WORLD AFFAIRS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22101, 3 November 1933, Page 7

WORLD AFFAIRS

THE FAR EAST JAPAN AND THE PACIFIC J ADDRESS BY MR F. MILNER Mr Frank Milner, who has recently returned from conferences of Rotary International at Boston and 'of the Institute of Pacific Relations at Banff, delivered an address, at the Town. Hall last night before a very large audience. The speaker devoted most of his address to the position of Japan in relation to the nations of the Pacific. Mr H. L. Paterson, president of the local branch of the New Zealand Legion, in introducing the speaker, said that he was one of New Zealand’s foremost orators, and that they recognised and appreciated that fact.— (Applause.) Mr Milner had met men in America and Canada who took a leading part in the affairs of their countries,, and they had opened their minds to him. He had come there that night to give them the benefit of the information he had gathered.— (Applause.) THE NEW ZEALAND LEGION. Mr Milner, who was received with loud applause, said it gave him great pleasure to give those present an account of his stewardship as their representative at Rotary International. He said he desired, in the firs* place, to say a few words about the New Zealand Legion, of which he was a member. The legion felt that, governracntally, they should have the best men in character and intellectuality to represent them. The legion was pointing out an ideal, and whether it was successful or not, it was striving to do something. The legion was desirous of bringing into the parliamentary area the beat type of men in ability and character that the country could provide. It wanted to see the abolition of the, party machine, andthere was a distinct ‘ feeling in the same direction iri other countries in the world. It was rather striking when they fourid confirmation of this type of some of the ideals toward which their legion was working. They should not judge a member of Parliament by the shekels he, brought back to his own city. It was time they called a halt, but he realised that New Zealand was not educated up to the ideal the legion set in the meantime. The speaker referred to what was being done by British Columbia in a movement similar to that of the legion in New Zealand. -v: VISIT TO AMERICA.

Mr Milner spent some time in giving his personal impressions of President Roosevelt and of bis correction with the N.R.A. movement. He said that in spite of his physical ability—he was paralysed from the waist down—President Roosevelt had a wonderful spirit and that it had risen triumphant over the flesh. He could assure them that whatever they read in the papers, up to the time that he had left; America the great N.R.A. was functioning magnificently. Moreover, despite the abolition of the employment of children upder 16 ,in the -factories, the reduction of hours, and the increase of wages, it was shown that the profits, were increasing, this notwithstanding, statements to the contrary that were made when the Act' was introduced. Wherever they wont in the United States to-day they found that, men and women,; irrespective of their political leanings, were behind," the scheme. If the States could not‘meet the critical situation in which it found itself to-day by the N.R.A., well, it Would by some _ other way. The President had made it clear that he could not mate the Act a success, butthat the people eould. Great British newspapers were now speaking favourably of the scheme. The speaker went on to refer to what he ‘termed excessive and extravagant nationalism and the French cynical insistence on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He asked them what that meant. It meant that Germany—a nation of 65,000,000—proud, scientific, and highly educaltecl-*7was -to be kepfcdown for many years.'./They bad the reaction in Germany to-day. There was a revolt, and where in the universities the students were being taught that war was a gift from God a pinch beak Mussolini was able by a wave of ' emotion to sweep these people off their _ feet. The cynical and brutal repression that M. Clemehceau left to 1 his tiation as a heritage was: having its results. Had the policy that Britain had tripd to bring about been given effect to—to forget and forgive, shake hands, and help-Germany to recover—they would have escaped the present deplorable position. Let them place themselves in the place of Germany, and, he could assure them that madness and bitterness would also have entered into their hearts. The feeling between Germany and Poland was as bad as the feeling between France and. Germany. Poland had a standing army of half a million soldiers. Mussolini himself blew hot and cold. There Was not enough, stability in Italy, He knew of no country where so many soldiers were to be seen as in Italy, and the whole'country was honeycombed with espionage. There was no stability in Europe, and to complicate matters and make them worse than ever, they had got the present position in Japan. s ;He went to America, Mr Milner continued, to interpret the British Empire to the United- States. Owing to perverted teaching, many Americans believed that jthe British Empire was held together by Some compulsory force, and it was a great pleasure to be able to tell them of the true position. He was told by Rotary International that it would not “go across,” but, on the contrary, he never failed to get a magnificent reception when be expounded the Empire to the people of the United States. There was general agreement in America that the world could bo stabilised only through the cooperation of the English-speaking peoples. His mission had been in the direction of the best thought in America Jo-day. THE JAPANESE QUESTION.- ,

