Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1932, Page 4

- TOKIO OFFERS PLAN T0 SETTLE CONFLICT Proposes to League That Foreign Troops Occupy i+ Zone Around Shanghai. (Continued From First Page.) troop movements down the Yangtze River and alr raids will be employed to prevent the Chinese from bringing up reinforcements by land. A Japanese | government spokesman asserted that the Shanghai tonflict was almost war on a national seale. Mamoru Shigemitsu, Japanese min- 4ster to China, responded to Geneva and Tokio reports that an_immediate truce | was in prospect at Shanghai with a| statement that no change in the situa- | tion was expected. AIR RAIDS ARE RENEWED. (Copsright. 1932. by the Associated Press.) SHANGHAI February 27—Japanese pirplapes bombed the Chinese pasitions on the Chapei-Kiangwan battle front today as deadlocked armies rushed re- inforcements toward Kiangwan, center poiny of the line from Shanghai to Woosung, in preparation for a decisive fights g‘rhrec Japanete hombing planes bom- | barded the Chinese Airpori at Hang- chow for the third time. and put the | finishing toueh, dJapanese mnaval au- | thorities said, to the destruction cf Chi- | nese airplane bases around Shangral. | Six bombs were dropped. seiting the hangar ablaze, the Japanese said. | Chinese Cling to Kiangwan. small but stubborn Chinese garri- !fl: still held out in the ruins of Kiang- wan, neither Japanése shells mor claims of victory having dislodged the defenders As the fogs lifted cver Kiangwan, the Japanese Tesumed their attack. Fifteen airplanes from the emergency fiying field behihd the lines scattered e plosives over the Chinese positions, se ting new fires aflaming over Miaochung- chen, source of the beleaguered garri- ‘s supplies. .m’}'!"u‘ls g?trs divided themselves into two groups. A majority struck around Mia:churgchen. The others went on to Chapsi, pouring bombs Again upcn that native section of Shanghai stricken in the first days of the long battle here. Thousands of Troops on Way. Japanese artillery tossed occasional shgg into Chinese lines strafed by the borgbardment of airp] and _big for days of indecisive conflict, butrotherwise the Kiangwan sector was col tively calm. ousands of Japanese pected to come to reinforce the con- tinuplly repulsed assailants, were re- ported to be near Shanghai. but ap- pargntly had not yet arrived at 9:45 am ction of the Whangpoo River as far as Woosung, at the mouth 16 miles away, revealed no sign of in- | coming tramsports. The waterfront wa quiet and deserted. Alded by air and artillery bombard- ment, the Japanese have made number- lessiassaults on Kiangwan and have is- sue& numerous claims of victory, but nei troops, ex- er shells nor communiques routed the:Chinese. The Japanese announced that during | yesterday's fighting they finally had succeeded in surounding’ the village. Their infantrymen already were in the wesgern end, they s&m. u:d !‘:e pro- fo. mpp up the rest o it at 11! o'clock last night an Assgciated Press correspondent, Who wer out to see for himself, learned thaf the Chinese still held Kiangwan and that the garrison was being sup- plied with fy and ammunition. ese supplies were brought in from Mi ungohen, to the northwest. Help on Way, Sags Tsai. The communication.fine’ with the belepguered garrison was very narrow, ands the soldiers bearing food and am- muftion ran a_ gantlet of machine | gury fire from Japanese positions on eiter, side. ut the neck of the bottle still was opep. - communique from Gen. Tsal Ting- Chinese commander, said that the gwan garrison still was intact and help was on the way. “The government at Nanking has sent me two more divisions to reinforce the!19th route army,” the communique said “and this additional force will to action when the Japanese of- ngive is renewed.” e harbor master reported that two Japhnese troop ships had arrived off ther Woosung forts, 16 miles down the Whhnpoo from Shanghai. It was be- Meved that these ships were the first | e great fleet that is bringing| reinforcements from Japan. " Several Vessels Arrive. During the last few days several ves- sels have arrived with ammunitions and supplies for the Japanese, and on eacl of them there was a small com- plement of soldiers. About 1,000 men were landed yesterday. When the last crowded transport has arrfyed, the Japanese—unless they change their tactics—will attempt once again to break through the Chinese de- fenses at Kiangwan and thereby cut off the troops defending the northern end of the Shanghai-Woosung line from the units holding the strong Chinesc poeitions in Chapei. Then the plan will be to conduct separate operations against the two ends of the broken line. Jiist as the hands of the big clock on the tustoms house tower at Shang- hal marked midnight the heavy guns of both forces went into -action in Chapei and Hongkew ‘The cannonading continued until after 1 o'clock. To non-combatants in the International Scttlement it some- | times seems that the.artilierymen time their gunning by the big clock, which is plainly visible from both sides of the battle line, 3,000 Entrench at Miaochungchen. Inspection of the front line showed that the opposing lines extended in a gentle curve from Woosung to & point nearly a mile east of Miaochungchen, thence south to ngwan and east- ward around the village to its south- ern limits, and thence south to Chapei. The whole area between the Kiang- wan front and.the Chinese support positions in the vicinity of Tazang, four. miles to the west, was honey- combed with artillery pits and machine gun nests. Northward toward the Liuhang hinterland the territory also was ‘heavily fortified and swarming with Soldiers. Although the Japanese have claimed for days that they control the village of Misochungchen, 3,000 Chinese sol- diers were entrenched there and they seemed prepared to hold out indefi- nitely. Well built trenches criss-crossed the eéntire town and barbed wire en- tanglements were everywkere. and munition supplies were adequate. ‘The_Japanese front line was three quarters of a mile to the East. TRUCE RUMOR CIRCULATED. of heavy | LONDON, February 27 (#).