The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-09-21
WORLD POWERS
STAND ACHAST,
But HELPLESS
Strong Hand of Military
Clique Seen Back of
Careful Planning.
ASIA DOMINANCE ISSUE
Nippon Feels 1t Can Not
Afford to Let China Be-
come United.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMS
scripps Howard Foreign Editor

BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMS
Scripps-Howard Foreign Editor
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21.-While
the other greater powers stood
aghast but helpless. their hands
tied by political and economic
troubles of their own, the japanese
army has frightened its stranglehold
on Manchuria.
In so dong it trampled underfoot
the toothless Kellogg pact and
strapped the nine-power treaty
signed at Washington Ito respect
the sovereignty, the independence
and the territorial and administra-
tive integrity of China"
That the war in Manchuria was
begun by the Chinese who fired
first, as claimed by the Japanese, is
not borne out by information re-
ceived here. On Friday, it was I'M
derstood that the Nekamura incl
dent had been smoothed over
through the efforts of the Japanese
foreign minister and the Mukden
authorities.
On Saturday Mukden had fallen
and Japanese forces had occupied
every strategic center and port over
an area of $50 miles, and had land
ed at Tsingtao, in Shantung.
Regarded Out of Question
That such widespread operations
were spontaneous" or due to a
group of panicky Chinese soldiers
firing at the Japanese, is regarded
by competent observers here as out
of the question.
There is plenty of evidence"
military attache told the writer,
that the whole movement was
planned carefully in advance. The
simultaneous cutting of communica-
tons and the seizure of a score Of
Chinese barracks, aviation fields,
railway centers, ports and cities in
widely separated areas, would have
been impossible without careful
preparations.
That the cabinet at Toxic Or
dered the military operations in
Manchuria is not believed here at
this time. The impression is that
the military clique, always power
full in Japan, has gained the upper
hand and acted on its own initiative.
Japan's China policy, regardless
of the party in power, however, has
one big objective, namely, to bring
Manchuria and eastern Mongolia
under her influence. But when it
comes to the manner of bringing
this about. the country is pretty
evenly divided.
Advocates Peace Policy
One faction, now represented in
the foreign Office by Baron Shide-
hara, advocates a policy of peaceful
penetration accompanied by profit
able commerce between the two ma
tons.
The other, the military faction,
insists upon "a strong hand" They
would watch their chance and the
first time the world situation was
such as to prevent foreign inter
ference, simply take what they
wanted on the Asiatic mainland.
With or without the consent of
the cabinet at Toxic, the military
today have applied the strong
hand" BY so doing they have burnt
their bridges behind them. For one
certain result of the latest Japan
csc aggression will be to make the
Chinese boycott against Japanese
products virtually 100 per cent
effective.
From now on, Japan will have to
move forward, not backward. What
has happened, has happened, and
the Chinese have long memories
Japan, therefore, may as well go
the whole hog and finish her job
of gobbling up Manchuria.
Fear Back Seat
Japan has no intention of ever
permitting China to unite in one
great, modern nation of upward of
450,0O0,000 people. She can't af-
ford to. With only 100000 popu-
lation, her little island quite OBJ
viously would be relegated to second
place in the far east.
On the other hand, being an
island empire already so packed
with people that they are crowding
one another into the sea, Japan
feels she must expand. Even with
Korea, which she annexed from
China twenty years ago, she insists
she must have more land upon
which to raise vital foodstuffS and
provide the raw materials needed
by her industries.
Manchuria, large as Texas and
California combined, rich and adj
joining Korea, offers the one pos
sible chance for this expansion. SO,
regardless of how the present rump-
us ends, when the smoke of battle
finally clears the flag of Nippon will
still be there treaties or no treaties