The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present The Pacific Story. The Pacific Story In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. The drama of the peoples whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific War. Here, as another public service, is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. Blood for an outlet to the sea. The Pacific Story This is Port Arthur. Port Arthur is on the Laodong Peninsula, the southernmost tip of Manchuria, jutting down into the Yellow Sea. You've heard about the Laodong Peninsula. That's where the Russians and the Japanese fought it out back in 1904. You're likely to hear a good deal more about it. Dark days are looming over Laodong. The Japanese hold the Laodong Peninsula today. They've been holding it 40 years practically speaking, ever since they took it from the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War. We want Manchuria back. That's what China says. Manchuria belongs to us. We must have it back to be secure. It does belong to China, but Russia has an interest in it, and Japan has it. Manchuria will be returned to China. That's what the Cairo Conference announced in December 1943, but Russia was not represented at Cairo. And this is what Russia is saying about Manchuria and the Laodong Peninsula today. That gives you a rough idea. Russia has been interested in the Laodong Peninsula for 50 years. The way to promote Russian interests in Manchuria is through friendly relations with China. This is Yulievich Sergei Witte. Mr. Witte. Yes? Would you mind telling our radio audience when you lived? From 1849 to 1915. Oh, yes. So that in 1895, the Chinese government when you were pulling the strings for Russia in the Far East, you were 46 years old. That is right. I became Minister of Finance to His Imperial Majesty the Tsar two years before that. You were a railroad expert, weren't you, Mr. Witte? Well, I had spent a good part of my life in railroad work before that. Mm-hmm. It was you, wasn't it, who got China to permit Russia to use the harbor at Kaojo? It was essential that we have a base in this vicinity. Kaojo is the big harbor at Xingdao, just across the Yellow Sea from Laodong. It could command the approaches to the Laodong Peninsula. I was, of course, motivated by the highest purposes. It was our policy to be friendly with China. Oh, of course. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that will serve to introduce Yulievich Sergei Witte to you. He got China to agree to permit the Russians to use the harbor at Kaojo. And that same year, 1895, he did something else. What can China do, Mr. Witte? The Japanese, with their overwhelming power, have us at their mercy. And what have you agreed to give them? China has agreed to pay them 200 million kuping tails for war indemnity and to recognize the independence of Korea. Yes? And to give them the islands of Formosa and the Pescadores and the Guantanamese territories. And the Guantanamese territory of the Laodong Peninsula. The least territory of the Laodong Peninsula? What can we do? If you will permit me an observation. Certainly. There is no reason to be in too big a hurry to ratify this treaty, is there? This is April 18th, and the treaty must be ratified on May 8th. There is plenty of time. Suppose China were... Tell me, Mr. Witte, why did you do that? It is very simple. Germany and France were striving for power in the Far East. It was fairly certain that they would not like to see Japan stake out spheres of influence which might preclude them. So you lined up France and Germany with Russia against Japan. It was the most effective method. But why didn't you line up Britain, too? Britain saw nothing wrong with Japan acquiring the Laodong Peninsula. That's the way it was. And a week later, on April 23rd, 1895, the French, German, and Russian ministers in Tokyo called on Baron Hayashi. Baron Hayashi, in a spirit of cordial friendship, we greet you. We are Amat. The governments of Germany, Russia, and France have studied the proposed terms of the peace treaty between China and Japan. We have come to offer our help in this perplexing problem. Of course. In our considered opinion, the possession of the least territory of the Laodong Peninsula in Manchuria by Japan would be a menace to the capital of China at Peking. Secondly, since China agrees to the independence of Korea, the presence of Japan on Laodong would render the independence of Korea illusory. And thirdly, the acquisition of Laodong by Japan would jeopardize the permanent peace of the Far East. Do we understand that France, Germany, and Russia would object to the possession of the least territory by Japan? It is our friendly advice. But this would rob