—The Reu- ters (British) News Agency correspond- ent at Geneva reported tonight that st rumors were current there to the effect that an immediate truce was pect at Shanghai. e réspondent said that an fmpor- tant communication by Japan to the League of :Nations Council might make possible an immediate cessation of Thostilities. & The foreign office at Tokio disclosed CHINA'S 1,900,000 SOLDIERS NO LONGER “UMBRELLA ARMY" Resistance Offered to Japanese Invaders in Shanghai Battle Reveals Spirit Heretofore Unsuspectcd. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. The Chines» have the largest stand- ing army in the world. According to reliable estimates it numbers nearly 1.900.000 men. and is divided as follows: The Chinese Na- tional Army, 946.000 men: the Szech- wan Army, 230,000 men: the Shansi Army, 200.000 men: the Kwantung Army, 105000 men. and miscellaneous troops of other provinces, some 400,- 000 men The majority of these troops are equipped with moden rifles and ma- chine guns, Their estillery leaves much to be’ desired. but they all pos- sess six-inch trench mortars which they can handle very efficiently. The air force is inadequate and the troops are not equipped with chemical warfare appliances. Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek's Army, the best, organized of all, possesses & num- ber of English type whippet tanks. The officers are trained in the mili- tary academies of Whampo and Paot- ing Fu. A number of the senior of- ficers have been trained abroad. es- pecially in Japanese military academies, and a few in France and Germany Training Intensive. The trainirg in some of the Chinese nies is inter Forcign instruc- mainly Ge officers of the former imperial arr drifted into China after the Wor ar, were hired by Northern war lords such as Tchang Tso Lin, and by the Cantonese. ‘These officers take the military busi- ness much more seriously than any Chinese general has ever taken it, and have succeeded in forming excellent units in China. Gen. Chiang Kai- Shek had nine military advisers in Nanking, who organized two model divisions for the former President of the Chinse Republic, divisions whicly are reported to be as good as any oth- er army in the East. Heretofore Westerners used to talk scornfully about the Chinese soldicrs who went into battle with an umbrella ar fin one hand and a rifie in the other. They spoke scornfully about the Chinese soldlers wh> used to fight for days without either side suffering any casual- ties worth menticning. But to under- stand the real characteristic of the Chinese soldier one must bear in mind that since 1895 the Chinese have not fought a foreign ration. The many waged in China can be compared with the feudal wars which were fought dur- ing the Renaissance between Italian republics, when soldiers speaking the same language and belonging to the same race fought against each other in long-drawn-out battles which resulted generally in a few unimportant casual- ties. The same mercenaries who fought today against one prince would be found tomorrow fighting for that prince if he cffered better pay. They made a good deal of nolse, looted and pillaged all they could, but did not really mean to harm each other. Soldiering at Bottom. China is an eminently pacific country. Hence soldiering is considered one of the Iowest occupations in that country, where the intellectual and the scholar are on top of the social scale, followed by the farmer who does an actually constructive work. The merchant who makes profits by his wits comes third and the soldier is at the bottom of the scale, In modern days, when.China began fighitng its interminable’ civil wars, a large army was necessary. It was re- cruited from the unemployed and the ne'er-do-wells of the villages, and if that recruiting did not yield the neces- sary number of troops the rabble of the country was pressed into service. These men fcught only for the pay they received from various employers. An American met a group of Chinese soldiers of the South in a railway sta- tion near Shantung. He got into con- versation with them and asked how much they were paid. They said $6 a month. The American asked whether they had received their full pay that year and the answer was, “Twenty cents." “Did you fight hard against the | Northerners?” was the next question. The men shrugged their shoulders and one answered, “Twenty cents’ worth.” This is the natural attitude of mer- cenaries who fight against their own nationals. The Chinese who becomes & soldier does so in order to receive food, clothing and some pay, and he goes into the battle to earn his pay and nothing inore. There is no enthusiasm when a battle is won, and likewise he retreats with a light heart and no sense of shame or distress. There is nofuestion of national insult, because the fighting has been among Chinese. All Family Wars. The men forming opposite armies have no hatred against each other. Frequently, as was the case in the Battle of Shansi, in July, 1926, the commander finds that his opposing chieftain is an old classmate and a dear friend. When soldiers desert from one army to another they are hand- somely treated and immediately offered employment. In short, the soldiers feel that the wars they are fighting are family wars. But the same scldiers can become fierce fighters when they are well led and are battling men of another race. Such was the case in the battle between the Cantonese and the Northerners at Tiensin in PFebruary, 1926. The first battalion of the first Nationalist army was surrounded by overwhelming forces belonging to Gen. Tchang Tsu Chen. The 400 men composing this battalion fell on the field of battle, and there was | not a single attempt to run or sur- | Tender. With proper discipline and material care, the Chinese soldier can make as good a fighter as any in the world. The Chinese coolie (who composes the great majority of the armies) possesses great physical qualities. He is wiry and strong, and being accustomed to carry heavy loads, he easily bears his