast of Mexico"
Another statement by the official was
that, i'll his opinion, Henry Lane Will
son, the American Ambassador to Mex
leo, will not be returned to that coun-
try, but will be given another post in a
country across the water He said that
Ambassador Wilson was getting along
in years and that an easier post would
be assigned to him in the near future.
That this country was Informed Of
the seriousness of the situation in Mex
leo by consular agents stationed along
the west coast of Mexico" he concluded,
was deemed high tribute to the alert
ness of the agents. Their reports of
conditions in the southern country have
been coming to the State Department
in Washington for some time past, but
il was not until this government learned
Of the foreign legion move of Japan that
action Of the quickest kind was deemed
necessary by the United States in pre-
venting any such move"