Japan of the fruits of our hard won victory over China. It is in the interest of peace. Mr. Witte twiddled his fingers and looked on. But that wasn't all. To be certain that Japan accepted the friendly advice of France and Germany and Russia, Mr. Witte sent the biggest squadron of warships to the Far East that had ever been assembled in Chinese waters. The Japanese knew what they meant. The Japanese knew what they meant. In the interest of a permanent peace in the Orient, Japan is happy to accept the advice of France, Germany, and Russia. Japan took Formosa and the Pescadores, but not the least territory of the Laodong Peninsula. Then Witte played his next card. We were, of course, happy to help China regain Laodong and to raise the 400 million francs to help China pay her debt to Japan. Now we must ask China's help. We ask that China permit us to build a railroad across Manchuria to Vladivostok. China agreed. And Witte, the railroad man, started building the Chinese Eastern Railroad, which would cut off 350 miles on the way to Vladivostok. While the thousands of workers were busy laying ties and rails across Manchuria, dynamic news reached Witte back in St. Petersburg. Your Imperial Majesty. He carried the news to the Tsar. The Germans have taken Kaozhou. I know. That will compromise our use of the harbor. China two years ago gave us the right to use it. I know. For the Germans there, they will not be able to use it. Not only that, China has asked that we send a fleet to observe the German actions. It is our duty as friends of China to take measures to get the Germans out of Kaozhou. No. I have given the Kaiser my word that I would not oppose the German occupation of the harbor. What? The Germans went into Kaozhou with my knowledge and permission. But the entire world is shocked and stunned. And China has asked that we send... I will send a fleet to Kaozhou as a gesture. But Your Imperial Majesty, a gesture is not... You may tell China that we have taken the matter up with Germany. But Your Majesty, we... Yes? Your Imperial Majesty, a message from Count Muravyev. Bring it. Your Imperial Majesty. Thank you. Count Muravyev advises that this would be the strategic time to secure a port in Manchuria. Either at Port Arthur or at Dalian Wan. Your... Your Imperial Majesty. Such a step would compromise our friendship with China. We are now building a railroad across Manchuria at the sufferance of China. If we are to continue developing our interest in Manchuria, we must retain the friendship of China. Besides, we have just regained the Liaodong Peninsula for China from Japan. You are right. Witte left, went back to his maps and plans of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. Two days later, he was called back by the Tsar. You see, Witte, I have decided to occupy Port Arthur and Dalian Wan. Move in and take them? British warships are now in the waters of North China. If we do not take Port Arthur and Dalian Wan, they will. Your Imperial Majesty, we cannot do this. Our transports filled with troops and supplies and convoyed by our warships are already on the way. We must have an ice-free port for our Pacific fleets. Dalian is free of ice throughout the year. And we must have the fortress at Port Arthur to protect Dalian Wan. It turned out that the report about the British warships being in the waters of North China was just a rumor. But, Monsieur Witte, Russia continued to send its warships into Port Arthur and Dalian. It was natural for the young Tsar to take the advice of his foreign minister and his minister of war, especially since their advice was in agreement with his own thirst for military glory and conquest. So Russia moved into Port Arthur and Dalian. China was astounded. But the Russians had an explanation. Russia has only moved into Port Arthur and Dalian to protect these strategic points against Germany. But by this time, a general named Kuro Patkin was minister of war in St. Petersburg. So far as he was concerned, the Russian warships were not in Port Arthur and Dalian merely to protect the ports against Germany. He wanted to stay there. And it was he, General Kuro Patkin, who promoted the idea that Russia get control not only of the two ports, but of the entire Lodong Peninsula. We are in a position to offer you 500,000 rubles as a gift if you can get your country to lease this territory to Russia. Is this a bribe, Mr. Witte? Bribe? But for our friendly relations and our understanding for you Chinese, we should be offended if we thought that you would regard this as a bribe. No, indeed. It is a gift, a token of our gratitude for all you have done for us. For how long a period would Russia wish to lease the Lodong Peninsula? 25 years. 