pack and arms and the necessary supply of ammunition. He is not sensitive to ex- | treme temperatures and stands the brunt of hardships easier than any cther soldier in the world, Sanitary conditions in the Chinese army are beyond description, yet the Chinese soldier, who has never had any proper care when he is il or wounded, does not seem to mind Air Force Deplorable. ‘The Chinese military man, however, | does not know how to handle mechan- ical contrivances. While the Chinese makes an excellent airman because he has “air sense,” thz Chinese air force is in a deplorable shape not only be- cause the generals have no morey to keep up their airplanes, but because their men have no idea how to toke care of them. ‘The same thing applies to the Chinese artillery. Artillery troops have to be chosen from a special type, different from the rest of the army. wars which have been | It was consequently believed that the Chinese troops, which have been fight. ing for vears their small “personal wars, with a few guns going off at hourly intervals, would desert their positions and run before the Japanese infantry, inferior in numbers, began the attack. Chinese Stand Firm. Nothing of the sort happened. The Chinese held their ground with such success that foreigners who witnessed the Shanghai battle were astounded. The reason for the remarkable re- sistance of the Chinese is not difficult to understand They were fighting & war, no longer against other Chinese but against a foreign invader. To re- treat before him would have put them to shame. It was & matter of life and death, and they preferred death to re- treat. But while the Chinese soldiers have shown that they are willing to fight |and fight well, that they can change | from “umbrella soldiers” into real war- riors, the Chinese commanders do not | change so easily from “political gen- |erals” into patriots, as Westerners | understand that word. Some of the generals it is said, are even now, while thousands of Chinese are dying for the defense of Shanghal. quite prepared to strike a bargain with the Japanese. if tHat bargain can b turned into profit for themselves. There are indications, however. ac- cording to reliable reports from China, that the vast Chinese public is becom- |ing intensely nationalistic. Should these reports prove accurate it is possible that political bargains between the Japanese and the Chinese generals will be rendered impossible. And in that eventuality the Japanese are faced with a long and costly war. (Copyright, 1932. by North American News- 1 paper Alliance, Inc.) HANDS-OFF POLICY - ADVISEDFORU.S Observers in Far East Warn Boycott Would Mean Im- mediate War. BY B. W. FLEISHER. TOKIO, Japan, February 27.—The | tensest possible situation prevails here. The press, while editorially critical of | American Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson's statement, gives prominence in the news columns to every incident | implicating an American or Americans |and hints that the gravest danger is | threatened by an economic boyeott by the United States, for this would not lead to war, but would mean immediate | war and without hesitation. | , As previously pointed out in these dispatches, Japan's military strength is disproportionate to its resources. Its weakness at present is economic and firancial. It would prefer a chance at 3 naval conflict, even with defeat, if | necessary, to strangulation and eventual | bankruptey imposed upon her through a boycott from America. Japan would | strike with its strength to ward off a body blow at its weakness. In the most seliable foreign diplo- matic quarters here it is stated that the | League of Nations cannot impose sanc- tions, as France would not only block this step, but would also use all its in- fluence to avoid such action, which would directly lead to another world- wide conflict. Conservative Leaders Worried. It is also stated by a leading diplo- mat here that the greatest danger now is Washington's attitude. It would seem to observers that the wisest policy now is to give Japan the rope with the usual inevitable conse- quences. Japan has already brought about a united China, which China otherwise could not have accomplished in decades, and it will have to face that enormous problem for an intermin- | able time. | The next thing Japan is accomplish- ing, as seen by students of the situa- | tion, is its own economic and financial ruin and injury to its international | standing. Conservative leaders here are worried, but the situation is beyond their con- trol, as they are only t0o obviously not the dominant faction now. The martial spirit is running high. Japanese newspapers - are catering to this spirit, playing up glorious deeds of valor. The same old propaganda that always accompanies war psycholcgy the world over is disseminated in its ex- tremest manifestations and the Jap- | anese masses sincerely believe they are fighting for the cause of justice and to |save the International Settlement at | Shanghai. Advise U. S. to Keep Out. It would seem that America’s own interest is to keep out of this mess, ob- servers here say. Sanity dictates that t is nct up to the United States either to save China or to save Japan from its own folly or to rid the "ah‘! of militarism, for militarism will ruin its own cause if given time and rope. It is estimated that thé new budget- ary deficits and costs of the war and the unfavorable trade balance will ne- | cessitate the floating of internal loans | to the value of 800,000,000 yen (about $400,000,000) this year. With govern- ment bond yields high, the government cannot unload them on the public and the banks will not be inelinded to sub- scribe to them. Therefore the Bank of Japan must bear the burden and carry the large bulk of the bonds, with re- | sultant inflation and depreciation of the gold coverage. Japan's export trade with China is completely gone. Raw silk has been | down since the embargo from 260 to 150, meaning a gold value loss of about $70,000,000 for the year. South Man- churian Railway bonds to the value of £12.000,000 (about $41,760,000), due in July, are not renewable, as likewise electric power loans from America, and the war costs are piling up. Importers and industrialists are now buying heavily from America, because they prefer to invest the yen at its present rate to holding the yen, fearing a coming depreciation in exchange value. Japan confronts problems now that | were undreamed of six months ago. It is Japan's mess, not America's, observers emphasize, and it is wise, extremely wise, for the American to “keep out.” A boycott mesns war—that is the warning. (Copyright, 1932) ‘The world seems to be astonished by | the heroic resistance the Chinese sol- | diers have put up at Shanghai. Here were the Japanese soldiers, supposed to be among the finest in the world, equipped with the most up-to-date war paraphernalia, such as steel helmets, tanks, 170 airplanes and light and heavy artillery, unable to dislodge the today that the Japanese representative at Gepeva had been instructed to in- form the League authorities that Japan ‘was ready to end the Shanghai conflict whenever the Chinese proved their will- ingness to withdraw 12%; miles. Such awwithdrawal was stipulated in the Japanese ultimatum served on the Chinese before the recent big offensive started. At that time the Cl Te- Chinese. cquipped with a few trench mortars and a large number of ma- chine guns. ‘The Japanese artillery and the forty- odd warships on the Whangpoo poured fire on the Chinese defenses 24 hours before the attack. to reports from neutral observers the artillery fire was so terrific that only really troops could with stand or American Soldiers To Be Vaccinated Against Smallpox By the Associated Press. SHANGHAI, February 27— Every one of the 1.200 officers and men of the 31st United States Infantry was ordered vac- cinated today. Numerous cases of smallpox in Shanghai caused Army physicians to take this measure as a safe- 'd against the danger of & possinl epidernic. STIMSON'S NOTE HAILED BY BRITISH Weekly Calls It Most Impor- tant Document of Far Eastern Crisis. By Cable to The Star. LONDON, England, February 27— As evidence of a strong divergence of | British opinion either pro or anti- Japanese on the Manchurian and Shanghai situations, which has been |sharply brought out by the catalytic action of American Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson's letter to Senator William E. Borah defining the Ameri- can policy in the Far East, the Economist, foremost British politico- economic weekly, declares that the Stimson letter is the most important document on the Far Eastern crisis. Since the erisis began—both the British and Japanese governments should take it to heart—the British already have eome perilously near to collusion with the Japanese policy in 'Mlnchurh. according to this weekly, by Inrrnmng from protest against the es- tablishment of “Japan's puppet goy- ernment.” Sanctions and collective se- curity should be brought to bear against Japan, which has already pilloried itself as the aggressor at Shanghal. Conservatism Noted. The Economist represents enlightened | liberal cpinion and coincides with the xpressions of the Manchester Guardian, | Great Britain's foremost political dail | The British Labor party has issued | manifesto asking the powers to with- draw their diplomatic representation from Tokio. Extreme conservatism, however, par- ticularly the die-hards represented by Lord Beaverbrook, was adequately rep- resented by a fierce polemic of the Canadian press lord’s last night Eve- ning Standard. _ “Japan was a loyal and useful ally in the great war.” declares “A. A. B.” in a feature article headed, “No Time for Tnterference by Sentimentalists.” “If any nation comes out on top, I hope it may be Japan.” The London Daily Telegraph, more moderately Right Wing journal, says that Mr. Stimson's letter “apparently assumes” certa‘’n violations on the part o1 Japan of both the Kellogg pact and the Washingtor treaties, but “such assumptions or presumptions would be highly improper as well as inopportune on the part of Great Britain." As 8 member of the League of Na- tions, according to the Telegraph, Great Britain must await Geneva's verdict Japan had promised to maintain the open door and withdraw its troops as s00n as it gains a security gwaranty for the lives and property of its nationals in China and “unless these assurances are not being honored Great Britain would not feel justified doubting the word of her old friend and former ally.” Pesition Awkward. ‘The Telegraph adds that Mr. Stim- son’s intimation that America might be forced to overbuild the Washington naval treaty involves Great Britain in the escalator clause of the London treaty, thus creating an awkward po- sition for Great Britain, which already is not building up to even the London treaty strength. The London Times, which endeavors to depict’the official viewpoint as closely as possible, says that Mr, Stimson's clear exposition of the American policy is received with an air of general re- lief at the League of Nations. It is definitely helpful, and the “British delegation does not disguise its satis- faction that the United States should have given the world so clear an in- dication that she has no intention of allowing the events in the Far East to weaken the significance of the nine- power treaty or the Kellogg pact.” The Times says that the Stimson letter will greatly strengthen the posi- :\z‘;uo!n:h!dk-ne Assembly, which ursday to pass judgment on the Sino-Japanese n%‘llr.J A stout assembly verdict, it is pre- dicted by the best informed observers here, will invoke no sanctions and will merely inform Japan that the League will refuse to recognize the territory it has occupied by force. The assembly might also request further investiga- tory powers for the Lytton Commission, which will arrive in Shanghal in a few days. Public Opinion Lukewarm. British public opinion is lukewarm to an almost unbelievable point. Japan's occupation of Manchuria was regarded by the great bulk of public opinion here as not only inevitable but even desirable. Since the Shanghai in- cident public opinion against the Japa- nese Is sharpening, and the heroic Chi- nese defense i winning a multitude of admirers in this sport-loving country, One heroic band of idealists, includ- ing three ministers of religion, one out- of-work general and Lady Heath, avia- trix, has offered a form of “peace army” to throw itself unarmed before the Japanese lines and bayonets. But the adamant determination of Great Britain not to be dragged into any war or warlike gesture and the apparent helplessness of the League of Nations is causing public. opinion to regard the §ino-Japanese war strictly as one for spectators. (Copyright, 1932) HOOVER PROGRAM HIT BY NORMAN THOMAS el S h Rejection of Direct Aid for Jobless First Magnitude Crime, Says 1928 Candidate. