CHINA AND JAPAN

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 148, 25 June 1938, Page 26

CHINA AND JAPAN

A SURVEY OF RELATIONS

For the formation of a sound public opinion, the very basis of democratic institutions, it is necessary to get at the truth of many serious questions on which the citizen may be required to pass judgment before taking up an attitude on which, in the mass, his representative Government may support action. Affairs in Spain and China are particular instances today in which the interests of democracies are deeply, almost vitally, concerned and on which it is essential, as far as is humanly possible, to know the truth. The importance of public opinion in the outside world is fully realised by the parties in conflict and strenuous efforts are made on both sides to influence by the news and views they put out opinion in their favour. Little or no regard is had for the truth in the expression and suppression that characterise this propaganda and the student of affairs, as well as the ordinary citizen, frequently gives up the quest of truth in disgust and simply refuses to listen to either side. This confusion or apathy is as dangerous to democracy as credulity in swallowing a one-sided story without reserve. Both serve the purposes of the propagandist. The quandary of the earnest seeker after truth is more and more met nowadays by honest surveys by impartial bodies or, more rarely, by individual publicists with no axe to grind. Particularly valuable in the former sphere of work are the surveys carried out and published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, with its Information Department papers. These include in the past such examples as "The Economic and Financial Position of Italy," "Sanctions, "Raw Materials and Colonies," Great Britain and Egypt, 1914-1936," and "Great Britain and Palestine, 19151936' These contain in a handy form at a reasonable price all the informa* tion necessary for the citizen to come to a conclusion on current questions of the day such as these were at the time and, to a lesser degree, still are. The latest book is entitled "China and Japan" and ranks as No. 21 of the series of Information Department Papers. The authors are anonymous, but their work covers the situation historically, within 130 pages, in such a way that the facts, incidents, and events stand out with admirable clearness. Part lis divided into two sections: I—Principal Factors in the Far Eastern Situation, giving the Japanese View and the Chinese View, and ll— Political Factors in China and Japan, including the Political State of Chma and Political Factors m Japan. .Pari; II is similarly divided into five sections, covering first events from 1860 to 1931; then the Manchunan conflict of 1931-33; Sino-Japanese relations 1933-37; Japan and the U.S.S.R. along the land frontiers of China and Manchukuo, and, finally, devfopnient 5 since the outbreak of hostilities to the present year. Part 111 deals with economic factors, and Pari: IV,™* the international status of Shanghai. The ! information is amplified by tables, and maps, and supplemented by .footnotes. So far as can gathered from a careful perusal the information is full, accurate, and studiously impartial Such a'book is an.almost indispensable companion to the news, furnishing a mental background into . which current events will fit without i confusion. One looks forward to a similar work on Spain.—"Quivis.

MONEY AND BANKING The Economic Intelligence Service of the League of Nations brings together in its two volumes of 'Money and Banking," which is an annual publication, the essential information about currencies and banks all over the world. The developments of the last three or four years are the subject of a general review in the first volume which has annexed to it 19 summary tables. The facts and figures for 49 countries on which the review is based are given in detail in the second. This year there is an important addition. A complete balance-sheet is given (in Vol. II) with explanatory notes for each of the 44, Central Banks of the world. A chapter in the review deals with such important points as the increasing power of Central Banks oyer private banks, and shows how the former have been affected by the expenditure and borrowing of Governments and State control. Other chapters deal with subjects of current interest, for instance, "hot money,' gold hoarding and "sterilisation," currency disturbances, exchange control, the supply of money and its affect on prices, production and interest rates, and the recent stiffening, of laws governing commercial banks, often in the interest of the small depositor.' " This is the only publication which covers the main branches of banking in most countries and in which, the statistics on the subject are arranged so that readers can compare one country with another, and obtain facts and draw conclusions about the world as a whole. Bankers and business men with a practical interest in monetary and banking developments can obtain a good idea of present tendencies in the world from the first volume. They can then refer to the second volume for detailed information on special points which may interest them, e.g., the situation of a given country or Central Bank. Teachers and students who want to push their inquiries beyond the description and analysis in the review will And the second volume a mine of material for further research.

It was reported from Budapest that Professor Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, the Hungarian scientist who was one of the winners of the Nobel prize last year, and M. Roger Martin du Gard, the winner of the Nobel prize for literature, will collaborate in writing a book on human brotherhood and the victory of peace. The two prizewinners met for the first time in Stockholm, and spent much time together during their stay in Sweden.