Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-29
MANCHUR|AN PEACE.
HELD NOW IN SIGHT.
Strong U. S. Notes and Stand
of Dawes at Paris Take
Effect in Japan.
BY PAUL SCOTT MowRER.

PARIS. France. November pa new
and fruitful settlement of the Man
churian crisis thanks to the skill and
pertinacity of Gen. Charles G. Dawes,
American Ambassador to London, and
French Foreign Minister Aristice Bri-
and, is now in sight.
The issues are momentouS. Peace in
the Far East the balance of power in
the Pacific queen and the status of the
worlds new peace machinery are all at
stake. The whole world is anXiously
watching the outcome.
The solution envisaged can still be
blocked. even wrecked It is still at
the doubtful mercy of a japanese Of
fcnsive against Chinchow. or a refusal
b. either Japan or China to accept its
laborioUsly balanced terms, or of a
too-draStic revision at the hands of the
League Of Nation Councils Drafting
Committee.
Nevertheless the hopes of unani-
nous acceptance are today Quickening
The League and the United States are
in a full public and private agreement.
Whoever opposes them now risks uni
Versal isolation.
L. S. Protests Take Effect
Advices from Toxic indicate that
Japan is beginning to understand this
The japanese government 1t is said,
is beginning to regain control over its
ambitious and enthusiastic League
Stumbling generals. Strong. secret
American notes to Toxic. seconded by
Gen. Dawes strong private statements
here to TsUneo MatSudaira and Ken
kichi YoshizaWa, respectively Japanese
Ambassador to London and japanese
delegate to the Council seem to have
begun TO take effect.
China is still reluctant, but I'M
&c iYYnnrpcCnI
the clear stand of the United States
with the council. The Marking govern
ment, if it refuses the League settle
Inent, must, it is everywhere agreed.
either fight Japan, which it is utterly
unable TO do or be swept from power
by Chinese Communists. Like all gov
ernments, it naturally wants to stay in
power, hence final acceptance is almost
inevitable.
AS for the Leagues Drafting Com
mittee, although it is composed pre-
ciSely of men who in private 9essions
have been most concerned TO safeguard
the Leagues principles, namely, Lord
Cecil, Salvador de Madariaga and Erik
Colban, nobody seriously imagines that
their revision Of the draft will be so
drastic as to make it impossible Cor
China, Japan or the United States to
accept.
Toxic Differs With World.
The case under consideration is about
as complex as possible. Although every
body else considers Manchuria as inte-
grail part Of China, Japan considers 1t
as q sort Of japanese protectorate, ow-
ing to the fact that Japan has fought
two wars there and holds under treaty
the South Manchurian Railroad, along
whose right Of way Japan has invested
1 large sums.
: China on the other hand, has been in
such a state of anarchy for the last 20
years that many people contest its right
to pose as a sovereign state at all, while
the expressed intention of the National
ist government to effect unilateral revi-
sion of the extraterTitoriality treaties in
the near future has filled the foreign
diplomats with considerable dismay and
resentment.
The Far Eastern interests of France
and Great Britain are such that they
tend to be more sympathetic toward
Japan than with China, and also
China's anarchy and attitude toward
all foreigners has cooled even the ira
ditional friendship of the United States.
the cause of peace and justice appears
almost wholly on China's side.
Attack Seems Premeditated.
Japan, whatever the intrinsic merits
of its case against China, put itself
hopelessly in the wrong by contemptu-
ously fiouting the League covenant, the
Kellogg pact and the nine-power China
treaty and taking the law, so to speak,
into its own hands, with apparently
premeditated, lightning offensive result
after brief and easy two-month
aign, in a complete Japanese oc-
ion of the three Chinese provinces
l. Ianchuria.
Throughout the japanese military
behaved as if notes of protest from
Geneva and Washington were utterly
negligible. Pledges of Japanese dtplo-
mats were coolly broken The Japa-
nese ATTACKED and smashed the Chinese
forces wherever they could find them,
even while the Council was solemnly
collaborating.
The original japanese position was
this: 1t was not war, but police OPP
GRAFTON which concerned Japan and
China alone; no outside interference,
whether from the United States. the
League or the Soviet Union would be
tolerated, and rather than submit to
such interference Japan, if need be,
would fight the whole world.
The Chinese position was that Japan
deliberately had broken the peace pacts
Rnd had committed fragrant aggression
and that the other signatories of the
pacts were bound TO intervene in
ChinaS favor to obtain an immediate
withdrawal of Japanese troops.
Japan Picks Time to Strike.
Japan appeared to have chosen the
time well. All the powers were ag
Rrieved with China over the extrater-
Titoriality issue; The United States
and indeed, the whole world were
plodding stodgily through an unprece-
dented depression. The Soviet Union
was paralyzed by the exigencies Of the
1lve-year plan. China was paralyzed
by cataclysnic floods and political an
Rrchy. AS not one of the great powers
was ready or willing to fight Japan
even in a general war to preserve the
worlds peace machinery, the only DOS
bibility had been to negotiate settle
5nent that would be unanimously &C
ceptable.
This settlement now has been
re&ched as follows: Neutral observers
will try to forestall a new clash at
Chinchow Japan agrees to withdraw
its troops as soon as security has been
re-established. China agrees to re-
establish security as soon as the troops
are withdrawn. The League and the
United States will send an inquiry
commission to investigate the whole
situation on the spot.
Withdrawal Made Indefinite.
The unexpected hope is that the
commissions findings will lead, first, to
the withdrawal Of the Japanese troops,
and, second, to a general conference
on the whole China question, wherein
Japans special claims will be swamped
din the general claims and the whole
issue of China's relations with the
other powers will be clarified and re-
adjusted.