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, February 27 —Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate for Presi- dent in 1928, termed President Hoover's financial program “unsound and short- sighted” today, speaking at a luncheon of the League for Industrial Democracy. also called the rejection -by the Senate of direct Federal aid for the un- employed “a crime of the first magni- ture,” and said the Senate was “doubt- less following Hoover's wishes.” “The Federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation was not introduced until wages had been forced down and labor thoroughly defaulted both by wage cuts ;n{! unemploy;s:‘r’lt.; he said. “Then elp was provi lor railroads, and industrial enterprises. Pk “But no stipulations were made that the corporations aided should wring water out of their capitalization or hold up wage levels, or give the public & voice in the management of enter- prises the public was forced to save. “The s0: d Hoover program is classical proof of the.&lass nature of our Government, of economic interes| so short-sighted that it even gives us bad economies.” 45 CHINESE CAPTURED AT MEXICAN BORDER Fugitives From Southern Republic in Nationalistic Campaign Reach 172 in 3 Days. By the Associated Press. BISBEE, Ariz, February 27 sceking refuge in the United Stater maee tinued to arrive at the border points of Naco and Douglas from Mexieo today, under arrest by brought. the. total of orie o leaving the southern republic nuol; & nationalistic days. gvnl hundred Chinese accused of ent this country have been FEBRUARY 28 1 PART ONE. BATTLE OF SNIPERS RAGES IN HONGKEW Blocks of Japan-se-Owned ADVENTURE 00 CANADIAN RN SEEK 7] RS PARLEY Sene of Fae Pley Fao Lure for Mary SUSTAINS STIHSON Former War Heroes and Others Hit ./Records Support Contention - yote with Structures Demolished by Shells and Fires. BY MORRIS J. HARRIS. (Copyright. 1932, by the Associated Press.) SHANGHAIL February 27—Little by little the north district of Hongkew is being reduced to a brickyard , under bombardment from Chinese guns and it grows harder and harder to argue one'’s way past the Japanese sentries there. I found this out when I made a tour of the district today, after an early morning bomberdment by the Chinese. One result of the almost nightly straf- ing by the Chinese guns has been to | minds of the Japanese, and I found that the sentries could be convinced of one's honorable intentions only with great difficulty. The aim of the Chinese guns, they told me, was due to “spotting” by Chi- nese agents, including foreigners, who have made their way into the district. Entire Blocks Demolished. North Szechuen road. once Han main stem, and the center of prosperous boulevard of desolation. Between a point well within the Settlement bound- aries and the Japanese naval depot. a mile north of the Settlement, ’bulldmgs remain whole, | “Exploding shells, followed by fir | have demolished block on block of bu: ness structures, most of them Japanese owned All stores are open—wide open. Those which have not been reduced to piles of brick and charred timber, have had their fronts torn out by the Japanese bluejackets to eliminate the possibility of their use as nests for Chinese snipers. All the buildingy are scarred by rifle and machine gun fire and few windows remain umbroken. The bright lights of the cabarets are gone. ‘These second-story places of amusement received more than their share of bullets from nearby Chapei be- cause of their exposed location, Hongkew Battle Goes On. In the vicinity of the naval duty I found them flattened on the roofs play- ing & “peek-a-boo” game with snipers in the buildings of Chapei. Every now and then a rifle cracked as some luck- less Chinese was caught in the act of peeking from & window. Equally often a Japanese bluejacket fell before a sniper’s bullet. Thus the Sino-Jap- anese battle in Hongkew continues on, although the sensational and dramatic developments of the first few days of the hostilities have passed. The Odeon Theater, one of the town's chief show houses, is now only & brick shell. A Japanese school building, where youngsters once frolicked in safety, is now subjected to an increasing rain of shells and bullets. Churches have not been spared. The Russian Church, twice hit by shells, now is a tottering hulk. The Japanese naval depot at the north end of the district, a primary ob- ective of the Chinese guns, seems to ave a charmed existence. It is only slightly damaged. The traffic rule these days In Hong- kew is to speed up, not to slow down, at a couple of blocks away along the cross streets is Chapei, where Chinese out- posts lie in wait to take pot shots a automobiles as they dash by. OFFICIALS FEARING BOYCOTT PRESSURE MAY ENTANGLE U S. ___(Continued From First Page) the present Sino-Japanese dispute. For this reason, the letter addressed by Secretary Stimson last Thursday to Senator Borah was welcomed by the British foreign office, which believes that & warning to Japan that her ef- forts to destroy China's territorial in- tegrity will prove eventually futile, can | be more effective than a warlike meas- ure like a boycott. Must Preserve League. France is equally unenthusiastic about a boycott, but one must remem- ber that Prance's fundamental inter- est is to preserve the