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Show I 1 1 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By Edward C. Wayne U. S. Attitude Toward Japan Changes With 'Drive to South' Viewed as Threat To Vital Supplies From East Indies; Soviet Discounts Air Raids on Moscow (EDITOR'S VOTE When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) 1 (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) I f t V J Following a half-hour conference with Acting Secretary of State Sumner Sum-ner Welles, Japanese Ambassador Kichisaburo Is pictured in Washington as he expressed to newsmen the hope that the feeling between the TJ. S. and Japan "will become better and better." Later, Welles had a little different dif-ferent version of the conference. He said he had warned the ambassador that Japan's actions threatened sources of TJ. S. defense materials and had a direct relation "upon . . . our national security." (For other news of Japin see below: JAPAN: A Cbsnte.) JAPAN: A Change Japan, following the establishment establish-ment of a new government under the same premier, still rather puzzled puz-zled observers as to what the new regime might have in store for Japan Ja-pan and the world. Summed up by "the man in the street" in Tokyo, who commentators commenta-tors felt was as good a barometer of the mysterious future as any, the new government promised something some-thing like this: 1. A sterner prosecution of the war with China. 2. Outwardly, at least, no change in the tripartite pact with Germany and Italy; 3. A generally more placatory attitude at-titude toward the United States provided pro-vided this were possible if Japan's aims were carried out. 4. A strengthening of Japan's position po-sition in Manchukuo and on the Siberian Si-berian border, but no provocation or forward move against Russia unless the Germans were shown to be positively winning a decisive victory. vic-tory. 5. A definite "grab" in the southern south-ern portion of the Pacific front, probably in Indo-China. This last possibility, believed definitely defi-nitely promised since Japan was accusing ac-cusing the British of a similar attempted at-tempted "grab" and hence following follow-ing the old Axis technique of accusing ac-cusing the other fellow of doing what you intend yourself to do. would, it was feared, definitely involve in-volve the United Stales. The inclusion of a noted Japanese banker in the cabinet was said to mean a promise that Japan's internal in-ternal house would be put in order, as far as possible, and hence a move toward Indo-China would' be along that line. U. S. Attitude Japan's drive met some real opposition op-position in the attitude of the U. S. government Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles came out with a statement declaring the occupation of French Indo China was primarily In preparation for "more obvious movements of conquest in adjacent areas." lie was of the opinion that such moves have a direct bearing on the national security of the United States because they threatened supplies sup-plies of strategic defense materials. He was referring here to supplies of rubber and tin now being obtained ob-tained from the Netherlands East Indies. President Roosevelt added weight to the changing U. S. attitude toward to-ward Japan. He told a civilian defense de-fense group that the United States "had" (he used the past tense) been allowing oil shipments to Japan to make it unnecessary for that nation to go to the East Indies for this supply. He Indicated that the policy pol-icy had worked for two years, thus keeping war out of the Pacific region. re-gion. VICHY: Still Sinking The Vichy government, helpless o gainst Germany and Italy, and equally helpless against Britain, as seen in the Syrian debacle, was seen as sinking more into a position of powcrlessness by the announcement announce-ment that if Japan moves on Indo-China Indo-China that Vichy will have no course but to submit. This far-eastern menace of the vnr, threatening ns it would the Burma road, found Anthony Kden warning Japan that severe steps would be taken rather than yield Indo-Chinn to the Japanese, and this was the ever-present closest threat of the entry of the U. S. actively into thf war. The Japanese newspapers, ns noted above, have been accusing the British. Krec Krcneh and Chinese of being about to invade Irulo-China. This was taken in Londnii as a veiled threat that Japan plans to do just Uiat RUSSIA: And Nazi Claims Since the move of the British commission com-mission into Moscow, also since the establishment there of a short-wave radio station, which would permit observers like Erskine Caldwell to make broadcasts direct to American Ameri-can homes, it was possible for the Russian sources to make more definite defi-nite denials of German claims than had been possible heretofore. For instance, the first large blitz raid by planes on Moscow was described de-scribed by the Germans as having ruined the city, particularly the Kremlin. Announcers came on the air the following morning and declared that the raid was much less effective than similar raids the speakers had gone through in England, and that their trips about the city had showed no signs of panic or disaster. The British commission, which earlier had said that the Russian air force had far from been knocked out of the air, told of German planes shot down, and said that air battles bat-tles they had witnessed showed that the Nazi pilots, in fact the British pilots, did not have as good technique tech-nique as the Russians in clipping off rudders and tail surfaces with machine gun bursts of fire. It also was apparent that Nazi claims on land, that their forces had completely disintegrated that Russian defense, that