The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-01-21
JAP AN INVASION
is CRAVE ISSUE
BEFORE LEAGUE
China to Demand Invoking
Of Pact in Dispute
Over ManChuria.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP sIMMS
Scripps-Howard FOREIGN Editor

Scripps-Howard Foreign Editor
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2l.-Within
the next two weeks three interna-
tional conferences Of tremendous
Importance to the United States
and the world will meet in Switzer-
land.
A week from today, at Geneva,
the council of the League of Ma
tons, in regular session, will find
itself confronted by an indignant
and invaded China asking nothing
less than that japan, in effect, be
declared an outlaw state and cut
of from all intercourse with the
rest of the world.
On the same day, at Lausanne,
within a few minutes ride from
Geneva, Great Britain, France,
Italy, Germany and other Euro
pean powers will gather to hear
Germany repeat that she can no
longer meet her reparations pay
ments and ask what the others
will do about it,
Lastly, two weeks from today,
also at Geneva, upward of sixty
nations will begin o world disarma-
ment conference upon which, lead
ing statesmen on both sides of the
Atlantic agree, the future of civil
lization itself may depend.
Fate Of u. S. Involved
That the decisions reached at
these three parleys will be fateful to
the American people, no one here
disputes.
China's demand for a showdown
on Japan's invasion of Manchuria
will bring the League of Nations face
to face with the gravest problem OF
It's existence. Many Of its most ar
dent supporters feel its very exist
ence as an effective peace force de-
ponds upon how it meets this crisis.
China, dispatches from Marking
declare, will invoke Article 16 Of
the league covenant. That article
declares:
Should any member of the
league resort to war in disregard OF
its covenants. it shall ipso facto
be deemed to have committed an
act of war against all other mem
bers which hereby undertake
Immediately to subject it to the
severance of all trade and financial
relations, the prohibition of all in
tercourse between their nationals
and the nationals of the covenant
breaking state. and the prevention
of all financial, commercial or per-
sonal intercourse between the ma
tionals of the covenant breaking
state and the nationals of any other
state, whether a member of the
league or not"
Use Of Arms Envisaged
How the league can refuse, in the
light of events in Manchuria, to
stand by China is not foreseen here.
And if it does stand by China, the
United States, in turn, will find it
self in a tight corner. 1t either will
have to respect the leagues boycott
of Japan and cease all financial,
commercial or personal intercourse
with that country, else run afoul OF
the entire league membership, ex-
cepting, of course, Japan.
The use of armed force to carry
out the provisions of Article Is is
clearly envisioned. The. second para
graph of the article declares ct
shall be the duty of the council in
such case to recommend to the sew
eral governments concerned what
effective military, naval or air force"
they shall severally contribute to-
ward enforcing the boycott.
Debt Reduction Likely
The reparations conference at
Lausanne is generally. regarded as
the first step toward eventual re-
duction, if not outright cancellation
not only of German separations, but
of the allied wal debts.
The loss to the allies, over the
fty-eight-year period which repa-
rations are scheduled to run, may
reach a total of approximately $685.
000,O00,000. The loss to the United
States, on war debts, over the same
time, in case of cancellation, would
be about $50 100000.
Americas stake in the world arms
conference scheduled to begin a
fortnight hence, is world peace tax
relief and a boost to prosperity.
Failure of the conference, it is pre-
dicted, would plunge the world back
into an ornaments race and greater
world war dangers than existed
prior to 1914.