JAPAN'S REASONS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 90, 13 October 1931, Page 9

JAPAN'S REASONS

STRIFE IN .MANCHURIA

RAILWAY INTERESTS

The reason why Japan captured Mukden and her troops advanced against other Chinese towns in Manchuria was tho quarrel which has been developing for a number of years over the railways in Manchuria, the vice-royalty which comprises the three eastern provinces, writes A. M. Pooley, formerly an Eastern correspondent in the "Sydney Daily Telegraph." During the revolution of 1011 and the civil wars which have torn China practically over since, Manchuria remained undisturbed, has developed her trade and industry very greatly, and, owing to the tranquility which prevailed under tho robber turned ruler, tho Viceroy Chang-Tso-lin, who was assassinated in 1928, thero has been a tremendous influx of population from China Proper. In the background, however, there h:is always Jain the spectre of the railway tangle, and from time to time it" has produced harsh words and violence To understand why there are three systems of railways in Manchuria it is necessary to go back to tho final decade o)' t.lic; lost century. By the. secret Cassini Convention in

1890 ltussia was granted the right to construct a railway across Manchuria from west to oast giving access to Vladivostok, and a branch lino from Harbin to Port Arthur, which place was leased by Russia, so that she would havo an ice-free port when Vladivostock was frozen up during the winter. By the Treaty of Portsmouth after tho Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur, which was renamed Daircn, and the whole of the lino leading there, South of Changchun was surrendered to Japan. The lino was taken over by the Soutli Manchurian Railway Company, which initiated a policy of development very profitable to itself and to the country, generally. New feeder lines were built by the company, and Japan also financed the construction of other lines, built by China but connecting with the S.M.B. Nevertheless there has been constant friction between Japan and China, tho former country claiming that by a secret agreement in 1905, after the Treaty of Portsmouth, China agreed not to build any parallel or competing lines. STRENUOUS DENIALS. Tang-Shao-yi, tho famous old statesman, who is supposed to have signed the agreement, is as strenuous in his denial of tho agreement as the Japanese are in tho assertion of ita authenticity. The foreign-controlled railways in Chinese territory have always been a burning question with the Chinese Nationalists. It is their ambition to regain control of these railways, and that all future railway construction shall be Chinese absolutely. In pursuanco of this policy they have with their own or borrowed capital constructed various lines, both east and west of the South Manchurian Railway, and others have been surveyed and partly built, the completion and linking up of which would moan the diversion from both the S.M.R. and the Russian-controlled Chinese Eastern Railway of very much, perhaps most, of the traffic which they now enjoy. For example, tho Pekin-Tsitsiuhar line is to be extended to Taheiho, on tho river. Amur, opposite to Blagovestchensk. Thereby an all-Chinese north-south trunk line would traverse Manchuria. Not only would tho prosperity of the S.M.R. bo seriously threatened, but also that of Dairen. The Chinese, with Dutch capital and Dutch engineers, are constructing a now port at Hulutao, to the west of Newchwang, with which this Chinese network of railways would be linked up. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the S.M.R. last December, Dr. Sengoku, tho president, said that Japan "would not tolerate the construction of any more railways menacing the prosperity of the South Manchurian Company." STRONG INTEREST. Japan, clearly, has a very strong interest in maintaining the present status quo of the railways in Manchuria. The, S.M.R. is her spinal column in the Eastern Provinces, just as the Chinese Eastern Railway is Russia's spinal column in the Far East. Both countries insist upon tho strict observance of their treaty rights, which in the case of Japan extend to A.D. 2004. Just why Japan has taken action has not been explained. The alleged destruction of a bridge at Peitofing Is the excuse, but in a country so tangled as China, excuses can easily bo found. It may be that Japan considers the moment favourable for action. China has another huge problem on her hands. The floods on the Yangtse and HoangHo have rendered .tens of millions homeless and starving. There are dissensions in China itself. On the other sido 1928 proved that Russia was not" ready for a fight, but when the Five Years' Plan is carried through and tho great Urals and Kusnetz Combines completed, Russia will be a formidable enemy. By consolidating her position in Manchuria now, Japan may think to save herself much trouble and expenditure in the future. That China can think of fighting Japan is absurd. The civil wars of China are only enlarged banditry. Eagles grow from eaglets, not from starlings. China for two thousand years has maintained itself not by fighting but by diplomacy. Chinese generals study philosophy, not war. They know Mencius and Confucius, but know not Clausewitz. And, most important of all, silver is down to thirteenpence— and China has no money.