New-York tribune., 1919-12-29
Salvaging Siberia

Moscow has announced the cap
ture of Tomsk by soviet troops. 1t
IS admitted in dispatches from other
sources that Admiral Kolchak is re-
firing on Irkutsk, and that revolts
against his government have already
occurred in the Lake Baikal region.
There can be little doubt that Kol-
chak has practically lost control Of
Siberia west of Baikal. His prestige
IS shattered and the government
which he heads is without a future.
He is said TO have retired as COM
lnander in chief Of the All-Russian
armies in Siberia and to have ap-
pointed General Semenoff as his
successor.
Under such circumstances it is
ra5ural that Japan should be begin
ming to exhibit concern about the
Siberian situation. The Japanese
have direct interest in preventing
the spread Of Bolshevist power tow
ard the Pacific. Lenine has en-
ployed Chinese mercenaries in large
numbers. Nothing would please him
better than to Bolshevize China,
drawing from it an inexhaustible
manpower with which to fight the
proletariat battle in Europe
Japan canncJ permit an extension
of soviet rule east to the Mongolian
and Manchurian border. For Jap
anese policy in China rests upon the
preservation of the pacifst attitude
which has made the Chinese an easy
prey to toreign influences.
Vladivo+ tck dispatches report that
Japan has at asst core to an unoer-
standing with the United States as
20 The program to be pursued in ST.
Jera by the two powers-the only
two Allied powers who are still Civ
ing military support to the so-called
Omsll government. The American
expeditionary force has been en-
ployed so far in guarding the Trans
Siberian Railroad. It has not CO.
operated otherwise with Kolchak's
armies. The japanese have pacifieo
and garrisoned po, tioas of Eastern
Siberia and have been more occupied
with checking the soviet onrush tow
ard Baikal than with policing the
railroad between Baikal and the
Pacific. 1t is said now that A'neri-
can and japanese aims have been
harmonized. which probably means
that the United States is :bcut tc
withdraw its troops anl leave Japan
with free hand to take over East
ern Siberia as the only practica.
alternative to suTrendering it to
Bolshevism.
Allied policy al Siberia has been
series Of tragic blunders. BY into
vening aggressively in the summer
of 1918. wnen they were at war with
Germany and with the Lenine gov
ernmen! as a left~handed ally of
Germany, they probably could have
destroyed Lenine's power At that
time Western Siberia was completely
freed and the Czecho-S -Slovals were
working rapidly toward the line Of
the Volga. But fatal hesitations in
terfered. The United States went
into Siberia reluctantly, and put a
damper on Japanese Intervention. A
golden opportunity was frittered
away, and by the winter of 19lS-'19
the Allies found themselves reduced
to the necessity Of abandoning mill
tary effort and rcsorting to diplo-
macy to settle their account with
Lenine.
Diplomacy failed them utterly.
Now it is only question Of saving
part of Siberia from the wreck ;
and in that question Japan alone has
vital political and military inter-
est. Our work in Siberia has
amounted to little or nothing, and it
is we'll that it should end. Japan
may take up alone the burden of
salvaging Siberia and protecting
China from the Bolshevist pollution.
But if she does, it will be only hu-
man nature for her to put in a for
midable bill for her services.