The Nome daily nugget., 1935-12-02

mediately of the Philippines, but more important to Japan are the Netherlands East Indies, which buy more goods from Japan than does even China. Japan has an an- nual balance of trade with these heavily populated islands that is more than S35,000,O00 in her favor.
 As to the Philippines, Japan make mortified gestures at the sug- gestlon that her interests there are anything but platonfc. Certainly, although defending the Philippines from Japanese attack would be man's-siZe job for America, the Jap anese would venture no aggression there so long as the islands are under the wing of American protec- tiOn.
 | But in 1915, according to the present agreement, the Philippines will get their complete political in- l dependence. With American dom- ination will go the privilege of free | fact during the next ten years the tariff on Philippine goods coming into the United States will be an nually increased. If the economic burden becomes too great for the Phllippines-and there are plenty of those who say 1t will-the is- lands may be forced to enter some sort of union that would give them trade advantages with another large power. That would be Japan.
 Consider Russia.
 It must be remembered that there is another great power which has something to say about the reap portionment of territory in East Asia That power is Soviet Russia, with 100000 fighting men and far superior air force north of Man. chukuo and across the Amur river. The conflicting aims of these two powers was not so serious when Manchuria existed between them to absorb the shocks. Now their borders have moved right up against one another. Already border skir- mishes, allegedly provoked by Jap anese guns, have caused vigorous protests from the Soviet ambassa- dor in Tokyo.
 The Siberian army is far better mechanized than the Japanese, its airplanes are modern and double the Japanese strength, and the Is- land of Japan itself is perfect set up for aerial destruction.
 To offset this, Japan will be mOv- ing from interior lines, and admin lstration of Japanese army cam paign would be possible on much more concentrated basis, for Si- beria Is on the outside of great, curving, northern frontier of Man. chukuo. While Japanese re-enforce- ments could be moved in with com- parative celerity, because of the proximity of the homeland and be- cause of far superior rail facilities, 1t would take much longer time for the Red army to move replace ments from Russia proper into east ern Siberia. These replacements would have to come over one lone railroad which is notorously ineffi- cent and easily susceptible to crippling by an enemy force.
 The Test May Come.
 Soviet-Japanese relations may come little more nearly to a head next year when new contracts will be discussed to permit Japanese fishing off the Siberian and Kam- chatkan coasts. Only 10 per cent of the fish taken from the waters bit on communistic hooks in 1927 1: now half of them do. Perhaps the red bait is more enticing. At any rate Japan now wants to pay It's rental of fisheries in yen instead of gold rubles and wants to base the rentals on the number of fish actually caught.
 By consenting peaceably to the waiver of it's ownership rights in the Chinese Eastern railway, Rus sla indicated that it was willing to let Japan have something of a free hand in Manchukuo. The area, which Is three times as large as Japan itself, is now administered and very ably, too-by the Japanese army of occupation.
 The Japanese policy in Manchu- kuo has been constructive. Rail- roads have been increased in mile-