Mr Milner then went on to deal with the Japanese question. He stated that he did not want to be an alarmist or sensa-tion-monger in his representation of this great problem, but he was extremely disappointed with the outcome. of the deliberations of the experts on this vexed question. He wanted to make it clear that - the discussion of the Japanese position had not been a cardinal objective of the Banff conference, but naturally the great political question bulked large had been the recent sudden change in Japan's foreign policy and its implications. Dealing with the modernisation of Japan Mr Milner said that the manner id which she had discarded feudalism and had adopted the new organisation of the most progressive Western nations had earned the admiration of the world. There had been a time when people had made a joke of the quality of Japanese work. They joked no longer, but had come to realise that Japan was a formidable competitor. Her ambition was leading her to tackle world trade in chemicals, and iron and steel goods. Aa he - had heard statistics of her development he had realised what a tremendous factor she was in the world’s industrial arena.- An expert in the cotton trade in England had told the conference of. the terrible slump there and had stated that Japanese machinery was being installed because it was better than that which Britain could produce. They had also,been fold that Japan made better naval vessels than Britain, and he had also been informed that the Japanese mercantile marine vied with the best that Britain could turn out. Yet a few years ago they had laughed at the efforts of Japan to imitate the proudly aloof West. It was her industrialism that made Japan a menace to the world, he added. The congestion of population could find a solution only in industrialism, which defended upon access to raw materials and the world’s markets. If she could not get it she would certainly fight to get it, and that was the’Japanese problem. . From 1918 to 1931 >Japan had discharged her obligations as a nation in such a way that no one;.could take exception. Now there had been-a change, and that'had come about through the sudden break in policy when Japan had taken possession of Manchuria and had brought about the Shanghai incident. What was the meaning of it? The best explanation had been given by General Araki in a statement- to the United Press. He had said -that Japan, after being for many years hemmed in by a policy of idealism in' the interests of international peace,

which had gained her nothing, had decided to turn her back on tie era 1 of internationalism and develop a policy of the strength of the right arm. Any nation that questioned that policy must . take the consequences. This was the reason, Mr Milner continued, why Japan was presenting the ! biggest Budget in her history and why j record Budgets for the army and navy ! had been demanded. The Japanese Mini ister of War was not responsible to the Diet. He was responsible only to the Emperor. This explained the development of the stray and navy at huge expense in spite of Japan’s financial obligations.

“That should not stampede us/’ he continued, “ but there are other forces which Japan cannot control” Some inci- , dents of which the newspapers made a great deal were not the real problem, and some tendencies were merely the youthful excesses of a militaristic people. They were told that Japan was out for -fight, but she did not mean to fight. He thought that Japan had done great disservice to the world by trampling on the post-war machinery for peace. He had thought, however, that the saving satisfaction was that Manchuria would' give Japan all the raw material that she needed and that it would take 50 or WO years to develop her new possession. By .■that time, he had hoped, the world would • have so developed in co-operation, that i it would have developed safeguards so terrific that it would be unsafe for Japan to run amok again. He was sorry to tell . them that his premises had been quite I wrong. The conference had been informed that Manchuria did not contain the' raw . materials that Japan required. Japan needed iron and steel and coal of a type that would produce good coke. She could not get the right iron anywhere in Manchuria, nor could she get in any quantity the right coal. They nad been told that I the whole of the coal of the Japanese Empire would not keep the Atherican furnaces going for six months. That was ominous and made them understand the real problem. Japan, for military reasons, was determined to be in the steel industry and to go so far as to challenge America by building against the world, in steel. Japan's population was increasing by 1,000,000 a year, and those people must be absorbed in industry. Immigration was no solution to the Japanese problem. THh Japanese were not an emigrating people. If birth control were applied it also would not solve the position. They could meet the position only by industrialism ; but Japan could not obtain the raw materials sne required. The Japanese ' were determined to have a place in the sun. Birth control was. not ruled out in Japan, but. the Japanese would not practise it. iraey claimed that they must have access to markets and to raw materials. There was no power on earth that could arrest Japan. America could not fight Japan. England, too, had no base nearer than Malta. The Singapore base was not nearly completed, and if Japan were provoked she would know what to do with it, the same as she would know what to do with the Panama canal. If Japan could not be given markets they would have war, but Japan did not meditate any attack at the present time. She had no desire to attack New Zealand or Australia. That was "bug." But if Japan could not obtain an access to the markets she would fight for them. , The newspapers of Japan were issuing propaganda to show what Japan had done in the wars of the past; “We smile and we wait.” The opinions he had given were not his own. He merely wanted to tell them that the position in the Far East was ominous, and it was only by international co-operation that it could be met. The Japanese feeling was more against America than against England, because of her .treatment ..by America. The Japanese ?vere the most nationalistic people in the world. The present Mikado was the incarnation of all the previous Mikados and the traditions of Japan, which had a religious basis/ The Japanese would throw their, lives away willingly on any point of .honour . for their country. The present . position was a challenge to the combined statesmanship of the English-speaking people. Notwithstanding that the Anglo-Japanese treaty had beea abandoned, Britain still had great manna in Japan. The population urge in Japan was the greatest in the woiud’s history. Only industrialism would give occupation and development in Japan, Manchuria, or Korea. Taking oil, which was one of the chief sinews of war, the total produced in Japan in a year was only 70 per cent, of what America produced in one day. Japan said "We must have Manchuria as a buffer against the Soviet,” the same as Britain regarded Belgium. Japan was determined to keep Manchuria both for her population and for its safeguard. Japan said, “We would like to have peace, but we cannot develop if the world shuts the door against us.” ‘ No one nation could make war against Japan with success, and maybe no two nations, and, moreover, nothing would he gained. They must be generous and prepared to make sacrifices. Britain and America must. cooperate to see what could be done to meet the demands of Japan; The competition v/as bo keen that no country could stand Up against Japan unless by heavy trade embargoes. The resources of statesmen would have to he utilised. If it came to war then that was the end of everything. (Applause.) A vote of thanks to the lecturer was carried by acclamation.