25 years, yes. Perhaps it could be arranged. Well, that's how Russia got her 25-year lease. It was a mistake. In what way, Mr. Witte? It led to our war with Japan. Russia had seen Japan defeat China, but many Russians, including the young Tsar and General Kuropatkin, didn't believe it could happen to them. I have been informed by General Kuropatkin that the Japanese are not prepared. They are afraid. But, Your Imperial Majesty, the Japanese population is growing at an enormous rate and the Japanese have fierce fights with Japan. They are afraid of the Japanese. They are growing at an enormous rate and the Japanese have fierce fighting qualities. These are only gestures to intimidate us. Mr. Witte went back to his railroad maps and plans. He completed the Chinese Eastern Railroad across Manchuria to Vladivostok. Then he started to build a branch down to the Lodong Peninsula to connect with Port Arthur. And at the same time, Russia built up Port Arthur and Dalian. Russia put in to Dalian Port Arthur a quarter of all the money she appropriated each year for the construction and maintenance of military installations. Dalian is what the Russians called Dalian. Russia has said that she wanted Dalian for a warm water port. It was to be an open port, but all the information we had about it was that Russia was fortifying it and Port Arthur. So the British made representations to Russia. Britain is not opposed to the lease by Russia of an ice-free port connected by rail to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. But questions of an entirely different kind are opened up if Russia develops a military port in the neighborhood of Pekin. The pressure was on Russia. We have developed Dalny as an open port and an open port it shall be. When first we came here, Dalny was only a small fishing village. See how we have transformed it. Look at the new harbor, 8,400 feet long. And you see, we have built those two wharves at a cost of 10 million rubles. Look how we have developed the city. 10 streets radiating around the central circle. Today, we are proud to open the port of Dalny to the world. The Russians opened Dalny, but not Port Arthur. And thousands of troops were stationed at the two places. But the Japanese struck with the fury of a tornado. Bloody wars surged over the Laodong Peninsula. Blockades were established. Ships were blown up. More ships came in, battleships and transports carrying supplies and troops. The Japanese stormed against the outer forts of Port Arthur, which followed an amphitheater of hills around the harbor. When the Japanese were repulsed, they dug tunnels under the forts. Then they charged. After five months of this, the war settled down to the siege of Port Arthur. The Japanese forces and the Russian forces dug in, and the Japanese kept up their relentless attacks. They surged up over the forts. The casualties were frightful. At last, the Russians capitulated. The Japanese flag was raised over the lease territory of the Laodong Peninsula. Japan took over the lease territory of Laodong. With it, she took over Monsieur Witte's still unfinished railroads. All southern Manchuria became a Japanese sphere of interest. Manchuria was still Chinese territory, but Japan had control of its seaward approaches, and in this, she was on the inside track of eventually getting control of all Manchuria. The Japanese changed the name of Dalmi to Diron. Take a look at Diron as it looks today. They have traffic cops in Diron the same as anyplace else. The streets are busy, people coming and going. We have made Diron almost a modern city in the Orient. That's what the Diron Chamber of Commerce says. This central circle of the city is called Ojiroba. Beautiful park. Oh, yes. That is the Chamber of Commerce right over there. Uh-huh. And that is the Yokohama Specie Bank, and those are the Diron municipal offices. And that is the Bank of Chosun. Nicely arranged. All around this circle. Oh, yes. Very efficient. The streets all radiate out from the circle. That street leads out to the Eastern Factory District. Yeah. What about those bean oil mills in the dormitories for the Chinese coolies out there? You see that statue on that monument? He doesn't want to talk about the bean oil mills in the dormitories. That statue is Oshima. The first Governor General of the Reiss territory back in 1905. Uh-huh. Thanks. I've always wanted to ask Oshima some questions. Mr. Oshima. Huh? Yes? You look exactly like your statue. What can I do for you? I understand that it was your idea to build up Diron for the Japanese with Chinese coolies. Well? What about this method of weeding out the best Chinese workers? Wasting time with weaklings is foolish. But all of them had to