Evening star., 1932-11-20
DEBTS MAY FIGURE
|NFAR EAST STUDY
Observers Think League win
BaIk at Decision UnfaVor-
able to Japan.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.
The Far Eastern problem will come
TO the fore again early next week when
the Lytton report will be examined by
the Council of the League Of Nations
On Monday that worthy council
meets, but will dispose of the secondary
problems, such as the war in the Chaco,
the Liberian situation and other minor
problems. On Tuesday the Council will
begin its discussions on the report pre-
sented by the League commission under
the chairmanShip of Lord Lytton, and
also OF the japanese observations on
the report, which were received yester-
day at Geneva in a memorandum con-
tanning some $4,000 words.
The American Government, though
vitality interested in the Manchurian
situation is not represented at the
meeting Of the Council, not even by the
usual unofficial observer" Gen. Frank
Mccoy is at Geneva, but he does not
represent in any way the United States
Government. He is merely a private
citizen selected by the League as q
member of the Lytton commission.
Debt Stand May Affect Farley.
In political and diplomatic circles it
is believed that the events during the
last 10 days, since the British, French
and Belgian debts notes have been re-
ceived in Washington will render the
discussions at Geneva less smooth.
Since the coming into Office of Pre-
mier Herriot, the general impression
among international diplomatists was
that France, in spite of its important
interests in the Far East, interests
which were not as conflicting with
Japan as those of the United States
and even Great Britain, had definitely
made up its mind to support the Stim-
son thesis regarding Manchuria.
The League of Nations last March,
under the impetus of the smaller ma
tions, deciced to investigate the Far.
Eastern conflict
The commission sent to the Far East
was composed of five members, among
whom was the French representative,
Gen. Claudel. He alone, during the
drafting of the report of the commits
sion, stood out for certain things favor
ing Japan, and intended making
minority report. The relations between
the United States and France had i'm
proved considerably, however, and the
French government instructed Claudel
to join the other commissioners and
make the report unanimous.
Expected Prompt Action.
In Washington the State Department
and foreign diplomats believed that IN
spite of the inevitable delays in the
presentation and examination of the
report, the Council of the League would
act promptly. and this belief was shared
by the Toxic government. Hence, the
threats from Toxic that, if the League
finds against Japan, that country will
not continue to remain member of
that international family.
The situation, 1t is feared in respon-
sible quarters, may have changed since
/ the American Congress has made it so
plain that the United States will
not consider postponing the payments
due by France ard Great Britain in De-
cember, nor reducing or cancelling the
war debts. The friendly attitude of the
principal European powers toward the
United States and its problems in the
Far East is likely to turn cooler because
of the debt question. The principal
European powers never saw much to
their advantage in getting entangled
in the Far Eastern question, but they
decided to intervene, first because they
thought that it was worthwhile ges-
ture to gain Americas good will on
matters concerning those powers more
directly than Manchuria, and secondly
because the smsller nations. members
of the League, were keenly interested In
the doctrine enunciated by President
Hoover regarding the non-recognition of
territories gained by the force of arms.
| The influence of these smaller powers
! in the League is negligible, however,
when compared with the influence of
! Great Britain and France. 1t is up to
| these powers and satellites to decide
what is going to happen to the report
of the Lytton commission.
From we'll informed sources in Geneva,
/ the news comes that the Council of the
League will examine the Lytton report
4 with utmost care, in order not to ap-
pear, by too hasty decision, to weaken
| the prestige of the League. But, in
order to avoid offending Japan, the
| council will appoint a commission of
experts to analyze the conclusion of
! the commissioners Of the League in
| connection with the observations of the
| japanese government which will be
| submitted to the League tomorrow.
| Such a commission will have to take
time before it is able to present its con-
| clusion, as much time as the interested
nations need to see what happens to
| the question of debts and what will be
| Americas attitude toward the European
/ problems under the new administra-
| ton.
To gain time is at present Japan's
| principal objective. The policy of the
| japanese government as expressed by
1 Japan's representatives in Washington
and by the spokesman of the foreign
| Office in Toxic is don't come to any
| hasty conclusion regarding Manchukuo.
| Give us year or l8 months and you
will see what a remarkably prosperous
country we shall make out of the un-
rIIlV former T7rOvinca Of China
Wait and See" Is Slogan.
A policy of wait and see" is the
| slogan of Japan today, and according
to well informed quarters in Geneva
| this is exactly what the League intends
/ to do.
In the meantime. japanese diplomats
and agents as well as representatives
| of the ManchuEuo state are going about
Europe informing the various govern
ments, especially those Of minor coun-
| tries who would like to pick up little
foreign trade here and there, that
Manchukuo with its enormous re-
| sources, with a favorable trade balance
and needing practically everything in
| order to organize itself eS a brand-new
state, will become in the course of the
| next few years an excellent customer
for all kinds of manufactured goods
and especially steel products.
In France this lure is considered as
plausible. In the last three months
two important F'renchnen have been
on the quiet in Manchuria investigating
and prospecting One is the French
banker, Baron de Rothschild who went
without much noise to Toxic and
Manchukuo to see what profitable in
vestments could be made by the French
industrialists and business men in that
new state; the other was M. Massenet,
the president of the Franco-Asiatic
Bank, who is mainly interested in the
ultimate fate of the Chinese Eastern
railways. He desires the japanese, or
the Manchukllo government, to pur-