New-York tribune., 1918-05-08
BetuUeer1 the Devil
And the Sea
By Adachi Kinnosuke
SSTHE position of Holland is serio

An u Ni1G pOS4llOil Ol lOilduQ Is SeFl0N8
and extremely vexatious," said
Major Hata, of the Japanese arnI
who has studied the European situatim
from The Hague as military attacha Of M
japanese Legation there for the last I'm
and a half years.
"If she were to take the side of the En-
tente against the Teutonic powers she would
suffer a German invasion and become sec
ond Belgium. If she were to take the side q
the Ieutonic powers, her greatest treasun
house, namely, the Dutch East Indies in the
South Seas, would be threatened by the En-.
tente Powers"
The man who has succeeded in maintain
ing the strict neutrality of Holland in this
embarrassing position between the devil and
the blue sea is the Dutch Foreign Minister,
DR.. j. Loudon, says Major Hata. He pays Z
high tribute to DR.. Loudon, as zone Of tie
highest authorities on international law
"The Dutch defence along the German
frontier is weak" says Major Hata. 1T b
easy for Germany to break through there
But the Dutch have a line of defenee
stretching across the country all the vg
from the Waal to the Zuder Zee--the de-
fence line of inundation. This line of water
defence passes through Utrecht, through
country lower than the sea level. All thst
1iiS ouoSIl uStu " 10 Is 10 DTo9k lue UpcH-
ing of the canal and the dikes, and The
land will turn into the sea. All this Utrecht
line is guarded by series of strong for4
which naturally will make plenty of troubk
for the invading German forces If thg
try to force their way.
Holland has about 100000 men In hsl
army If Germany undertakes the invasios
of Holland she will be compelled to uss
at least twenty divisions of her army. Ger
many requires such tremendous force q
the Western front to push on her offensive
therefore, one would think that even Il
Germany were to favor the invasion Of Ho.
land-even If she were to decide on sueh
a stcp-it would be impossible for her
carry 1t out in fact. At the same time, Ger
many is country which does not question
means as long as she thinks she can attain
the end.
"One must always keep in mind also that
the military party in Germany, from
Treitschke, the prophet of militarism, down
has always and consistently insisted on the
imperative necessity of possessing tbs
mouth of the Rhine-the Rhin. which, they
claimed, was the very life of Germany.
has always advocated the seizure Of fhe
Dutch territory along the Rhine to M
sea. From that point of view, it may -
even most likely for Germany to attemvs
the invasion of Holland"
Major Hata says that Holland is trying
to bring about closer and much more "
innate relations with Japan. The saieV
and preservation of the islands OF tne
Dutch East Indies and the further deve-
opment of her foreign trade are the Ws
considerations which underlie their studloss
efforts to cultivate the friendship OF Jspsn
And to this end the Dutch have recensv
formed Commission for the Dutch-Jspsr
ese Friendly Relations. The Dutch ForeHs
Minister is eminently fitted for the work 81
bringing the two countries closer togctns.s
says Major Hata, because DR.. Loudcn .
thoroughly acquainted with Japan snS
Japanese affairs and people, having sefsss
for years in Toxic as the Dutch Minister V
Japan.
II have good deal of sympathy for -
Dutch" said Major Hata. "The inmed'sss
reason for the recent diplomatic tensse.
with Germany was the Dutch refusal 70 psz
NIT Germany to import sand and gravei ~.
Holland and transport them and other -
supplies through Dutch territory. Germ.nys ~
made high-handed demand on the uuv.
to turn over to her the sand and Stsv~
which the Dutch had imported from Ely
land and Belgium for the construcfion .
her dikes and so on. Sand and graves -
absolutely essential materials for tne -.
struetion of German positions along
Western front. In one way, the uesux3
demands were sort of counter tnas-
against the Dutch ta keep Holland = - ~.
yielding to the Entente Allies on tneA
mands for the use Of the Dutch enl21