Evening journal., 1914-08-14
Japan WOULD GUST
GERMANS IN China

NEW YORK, Aug IA. - Hurried
preparations indicate Japan's inten-
tions to join Great Britain and Rus
sia in the struggle against Germany.
Treaty obligations TO her ally, Great
Britain, may be a sufficient excuse for
participating in the war. but greater
than any loyalty to England is Japan's
desire to take advantage of the pres
ent opportunity to deprive Germany
of a foothOld in the Far East.
Willing TO assist in the capture or
destruction of the Kaiser's Asiatic
fleet now confined in kiaO-Chau bay.
Japan doubtless would like to do
more. The assembling of transports,
the shipping of siege guns hardly can
be significant of anything but a de-
termination TO attack the Germans at
kiao-chau. Two Japanese squadrons,
the first the flying squadron" of sew
en- armored cruisers, commanded by
Prince Foshima, the second Admiral
Kato's squadron of eight battlcships
are at sea, supposed to be cruising of
the Chinese coast in the vicinity of
Cape Ya-tOu.
Eluding the British squadron that
pursued them for two days, the German
cruisers Emden and Nurnburg returned
90 Kiao-chau. In the inner harbOr at
Ising-tau are 10 German. 3 Austrian
and ? Italian warships The German
naval force in Kiao-chau consists of 2
armored cruisers, light cruisers, gun
boats and destroyers
The British China squadron com.
prises the old battleship Triumph, the
armored cruisers Minotaur. Hampshire
Newcastle and Yarmouth, 3 gunhOat Is
and destroyers Available TO aid the
British, Russia has light cruisers and
a number Of destroyers. Hongkong viii
be the only British naval base. as Wei.
/ hai-wei in the present emergency has
no military value.
Situated in a region of fogs, flanked
/ by the rocky coast of Shantung. klao.
chau bay is not easily blockaded Tn,
narrow, tortuous. easily defended en-
trance to the bay leads inward 10 q
wide cxpansc of shallow. slit -lader
water. Kiao -chau hay is a notch in th,
coast about 30 miles one way and AZ
in the other.
Germany has spent S17.0OOOOO il
improving this harbor. The rocky
] treeless hills on either side OF thl
entrance TO the bay now concea
many batteries. Germans assert tina
"Tsing-tau now is much stronger
than Port Arthur ever was"
The Kaiser's subordinates hav'
made the military colony" Of Kiao
ohau a point of vantage whence DO
litical and commercial pressure coul'
be exerted on China.
The building OF a railroad at Using
tau through Shantung to Tsinan, thu
tapping the lower valley Of the Hoanl
Ho, increased the business of the Ger
man port, opened new markets 70
German goods and added TO Germal
prestige. Also it gave Germany op
portunities to thwart the japanese
The efforts of Japan and Germany t.
outwit each other would form tn
most important chapter of unwrittei
history of financing he new develop
ment of China.
Chackmated automatically afore
time. Japan, as chance offers, is de
sirous of using force. The reduction
of Tsing-tau. the CAPTURE of Germa
LEASED territory" az kiaO-chau, VII
" the help of Britain snd Russian. ma
be cheerfully undertaken despite th
cost. Japan would pay much TO hav
Germany eliminated from the ia
East"
The expression quoted may expires
the sentiment of the statement Of th
statesmen who govern Japan.
The Germans at Kiao-chau kno'
the odds against which they mus
fight. The garrison at Tsing-iau ha
been strengthened by rcseryist
brought from Shanghai, also by tn
German and the Austrian legatiO
guards just Withdrawn from Pekin.
German reservists in the Unite