League of Na- tions at any price. Consequently, if the situation at Geneva were to de- velop in such 2 manner that she should have to choose between a boycott against a friendly nation and the dis- ruption of the League, or even a com- plete loss of faith in the League, she will mccept the boycott idea. This is at least the opinion of the American observers throughout Europe. Italy and Germany, in spite of their comparatively large economic interests, are reported to be favorable to a boy- cott. They are afraid of being faced in the future with an aggressive act from some other power and are willing to sacrifice some of their trade in order to uphold the prestige and the power of the League. ‘The United States is, of course, not & member of the League and conse- quently she cannot attend the discus- sions which will take place at Geneva from March 3 onward. But our position is none the less difficult. We realize that a declara- tion of boycott against Japan could be interpreted by that power as an act of war. Japan is a member of the League and consequently cannot interpret the actions of other League members as hostile to her. The United States will undoubtedly be invited by the League to join in the boycott, but there is no reason, it is said, why Japan should not interpret, if it wishes to do so0, America’s action as an act of war. Hence the feeling in authoritative quarters is that the State Department must act with caution when it is ap- proached by the League to adhere in the boycott, and the Congress of the United States will have to consider very carefully the whole situation. On the other hand, however, public opinion in this country appears to be every day stronger in favor of a boycott. Nobody, say the protagonists of this idea, wants a war, but it is inconcievable that Japan will single out the United States and challenge us when it is obvious that the whole world is against her. War Danger Held Nil. ‘The chances of Japan trying to make out of our joining with the rest of the world to enforce peace a “casus belli” are nil, it is said. But if we refuse to join the other nations in the coercive measure they think they must apply to Japan the boycott will be completely useless and this country will be re- sponsible for the failure of the other nations to uphold the peace pacts and the inviolability of international e Siew of th In view S uncertain situation, the discussions at Geneva next week are likely to be Drotracted. If the smaller nations, after having France's support, want to en- 'orce & boycott, the first step they have to take is to apply Article XV of the covenant, which Tequires the Council of the e & warning to Japan to cease hositilities and submit the case to the League, under penalty of some drastic measures being taken against her. If Japan refuses to obey the Council's injunction, the Assembly will require the Council to adopt a boy- cott against the offending power. To adopt the boycott measure it is to have the unanimous con- the Council and a majority vote n sent of campaign to 172 in three | of the Assembly. Naturally, neither of [ will be satisfied to follow st:l! footsteps the belligerents is allowed to vote. <o tof If things g0 that far, it is belundlmerdy warn that Great Britain, boycott ides, — i;l!‘lf as she is to to the develop & caution against spies In the | few | intersections along Szechuen road. Only Special Dispatch to The Star OTTAWA, Ontario, February 27 (N.ANA) —Five hundred soldiers of the skies, the cream of the royal Ca- nadian air force, have heard with eager ears the call to adventure and are | planning to become soldiers of fortune |in the Par East Overlooked by the country which they | served for years, blocked in the career | for which they have studied and trained, | this doughty group of sky fighters now | awaits from Chinese authorities a reply | to their offer to break an eserial lance | for China against the speedy air raiders of Japan. |~ According to spokesmen who have been conferring with Tchuin Li, Chi-| | nese consul general for Canada, the 1 offer is likely to be accepted with grati- {tude. ~ Brief cables from Ottawa to | Nanking have impressed the Chinese | | government and military and they have asked further details. The air men are eagerly anticipating action at Shanghai | in four months. i A cut of $42,000,000 in the Canadian | estimates two weeks ago spelled con- traction in every government depart- | | national defense. It spelled unemploy- | shopping and entertainment, is now & | ment for hundreds of members in the cost the Chinese $9,000,000 to non-permanent section of the R. C. A F. stationed at various bases through- out the dominicn, Many Are War Heroes. | any of these threatened with the los: of the only jobs they knew at the end of March have been decorated for var service. Over 90 per cent of the fiying personnel are war-time pilots and | the Distinguished “lying Cross, the Alr | | Porce Cross, the Distinguished Conduct | | Medal &nd the Military Medal ue] | proudly worn on many a breast in this strange little coterie of fighters with no one to fight for. They read of the war in the East—of Japan's bombers pouring death from the skies at Chapei, of Japanese ma- | chine-gunners in scout planes raking infantry columns from the safety of the | air, and every news dispatch illustrated | the futility of Chinese courage on the | ground against dashing Japanese skill | in the air. ! China needed air men—and here | were 500 of them who needed an em- | | N 1 ployer. by Dominion's Economy. and within two days the Chinese consul general here had received an offer of two air squadrons. tried in war and fire, ready to dare the finest that Japan was to offer. | “We do not feel that we are mer-i cenaries,” said one spokesman. “Fly- | ing and fighting in the air is our career. If an engineer or scientist is denied the right to serve his own country, he turns elsewhere. That is what we are doing We are air men and if our own coun- try doesn’t need us, China does. “There we will get lots of flying. We wili have foes worthy of our