Smolensk had been takch and that the invaders were past Kiev and had Leningrad practically surrounded were entirely premature. These maneuvers and triumphs might possibly be carried out, but they were some time in the future, those on the ground in Moscow reported, re-ported, and the reports were not entirely the Russian communiques, but the reports, censored, it is true, but nevertheless made by Americans Ameri-cans and British on the scene. SERVICE: And House Chief of Staff General Marshall went before the senate and evidently evident-ly made a deep impression. President Presi-dent Roosevelt followed this with a request for the passage of legislation legisla-tion declaring a national emergency, emergen-cy, and the sum of these two appearances ap-pearances before the upper house was evident in two ways: First, an effort by administration leaders to hustle the legislation to a vote. Second, a general upturn of sentiment senti-ment in favor of the bill. This was one of the oddest controversies con-troversies since tfie World war started. start-ed. The first feeling evidenced when it was hinted that the guardsmen guards-men and draftees might be kept in service longer than the statutory year was that the selective service people themselves felt it a breach of faith with the drafted men. The next phase came from the selectees themselves, also from the guardsmen. The officers nnd non-coms non-coms of the latter seemed willing to stay in, but many of the private soldiers among the guardsmen expressed ex-pressed voluble desires to be let out. In the midst of this came the announcement an-nouncement that all selectees of 28 nnd over would be deferred automatically, auto-matically, and the bill to this effect passed the senate by a terrific margin. mar-gin. RELEASE: For Workers It was said in Washington that if any defense manufacturers want some of their skilled workers, already al-ready in the guard or the selective serviep, released to come back to wnrk, the man to take It up with Is Hubert T. Patterson, undersecretary of war. The recently announced policy will be that trained workers now in the army may he released when their services are urgently needed in defense de-fense industry. R.A.F.: Pounding Auay There was some sentiment in Moscow, British reports stated, that the Russians, used to enormous land army maneuvers, were wondering won-dering why it was that the British didn't land troops on the continent now that the Russians had the Nazis busy up to their necks in the east The British were very frank in saying "No" to this whole proposition. proposi-tion. In the first place, said the war office, there was still considerable consider-able doubt whether the Russians were able to put up a really successful suc-cessful fight against the Germans. In the second place, war office authorities went on, the best that England could do short of landing troops on the continent would be so to slash away at the Reich by air that numbers of German fighter planes would be kept busy on the west front, thus taking them away from the eastern theater of war. These air raids by the R.A.F. were increasing in scope daily, with the bombers taking advantage of each minute of darkness that was added as the nights grew longer, to stretch their raids further and further fur-ther into Germany. Already, it was pointed out, they were hitting at the suburbs of Berlin, Ber-lin, and the capital itself would come in for strong blitzing before be-fore long, the British promised. NAZIS: Blast FDR The main upshot of the attempted Nazi coup in Bolivia, and the statement state-ment by President Roosevelt that, if necessary, the Bolivian government would have the full aid of the United States in quelling the attempted coup d'etat, was that the Nazis turned their guns on the President. The war news went flying off the front pages as the leading Berlin dailies paid their respects to the President in the most sarcastic and belittling terms. One said: "The President of the U. S. A. is trying to bring Bolivia into the status of colonial dependence on the United States." Another wrote: "Mr. Roosevelt's message to congress con-gress and the press constitute nothing noth-ing but lies." Still another: "President Roosevelt Is a main tool of Jewish world freemasonry." This paper published a picture of the President and his three sons holding a Masonic lodge session. This picture, according to the Nazi press, was found at Masonic headquarters head-quarters in Oslo, Norway. The paper pa-per said It was taken November 7, lDM, and pictured the President as taking part in the initiation of his sons, James nnd Franklin Jr. According to Nazi tenets being a Freemason is almost a cardinal sin. FOURTEEN: AVic Points Reminiscent of the "Fourteen Points" of the last war settlement. Undersecretary of State Welles had issued the most definite statement so far promulgated intending to give America's post-war objectives. The statement by Welles came at the laying of a cornerstone for a now wing of the Norwegian legation In Washington. He prefaced his remarks re-marks with the assertion thnt there could be no peace until Hitler had finally nnd surely been destroyed. lie referred to the League of Nations, Na-tions, nnd said he dl not believe Uiat Die peoples of good will will not once more strive to realize the meat Ideal of nil association of nations through which the freedom, the happiness hap-piness and the security of nil nations na-tions may be achieved. Welles particularly brought in the Gorman people by saying thnt millions mil-lions (naniini: the Germansl now nro nsking what the future will hold for them when the war ends, lie mentioned men-tioned Knglnnd, China. Norway, nnd said "yes, millions in Italy nnd Germany." |
