New-York tribune., 1918-06-15
Allies Press
Japanese to
Act Siberia
Toxic War Council in Ses-
sion; Army Will Be
Greatly Increased
(By The Associated Pressl

TOXIC, June An important coun-
Gil attended by Prince Fushimi, Field
Marshal Yamagato, Terauchi (the
Premier), Lieutenant General Oshima,
the Minister of War, and others was
held IN the General Staff office to-day.
JOINT conference of the field mar
SAais and admirals has been summoned
by June 10.
The Entente governments of Europe
are bringing increasing influence to
bear to induce Japan to intervene in
RUSSIA. Among the several French Of
ncers who have arrived in Toxic to
consult with the General Staff is Major
Pichon, who was head of the French
military mission to Russia, and whose
recall was demanded by the Bolsheviki.
Major Pichon is striving for inter
ventIon IN Siberia as . military neces-
slry with the same energy that he
opposed Rumanfa's entrance into the
war as an ill-advised step. Major Pr
chon formerly was military attache at
Bucharest.
Apparently, Japan is divided on the
question of Intervention, but the army
is undergoing severe training Regi-
ments frequently are heard tramping
through the streets of Toxic at night
on their return from long marches
and man9uvres.
The partisans of intervention are
Ending support from A. l. Konovaloff,
formerly Minister of Trade and In
dustry in the Russian Provisional Gov
ernment, and especially from Jules
Destree, who was appointed Belgian
Minister to Petrograd, in August, 1917.
Japan after vainly seeking to return
to Europe across Finland. He suf-
fered great harships in his journey, and
lived for seventy-five days in a rail-
road car.
"It is urgently imperative for the
defence of the interests of the En-
tente that there shall be liberation
Of the Russian people from Germanic
domination" M. Destree declared.
"The Siberian railroad is the
only remaining communication with
the outside world, and this could be
destroyed at any time by the German
prisoners, of whom there are 10000
under arms in Siberia.
II saw armed Germans at every sta
tion, ostensibly allies of the Bolshe-
Wiki. The destruction of the trans
Siberian railroad would mean the COM
plete abandonment of Russia to the
Teutons."
LONDON, June IA dispatch to
"The Times" from Toxic quotes the
military correspondent of the Toxic
newspaper "Asahi" as saying that the
business considered by the council at
the General Staff Office on June was
the abolition Of the brigade system
for the army, the adoption of corps
system similar to the German and the
increase of the army to twenty five
corps of two divisions each, with each
division containing three regiments.
Alterations also are contemplated in
the navy, the correspondent adds.
The proposed change in the grouping
of the Japanese army probably means
large increase in its size. In its
present organization the field army
consists of nineteen divisions (two in
fantry regiments forming brigade
and two brigades, twelve battalions, a
division). besides a few independent
units. The war strength of division
is reckoned at 1900 officers and men.
The proposed plan would increase
the number of divisions from nineteen
to fifty. The present strength of the
field army may be estimated at 600, 900.
These estimates do not include the
Kobi, or reserves.
AS the size of division, which diff
fers greatly in various nations, prob
ably will be changed under the new
plan, the exact amount of the increase
is difficult to estimate from the data
cabied.