eat. We gave them a chance to qualify. If you are to work for us, you must prove your strength. Yes, sir. You will rift these two bean cakes. Yes, sir. Very well. Put them down. Now, put this one more bean cake on top of the others. Yes, sir. Now, you will rift all three of them. Yes, sir. Very well. Put them down. Now, put that one on top of the other three. Yes, sir. Now, rift all four of them together. All four? Yes, all at once. Lift them. Lift them. Lift them. That will do. We cannot use you. But I can lift three of them. And I can work fast. You are no good to us, and yes, you can rift at least four. Some of our workers can rift eight. The strong ones were put to work at a few cents a day. They did the rough manual labor. The Japanese brought in their own experts to direct the work. That is the Omato Hotel right there. It is one of the finest hotels in the world. We are very proud of it. Yes, I can see that. You must excuse all those sandbags piled up around it. We want to protect it from damage so that we can open it to the world again when the war is over. By 1930, the Japanese were deeply entrenched on the Laodong Peninsula. It was a quarter of a century since they had crushed and humiliated the Russians. The Russians had never forgotten. This was becoming more and more obvious as the Russians emerged as a new and vigorous nation. And the Chinese, who legally owned Laodong, were speaking their minds. Japan has no right in the Laodong Peninsula. We have a lease on it. Japan took over the 25-year lease we gave to Russia, but that lease expired seven years ago in 1923. But we extended the lease to 99 years back in 1915, and China agreed. That was one of Japan's infamous 21 demands. We agreed only under duress. We were helpless then. China is helpless now. Japan must get out. We have millions of yen invested in Laodong. But the peninsula is ours. But we cannot move out and leave our investment unprotected until you Chinese stop fighting among yourselves. That's the way it went. Japan had developed Diron into the second most important port in China. Here are the figures. This is what the Chamber of Commerce Japanese said again. Our exports through this port amount to 200 million yen a year. That's a lot of yen. Yes. And our imports amount to 460 million yen. Well, you bring in a lot more than you ship out. At this stage, yes. What do you mean by that? Not only is Diron the most important city in China, but it is one of the most beautiful and one of the most progressive. Have you noticed the streets around with the white acacia trees? Beautiful, are they not? Yes, yes, they're beautiful. But what about your shipping? And our business district. Have you noticed the big business offices on the Yamagata Dam and the whole block of the chain stores? Yes, I've seen all that. But about your shipping. If you expect to export more than you import, you must have big plans for this port. Of course, for quite some time, we will be bringing in more than we ship out. There was a hint of what was coming in what he said. More and more Japanese military men began to be seen in Diron and throughout the Laodong Peninsula. Hard-faced, humorless generals and admirals. You must not presume our interests are completely commercial. Of course, of course. He referred to the soybean industry, which produces 45 million yen a year, and to the militant the Kaoliang and the maize, and to the mines of South Maturia and the Laodong Peninsula. This is one of the big iron mines in Laodong. More than three-quarters of all the iron ore reserves in China are here on the Laodong Peninsula. Well, that makes Japan's interest in Laodong a little plainer. The iron ore reserves in the Yangtze Valley are richer, but there is not as much. Chinese Kuhlis were bringing the ore out of the mines for the Japanese. Chinese labor has developed the Laodong Peninsula. And as the Kuhlis sweated, the Japanese military men were in evidence even here. They have only a strictly academic interest in mining and in the agriculture. Unless they could be thinking about arms and food. We must have a protection against the Chinese bandits. Yeah. But actually, they didn't seem to be very much concerned about bandits. General. Yes. Here are the risks of the supplies. You will check it, please. Ah, yes. Rifles, machine guns, ammunition, bayonets, soybeans, salt, milk, and... Ah, yes, it is all listed. It is now being turned over to your men. The next consignment is ready. It will be turned over to you on the specified date, General. I will need it. Gun running has long been a profitable sideline in Diron. The illicit sale of guns and ammunition. But you Japanese, if you're afraid of Chinese bandits... This Chinese is no