WAR NOT PROBABLE

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1929, Page 9

WAR NOT PROBABLE

RUSSO=CHINESE DISPUTE JAPAN LOOMS IN OPPOSITION SOVIET FEARS HER POWER POSITION STILL OBSCURE By Telegraph—-Press Assn.—Copyright. Australian Press Association. Received July 16, 7 p.m. London, July 16. No fre,sh development in the RussoChinese dispute over the Eastern Railway is expected until the end of the week. ’Rhe delivery of Russia’s ultimatum at Nanking was delayed owing to translation difficulties.

Moscow has asked Nanking to deliver a copy to Mukden. Moscow in the meanwhile has mailed a copy of the Russian text to Mukden. As the ultimatum dates from the hour of receipt the situation remains obscure.

Reports of war talk and patriotic demonstrations continue to be received from Moscow. Everybody is said to be asking, “Will there be war?” and the answer seems to be “There will not.” Russia is much too afraid of Japan, whose large interests in Manchuria are a crucial factor. It is already hinted that Russia may be contented with nonmilitary relations. A mass meeting of 1090 persons in Moscow yesterday breathed fire against China, and pledged themselves as ready to take up arms in defence of Soviet rights. More moderate opinion hopes a way will be found to avert a conflict which, it is feared, may be precipitated if China ignores the ultimatum as it did after the raid on the Harbin Consulate in May. The Soviet’s ultimatum proposes:—

An immediate conference to regulate the questions of the Chinese Eastern Railway. That the Chinese authorities shall cancel the arbitrary orders regarding the railway.

The immediate release of the arrested Soviet officials. The Note warns the Mukden Nationalist Government that it should weigh seriously the consequences of the rejection of the proposals. In the event of an unsatisfactory answer in three days the Soviet will be “compelled to resort to other means for the protection of the lawful rights of the Soviet Republic.” Chinese railways date back to 1876. Most of them were built by foreign capital. There were over 7000 miles of railway after 1918 and of that distance about one-sixth had been built by tish capital and enterprise. There are twelve different lines. Recently construction work has been stopped through lack of capital and the warfare that has been raging for the List ten years in China.

Tho Chinese Eastern Railway, over which China and Russia are quarrelling, is the most important. It was built by Russia under agreements dated October, 1920. It runs for HOO miles in Chinese territory, eventually linking up well south of the Manchurian system. Up to now it has been run by Chinese and Russians in unison.