Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-17
HuII's Office Reveals
How japanese Baked
Fortified Isle Visits
BY JOSEPH H. BAIRD.


from visiting the inundated South
Sea islands while they-as is now
known-were being fortified illegal.
~, was revealed officially today BY
the State Department.
For more than six months ir
1929, it Is now made known, the
American Embassy in Tokyo carried
on negotiations with the govern.
ment to obtain permission for the
United States Navy Department tt
send warships on an official visit tt
the islands which, in the Washing.
ton treaty of 1922, Japan haC
agreed not to fortify. The negotia
tons ended in failure, and Japan
continued to build the gun emplace-
ments and air fields which are be-
ing battered to pieces today by the
American Army and Navy.
The story of Japanese duplicity is
told in Volume III of Foreign Re-
lations of the United States, a col
lection of diplomatic papers which
were made public today by the
State Department.
Hoover's Proposal Rejected.
The State Department documents,
In a section devoted to advance ne
gotiations leading to the London
Naval Conference of 1880, recalled
that President Hoover, comforting
at his Rapidan, Va, camp with
Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald
Of Great Britain, proposed that the
United States pledge to build no
more naval bases in the Pacific, if
the British made g. similar promise
regarding the Western Hemisphere.
However, the proposal was not
agreed upon.
(Mr. Hoover told the Associ-
ated Press in New York last
night that the naval base ques-
ton was a side ISSUE" and that
he and the late Mr.. MacDon-
aid concentrated on the question
of naval limitation. He said that
his idea was to reduce the cost
of naval bases in both the At
lantic and Pacific, and that his
proposal would not have affect
ed American bases in the Aleu-
tians, which have been so irnpor-
tant in the present war;
Charge Made Openly in '33.
When, in 1888, Japan walked out
of the League of Nations, charges
that the inundated islands had been
fortified were made openly in con-
nection with the question of it's
right to retain the mandates, which
were given Japan under League
authority. BY that time, however,
the rise of Hitler in Germany had
so alarmed Great Britain and
France that they did not feel strong
enough to make an issue of Japan's
abuse of its mandates.
The United States, not being a
member of the League, could not
raise the mandates issue officially
at Geneva.
In April, 1929, the documents re-
veal, Edwin L. Neville, American
Charge d'Affairs in Tokyo, was
asked by the State Department to
request Japan's permission for the
cruiser Asheville to visit a number
OF the inundated islands while on
its way back to the United States
from M,,nila.
Rts.uest to Foreign Office.
MIR. Neville made the request of
the japanese Foreign Once and.
after some delay, was informed that
the South Seas Bureau of the Japa-
nese government objected. The war
ships, Mr.. Neveille was told, could
visit the open ports" of Saipan.
Angaur, Truck and Jaluit but not
others because "harbof accommo-
dations were limited, there were no
pilots available and these l1arbors
or anchorages were difficult of ap-
proach and sometimes dangerous. :"
The islands on the Navy Depart
ment's proposed itinerary were An
gaur, Oleai, Ujeland, Kwajalong,
Udia, Maloalab and Wotje-names
now prominent In the news as
American soldiers and Marines push
northward toward Japan.
The charge d'affaires reported
Japan's reaction to the State De-
partment and was instructed to ad-
wise the Foreign Office informally
that the proposed visit had been
cancelled.
Three Months Later.
three months later, however. in
June, the State Department again
instructed Mr.. Neville to inquire
whether United States DESTROYER
fotilla, including the John D. Ed
wards, Barker, Smith Thompson,
Tracy, Borie and Whipple might
visit three Of the inundated islands
while sailing from the American
West Coast to the Far East.
The islands which the Navy pro-
posed to visit were Jaluit, Vote
and Kwajalong. Again the Foreign
Office consulted the South Seas Bu-
reau and Mr.. Neville was told that
the American ships might visit ia
Tut but not the other two.
The State Department chose to
let the matter drop until October
and then instructed Mr.. Neville to
call at the Foreign Office and dis
cuss the whole question of Ameri-
can ships being barred from the
inundated islands in an effort to
obtain a change in the japanese
policy.
Reciprocal Treatment Asked.
Mr.. Neville was told to explain
that the Nays reason for sending
ships to the islands was to obtain
photographic data on their little
known harbors. He was instructed
also to point out that the United
States granted foreign ships the
right to visit any of it's ports except
those which were designated mill
| Macarthur Rnne