bandit. No? No. He was driven out of Shandong Province by the nationalist forces. And we are merely equipping him to fight his way back. More Japanese troops were brought in to protect Japan's interests against bandits such as this. By promoting conflict within China, the Japanese found excuses first for not turning the Laodong Peninsula back to us Chinese. And second, for bringing more and more troops into Manchuria. That's the way the discerning Chinese sized up the situation. No, no. We are interested only in a commerce. But there's one kind of traffic in Diron that the Japs don't brag about. Opium. Who sells it to you? The peddlers are mostly Koreans and Chinese, but the ones who bring it in are the Japanese. They are the ones who make the money. The rich Japanese businessmen and the Japanese generals. All these cases over there are being shipped out to different parts of the world. The workers were checking out the shipment. No, it is a shipment consigned to London. To London, check. Bouguerelle. To Bouguerelle, check. Paris, check. New York, check. Cairo, check. San Francisco, check. Indochina, check. Behind this traffic, as behind every other development on the Laodong Peninsula, were the Japanese businessmen and the Japanese militarists. Something was in the wind. It broke out in September 1931. The Japanese attacked at Mukden, 225 miles north of Diron. And in almost no time, Diron became the center of interest. Japanese men-of-war and Japanese transports loaded with troops and supplies converged on Diron. The port was ready and the South Manchuria Railroad was ready. The curtain at last was up on the role the Laodong Peninsula was to play in Japan's conquest of Manchuria and her drive for the domination of all Asia. With Japanese troops now in control of all of Manchuria, the second wave of endaters is now coming in. The experts, the technicians, the construction men, the engineers, the industrial production men. The mines are running full tilt. Japanese geologists are searching for new resources to tap. Laodong Peninsula and Diron particularly are now seen as the spearhead of the Japanese- You cannot say that. Why not? It is forbidden. Well, Diron is your main port of entry into Manchuria. It's been your capital ever since you moved it from Port Arthur, and it's from here that you- What happens here is a matter that concerns only a Japanese. Aren't you people claiming that you've taken these military measures only to suppress the bandits? There must be other. You don't need technicians and engineers and production men to do that. Or do you? Besides, since this is Chinese territory, the Chinese might be interested, as well as the rest of the world, in what you're doing here. Reporters like this were flown out of the country, if they were lucky. But within the country there were thousands of eyes on everything the Japanese did. Confidential reports went out to capitals of all the world powers, especially the Chinese and the Russians. The Japanese have brought Henry Puyi to Diron from Qingdao. They are holding him here in Diron in hiding now, and are planning to take him to Changchun, where they will proclaim him emperor and set him up as the head of a puppet government. They are now- The Japanese are massing formidable concentrations of ill-equipped troops on the Manchurian frontiers of Soviet Asia and Outer Mongolia. The Russians looked on. From the Laodong Peninsula, which they once held, the Japanese had driven 800 miles north, through Manchuria to the very border of Soviet Asia. For ten years, from the time the Japanese invaded Manchuria until Hitler attacked Russia in 1941, the Russians faced the constant threat of a Japanese attack on Siberia. Today, the scene has changed. As Japan's days on the continent of Asia are numbered, Laodong is again a focal point of interest. China wants and expects to get back to Laodong Peninsula. If China does get back to Laodong Peninsula without regard to Russia, Russia will again be shut off from an ice-free port in this quarter of the globe. And as a clue to her course, Russia has only this to say. The Pacific Story You have been listening to The Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cross-currents of life in the Pacific basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send ten cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. To repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send ten cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific Story is written and directed by Arnold Marquis. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. The principal voice was that of William Johnstone. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company. The Pacific Story
