Evening star., 1933-02-19
EMBARGO ON ARMS
SOUGHT BY SIMON
British Foreign Minister
Sends FeeIerS to Four Other
European Countries.
BY NEGLEY FARSON.

BY Gable to The Star.
LONDON. England, February 10
The question of an arms embargo on
shipments to Japan ana China is now
agitating British political circles and
the press. ..-.-
Coincident with Foreign Minister Sir
Jchn Simon's careful fselers to France,
Germany, Italy and Czechoslovakia
(because Of the huge skoda works in
the last country as to whether they
were willing to join Great Britain and
the United States in an arms embargo
against the Far East, it is learned that
big British armament firms are now
fulfilling an order for 10000 900 rounds
Of ammunition just received from the
Japanese. These are the same firms
that in the last IA months have shipped
to Japan enough machine guns alone
to equip 81 brigades.
simultaneously the japanese during
the last seven weeks have bought $1,000
tens of British ships. These are the
passenger liners Megantic and Arcadian,
of $4,000 and 10000 tons, and three
cargo ships, Keemun, Stanleyville and
Bardavon, of 5000, 1000 and 5000 tons,
respectively.
To Be Used for Troops.
The japanese had announced that
they were buying the vessels to break
int a.
gantic sailed for Japan from Glasgow
yesterday, news leaked out that the
japanese presumably intended to use
all these boats for the transport Of
troops.
The japanese order for 100000
cartridges was received, 1t is ALLEGED, by
the Imperial Chemical Industries, which
is allied with Vickers- Armstrong, the
biggest armament firm in the world.
These are allied with the international
armamentS ring.
And it is no diScredit to Sir John
Simon himself and other members of
the British cabinet to point out that
several of them hold large blocks Of
investments.
At the same time that Sir John is
trying to secure a European agreement
for an arms embargo along President
Hoover's suggested plan, American Sen
ator Hiram Bingham, Republican, has
threatened to prevent note on such
an embargo in the Senate and Thomas
A. Morgan, representing American air
plane manufacturers, has protested to
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
House of Representatives in Washing
ton.
To date Great Britain, which is SELL
ing to the japanese and Chinese all the
munitions they can afford to purchase,
just as other nations of Europe have
been doing, has thereby shipped to the
Japanese about four times the amount
taken by the Chinese.
Should Apply to Both.
While it is not definitely known, it is
presumed that Sir Johns idea is that
the embargo should apply to the Jap
anese and Chinese equally, irrespective
of who is the aggreSSor or of the merits
of the present dispute simply because
the realities are that an embargo
against Japan, with neutrals attempting
to ship to the Chinese would mean run
ming a japanese blockade. The Jap
anese would thus capture Chinese mu-
milton shipments and, at the same time,
the European nations would face a test
SdSS VI Ii1S 1ISSOO1Il Oh tIle seas similar
to the British blockade CT Germany
during the World War
While it is understood by those on
the inside that both the British and
the Americans are now pursuing q
policy OF handling Japan with kid
gloves, it is commencing to be admitted
here that the threatened Japanese
occupation of Jehol would put the Man
churian question far beyond the powers
| Of the League of Nations.
In this instance it is interesting to
refer to a speech by Lord Lytton
chairman of the Leagues Commission
on Manchuria, in Manchester last night
wherein he said that he had set his
face against the much discussed eco
nomic boycott and blockade against
Japan. This would not only be crue
In its application, he said. but woulo
almost certainly precipitate an actua
| state Of war"