Evening star., 1946-02-24


the Asiatic mainland and our strategic
position in the Pacific, particularly since
the Soviet government recently has be-
gun to show definite appetite" for
Manchuria and Northern China.
Russia's position in Japan, for the
time being, is not clear. The Moscow
government has not yet made any
attempt to show it's hand after the
Moscow agreements signed last De-
cember by Secretary of State Byrnes
whereby the Far Eastern Consultative
Commission was completely revamped
to suit our Russian friends and a control
commission was established and given
voice in the handling of Japan by the
American supreme commander.
But the fact that the status quo is
being maintained at this time is inter-
preted to mean that the Russians have
not yet had time to start a pressure
policy in the japanese islands. They
are busy with preparations for an "ener-
getic policy in the Mediterranean, they
are preparing to meet any possible
emergency in Turkey and also are busy
consolidating their position in Man
churia, Chinese province which is
important both from the economic and
the strategic points of view.
Stay on in Manchuria.
1t Is believed that before the end Of
the summer we will be confronted with
demands from Moscow which may mean
the placing of Japan-with it's 100000
nhabitants-under Russia's influence.
The Russians should have been COM
pletely withdrawn from Manchuria by
the end of February. There are no
indications, however, that this will be
the case. On the contrary, everythings
points to long stay by the Russian
armies in the area which is supposed to
be returned to China in accordance with
the Cairo declaration of November, 1943,
and the Sino-Soviet treaty of last
August. Some of the Siberian divisions
are being withdrawn but are being re-
placed Immediately by troops from East
ern Europe and Germany. These, in
turn, are being replaced by the new
u.
who have not been contaminated by
their contact with the mode of living
in Europe.
The Russian governments policy re-
garding Manchuria is still obscure to
the man in the street but is clear to
those who know heretofore unpublicized
facts and incidents.
Manchuria was endowed with a large
Industry by the japanese, who contem-
plated making the Chinese mainland
their last bastion of resistance against
the Allies. In accordance with the Yalta
and Potsdam agreements, all the Allies
were to share in the reparations from
Japan. This matter was not a question
to be settled between the Chinese and
the Russians but concerned all the Allied
powers which fought the japanese. p
After his return from Moscow, Ed
win Pauley was instructed by President
Truman to go to the Far East and look
into the reparations question, bearing
IN mind that this was a United Nations
matter. Mr.. Pauley visited Japan,
where he found only a small number of
industrial plants had escaped serious
damage from Allied bombing.
Visa Held Up by Reds.
So he turned his eyes toward Man.
churia, which had been about 95 per
cent undamaged and asked the Rus
slams for visa to visit that Chinese
province. The Russians were in COM
plete occupation of Manchuria at the
time. The usual dilatory methods were
employed by Moscow until Mr.. Pauley
realized that he might have to spend a
long time in Tokyo before receiving
permission to travel in Manchuria. So
he didn't complete his mission.
American observers, with rare excep-
tions, were in the same position as Mr.
Pauley. The Russians not only did not
want any intruders to see how much of
the Japanese industry had been carted
away, but they had other things to con-
ceal.
For instance, the Russians had everv
reason to keep quiet the fact that the
puppet Emperor, Henry Pu-Yi, had been
spirited away from Manchuria and had
been given comfortable shelter in Mos
COW. 1t was equally against their in
terests for the world to find out that
some of the top generals of Japan's
kWantung army had not been taken
into the salt mines or to prison camps,
but had been accorded all the privileges
OF their rank and were being kept in va
rious towns in Siberia and Russia where
they were undergoing "indoctrination.
large number of the rank and file of
the Kwantung army was sent to labor
camps and mines in Siberia, but a
nucleus was being kept either in Man.
churia itself or close to it's borders in
Siberia. All these things could have
easily been corroborated had Americans,
who by nature are inquisitive, been al
lowed to roam around Manchuria and
interview eyewitnesses.
None Available foIsTrial.
The Chinese in particular are wrought
up over the treatment afforded the
Kwantung Army. This army played a
dominant political role in Japan's poll
tics and was almost exclusively RESPONSE
BILE for the Sino-Japanese War which
started in September, 1881, with the
"Manchurian incident" and eliminated
in World War II.
The Chinese government regards the
Kwantung army generals, who en-
gineered political coups detat in Japan
and forced Hirohito to accept the DOM
ination of the military clique in Tokyo,
in much the same light as. we regard
Gneriro md the at her iradictad Mozir Of