EMBARGO LIKELY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21558, 22 January 1940, Page 11

EMBARGO LIKELY

Feeling Against Japan American Sentiment Growing United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received January 21, 6.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, January 20 Senator Key Pittman predicted that Congress will approve an embargo against Japan unless the Administration decides to oppose it. He added that Congressional sentiment for the embargo is growing in spite of the barrage of Japanese propaganda. CONCERN IN JAPAN United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright NEW YORK, January 19 The Tokio correspondent of the United Press of America, states that a War Office pamphlet which has been distributed to members of Parliament and the public, declares that Russia’s concentration of 400,000 troops in the Far East challenges Japan, while Britain obstructs Japan’s efforts for peace in the Far East and blocks economic development, and the United States is ambitious to control the Pacific. The pamphlet adds that the westward development of United States aviation is causing increasing concern to Japan. AMERICA CONCERNED United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright NEW YORK, January 19 The Tokio correspondent of the United Press of America states that the American Ambassador to Japan (Mr J. C. Grew) told Admiral Nomura. Foreign Minister in General Abe’s Cabinet, which resigned recently, that Washington was greatly concerned at Japan’s increasingly friendly relations with Russia, according to the Tokio newspaper “Hochi." He said that Russia and America fear and distrust each other, thus bringing pressure to bear on Japan, and as a result the latter’s relations With both were adversely affected. He expressed the opinion that Moscow was endeavouring to take advantage of Japanese pre-occupation with Washington to get the maximum possible concessions regarding all pending Russian-Japanese questions. A Japanese Foreign Office spokesman, commenting on this, said he saw no technical conflict in simultaneous discussions between Russia and America, but he granted that there were psychological difficulties. RELATIONS WITH SOVIET United Press Association—fiy Electric Telegraph —Copyright WASHINGTON, January 19 A further move in the growing Congress agitation to sever United StatesSoviet diplomatic relations is seen in Senator A. H. Vandenburg’s resolution requesting President Roosevelt to advise whether Russia has fulfilled her obligations to the Litvinov agreements of 1933, under which the United States recognised the Soviet. Senator Vandenburg declared that he was confident that the information would be such as would force severance. Senator Key Pittman agreed that Russia had violated her pledges. It is understood that he is opposed to withdrawing the United States representatives in Moscow on the ground that it would cut the United States sources of Russian information and that it would have little effect on the Russian-Finnish war.

Mr Thomas A. Dewey in his first speech on foreign affairs, said public opinion had settled that the United States would not participate in the war. He expressed general agreement with Mr Roosevelt's foreign policy and attacked the recognition of the Soviet as a fuzzy-minded departure from American tradition.