mettle and, with it all, we will still have that fecl- n defending the weak against the strong “With China grounded and Japen in the air, the latter is gambling for prodigious stakes with loaded dice. We want to make it fair.” Offers From Many Men. This opinion evidently echoed the sentiments in the hearts of many flying men in Canada. Scarcely had the news from Ottawa flashed over the wires when offers of service poured in from gkew's| ment and chiefly in the department of | all parts of Canada. Estimates made here are that it will equip and maintain for a year the two squad- rons of 18 machines each offered. This includes salaries for the first year, with a sporting provision that it will be less for following years. The contingent in Ottawa consists of 15 officers and 100 men, while offers from other parts of Canada bring the total to 75 officers and 425 men of other ranks. A snag appeared in the “foreign en- listment act of 1870," which prohibits & British subject from enlisting against a nation at peace with Britain. But it was suddenly recalled that no “war” has been declared, so everything is right again. Gordon Bulger, Vancouver pilot, who has recently returned from China, has dvised Canadian pilots to stay home, although he thinks R. C. A. F. fiyers might be more cordially welcomed than the others. Chinese officials, he says, | are tired of having their ships cracked | up by lnept air men. (Copyright. 1932. by the North Ne American wspaper Alliance. Inc ) 3. Al FAR EAST TRUCE * HELD LIKELY HERE |Observers Believe Japan Would Be Happy to Find Way to End Struggle. By the Associated Press. | Dr. Hawkling Yen, Ohinese. charge d'affaires in Washington, asked yester- day about possible truce plans in the Far East, sald he believed the Chinese intend to stand their ground at Shang- | | hai indefinitely, as Japan's truce terms are considered entirely one-sided by | China. | There is & growing opinion in Wash- | ington official circles, however, that | Japan would be happy to find some means of ending the struggle at Shal hai. And a truce at Shanghai before | the meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva on March | 3 would probably have considerable ef-| fect on the economic boycott movement. Boycott by U. S. Doubted. The threatened economic boycott | against Japan has become a very gen- eral subject of discussion in Washing- ton, but America’s participation in such a boycott, should the League of Na- tions proclaim it, is regarded as doubt- ful because of the bitter opposition of Senator Borah and other leaders of both Houses of Congress. It is also known in Washington that neither Great Britain nor France will| support such a movement against Japan | unless loyalty to the League of Nations | makes it inevitable. The full Assembly of the League of Nations, with 54 members, possibly will suppert very drastic action against Ja- pan. It requires only a majority vote to support such action in that body. But the League Council has the final decision, and as unanimous vote must | be had in the Council Assembly, action | will not necessarily be sustained. Japan | and China are members of the council, but would be excluded from voting in view of being parties to the contro-| versy. | American View Supported, There are indicatiohs that the lead- ing powers in Europe are inclining more and more to the American posi- | tion, namely that any rights which Japan may obtain by the invasion of | Manchuria and the fighting at hai will not be recognized as they will be in violation of the nine-power treaty and the Kellogg-Briand non-aggression pact. It would not be surprising if the League of Nations eventually works out some formula wheredy its members will be enabled to take a similar stand to that of the United States. FARM EDITOR RETIRES OKLAHOMA CITY, February 27 (#) —The retirement of Carl Williams, cot- ton member of the Federal Farm Board, as editor of the Oklahoma Farmer- | Stockman, was announced today by E. K. Gaylord, publisher. Williams has not been active on the | paper since July, 1929, when he ac- cepted appointment to the Farm Board. Clarence Roberts, who has been co- | editor since that time, becomes editor. resolution asking the powers to enforce a boycott will be passed. | But in order to enforce that coercive measure it is necessary to use not only | the economic and financial power of all | the nations represented at the League, | but also the navies, which will have to see that no ships are allowed to enter the Japanese harbors. Great Britain, on account of her po- | sition as the leading naval power in the | world, will have to put at the dis- posal of the League a part of her nav: For that purpose, however, the British Parliament will have to vote the neces- sary credits to send men of war to the Far East. If the House of Commons feels that the British representative at Geneva has acted unwisely in joining the other powers in the boycott, the house can refuse the necessary credits, and the entire boycott idea, as far as Great Britain is concerned, will have be dro] wAu thezé”gompumud facts will be| taken into consideration at the Geneva meeting on March 3. The discussions promise to be long and heated. They are going to be watched with an anx-| jous interest by American diplomats and by the State Department because, indirectly, vital American interests are jnvolved in what will be decided in Geneva. % 1 In administration quarters, it ig still hoped that the League Nasions, urged by Great Britain and France. Henry L. and Japan that the 52 nations of the League will not recognize any |- territorial acquisition Japan may make oY e — ‘ Secretary Strife at Home Makes First-Rate Aviator Of Shanghai Native By the Associated Press. VALLEY STREAM, N. Y., Feb- ruary 27.