The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-04-11
JAPAN HAS NEW
 PLAN IN CHINA
Large Standing Army With Industries Running to
 Keep, Feed Soldiers
BY H. o. THOMPSON Limited Press Stan Correspondent


 Tokyo, April 11-CU.P) - Jap anese military circles today dis closed plans to keep large stand ing army on the Asiatic continent and to develop industries on the spot which will be sufficient to feed, clothe and arm this overseas fighting force.
 The pnurpose is not only to avoid tremendous transportation problems in getting soldiers, food and muni- tions from the Island of Japan to the China mainland, but also to eliminate the great cost of those op- erations.
 If the expense of feeding and arming soldiers in China could be eliminated Japan could carry on in- definitely against the Chinese guer- fila warfare which was intensified in the last week and which seems likely to continue for many years.
 Munitions Industries
 The army plans is to establish munitions industries near the prin- cipal garrison centers, together with food production units and factories for the manufacture of other mater ials needed by the army.
 A precedent has been found in the case of the South Manchuria Rail- way system, which is under the con- trol of the Kwantung Army station ed in Manchukuo and which makes profits but which has its operations .centered around military require mentS.
 Much of the new trackage laid down by the SMR in Manchukuo is to provide military rather than commercial routes. The SMR en- gages in coal mining and other in- dustrial activities as well as rail- roading, and has been in position to make money from its varied en- terprises in addition to serving the army.
 Obvious Advantage
 Such system applied to the whole of China would be an obvious advantage, particularly if the fac- tories and other commercial enter prises originally sponsored by the army could eventually make profits as business enterprise.
 Army leaders hope that industries which they will control in China will do exactly that. They could get commissions on transactions in territory under their control and in general hold an overlordship amounting to monopoly manage ment.
 The big obstacle in the way of such dream of continental self sufficiency is the money conscious ness of the Chinese people them- selves.
 The Chinese do not like the cur- rency system which the Japanese army seeks to impose, particularly in North China where the army out lawed the national currency to which the Chinese had been accus- toned and in which many of them had savings.
 Chinese Retaliate In retaliation, Chinese are ob- Structing agricultural development so that the army will have diffi- culty in getting sufficient crops and exportable commodities from which necessary foreign exchange might be obtained.
 Japan's war minister, Lieut.. Gen Seishiro Itagaki, touched on the army's plans for garrisoning China during a recent speech.
 "It is a matter of great im- portance for our national defense that heavy industries furnishing munitions should be developed on the continent so that large num- bers of troops may be stationed there and our country may act properly in the event of an emer- gency," he said.
 T think it is quite natural in working out general plan in this connection that a policy of regional self-sufficiency should be adopted"
 Regarding the army's purchases of raw materials in China, official sources said that:
 l. The army is purchasing local products in occupied sections of China and is frankly attempting to beat representatives of third pow CTS to those purchases.
 2. The principal products being purchased are cotton, hemp, wool, and animal hides.
 3. About 60,000,00O yen will be available for army purchases this summer.
 4. The army determines its own prices but is attempting to keep them at good level in order to promote recovery of normal condi- tions in the occupied areas. 5. Military transports bring SUD- plies not needed in China back to Japan in military transports. Here the products will be processed and the finished goods will go into Japan's foreign trade.