Laredo Weekly Times

From Tuesday's Daily.

The Russian Split

The news from Omsk that the government there has accepted the offer of Japan to furnish men, arms and money to carry on the fight against Bolshevism is not surprising. Siberia has so far made the strongest and most determined fight against the Lenin-Trotsky regime, and now that the Czecho-Slovaks are otherwise occupied, there is little chance for the Siberians to win unless they receive outside aid.

The fear of the Omsk government that the peace conference is likely to recognize the Bolshevik government seems unwarranted, from what we hear from Paris, but perhaps the news gets distorted when filtering through Bolshevik channels or the Far East to Siberia.

Naturally it would be to Japan's interest to have the Siberians believe their cause hopeless without Japanese aid. The coal and iron concessions which it is stated have been promised Japan in return for military aid are of importance to the island kingdom. And nothing is more appreciated than the fact that Japan has the best chances of exploitation of that rich country, while the other great powers are busily engaged in formulating the plans for the society of nations.

It is not at all likely that Japan will attempt to gain governmental control of Siberia. The prospect is that the commercial control is all that is needed to make Japan greater than any of her neighbors, and she is progressive enough to realize this.

And the Siberians would welcome anything which would seem to promise relief from the encroachments of the Bolsheviki. They are determined to be free, and they do not propose to divide their riches with any German sympathizers, preferring to accept the aid of Japan to exploitation by the greedy Russians.

For many years Japan has set a covetous eye on the riches of Siberia. The impossibility of doing anything in that country while the Russian empire was under the domination of the emperor and his nobles kept the Japanese from attempting anything which would arouse the interest of her neighbors.

But now Japan is the logical nation to help save Siberia. The Chinese so far have not demonstrated their ability to even govern themselves, and the Manchurian border will be as safe under Japanese guarantees as it would be were the Chinese to offer their aid to the Siberians.

Japan is more eager to secure coal and iron than she would be to exploit a gold field. Her manufacturers are eager to expand, and they see no future which is not bound up in the rich mineral deposits of Siberia.

Then again, Japan is the nearest of all nations, with the sole exception of China, to the Siberian territory, and she had obtained a foothold by defeating Russia when the fruits of her victory were snatched from her through the intrigue of the Germans.

If Japan is to be allowed to extend her territories, it would be well for her to be in a position to be a friend rather than an enemy to the new republic which will undoubtedly be formed out of Siberia. And her own interests demand that the tricky Bolsheviki be kept from exploiting the riches of the far eastern dominions of Russia.

There can be no real reason why Japan should not be permitted to aid the Siberians. The principle of self-determination demands that the Siberians be aided in establishing a government of their own. They are racially and ethnologically akin to the Japanese, and they would be more at home with the enterprising little islanders than they would be with the Teutons or Slavs of European Russia.

So far there has been no agreement which would prohibit the Siberians from accepting the aid that is nearest to them. The American government is not disposed to aid any of the Russian factions. Neither do Great Britain or France desire to put a finger in the pie. So they should welcome the willingness of Japan to help Siberia, even though she thus helps herself.