— The Sino-Japanese strife has made a good flyer out of Allen J. Chang, & native of Shanghal. When guns first started to roar through the city where he was born he hastened to Curtiss- Wright Airport to take lessons, so he could go back and battle Japan in the air. In a few weeks he will receive his transport license. Instructors say he has become a flyer ranking with the best. He has applied to his government for instructions as to whether to remain here and organize a Chi- nese flying class or return im- mediately to fight. Two other New York Chinese are also taking lessons. RESIGNATION MARKS GEORGIA G. 0. P. FIGHT! Colored Becretary of Com..ittee Quits——County Conventions to Be March 19. By the Associated Press. A, Ga., February 27.—Ben J. Davis, colored secretary of the| Georgia Republican Central Committee, resigned during a stormy committee session here today. The committee set March 19 as the| date for county conventions to name | delegates to the State Convention which | will be held in Atlanta March 26. Dele- | gates to the National Committee will be | | named at the Atlanta meeting. Reading of the committee roll precip- jtated a storm of protest led by Toby Grant, colored woman candidate for national committeewoman, and Prank A. Doughman, white lawyer, whose names were omitted along with a num- ber of others. that we are helping an under dog. | Peace in Pacific Is Hinged on Nine-Power Pact, ‘The conclusion was obvious | By the Associated Press. Challenge by a Japanese government spokesman in Tokio of SBecretary Stime son's contention that the nine-power treaty is the actual keystone of the rch of peace in the Pacific, erected | by the Washington Conference of 1921- | 22, invites appeal to the written record of that conference. Only there can be gleaned a true upderstancing of tie interrelationship of the seven treaties which were the product of that conference. The most casual examination of that record seems convincing, It sustains Mr. Stimson's view in both letter and very chronology of events erence backs him up The first formal action taken by the | conference, at its fouth plenary session | December 10, 1921, was adoption of the Root resolution by a roll call vote. Becomes Article 1 of Treaty. That resolution later was embodied | unchanged as article 1 of the nine- power treaty. No definite commit- ments as to naval limitations or as to any other of the five additional treaties which grew out of the conference had been made r to that action. And it is und the application to existing Sino-Japanese situation of 1 of the treaty that all the dip- Icmatic efforts of the United States or other signatories have turned in the last few months. It sets out not alone a common pledge to respect China's territorial and ad- ministrative integrity, but also commits the signatorles “to provide the fullest | and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop and maintain for hers self an effective and stable governe ment.” Perhaps the most specific recognition of the interrelationship of the whole treaty fabric to promote peace in t! Pacific was voiced by President Hard- ing when he presented the treaties and acompanying documents to the Senate | for ratification in February, 1922. Mr. Harding pointed out that the Senate had not only already specifi- | cally “advised” the negotiation of the naval limitation treaty, but by infera ence also had recommended a pact such | as the nine-power treaty to erase causes of friction in the Orient. Important Relationship. “Much as it was desirable to lift the burden of naval armament and strike at the menace of competitive construce tion and consequent expenditure,” he sald to the Senate, “the executive branch of the Government, which must be watchful of the Nation's safety, was unwilling to covenant a reduction of armament until there could be plighted new guarantees of peace, until there could be removed the probable menaces of conflict. “Therefore all the treaties submit- ted for your approval have such ime portant relationship, one to another, that, though not interdependent, they are the covenants of harmony, of as- surance, of conviction, of conscience and of unanimity.” At another point President Harding said of the nine-power pact itself: “I bring you this cular covenant in the confident belief that it is the outstanding compact of peace in the Pacific, which will justify the limita- tion of armament and prove & new guarantee to peace and liberty and maintained sovereignty and free insti- tutions.” Two Views Prevailed. At the inmqg:emon of .the conference, following his Selectlon as presiding of ficer, the then Secretary Hughes dise closed that two views prevalled as to | the order in which the two major m | poses of the gathering, armament o tations and solution of Pacific and Far Eastern problems, should be dealt with. One view, he said, was that considera= tion of armaments should “await the | result of discussion of the Far Eastern question”; the other that a reverse order be followed. Alternatively Mr. Hughes simultaneous discussions and the con- ference adopted his suggestion creating two major committees for the purpose, One was a five-power group to deal with naval limitations and the other a Nine-power Committee on Far East- ern matters. ‘The Root resolution was drawn at request of the nine-power group and promptly reported back to a plenary session of the conference and unani- | mously acopted. It was the first prod- | uct of the conference, publicly arrived at and ratified, —_— Plans to establish a hosiery institute in Calcutta, India, to train villagers to knit hosiery at home have been aban- doned. “to People . . . on A, P. Giannini, President of a Salary” THE BANK OF ITALY, whe rose from ebscurity to m conspicuous position in American finance, when asked for “Advice to People Who Are Dependent Upon a Salary” 16 REPORTED TO HAVE SAID: “Possibly the professional trader wno devotes “all of his time to the study of market con- “ditions, and to whom an occasional loss is “not a serious matter, is willing to risk a part “of what he has, on the hope of a big profit. “But certainly the average salaried man or “woman makes a great mistake in following “such a course.” Mr. Giannini could not possibly give better advice te eople who are dependent u em—NOT TO SPECULAT i ry” than to advise on pon a % E. 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