 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific Story. In the mounting fury of world conflicts, 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 people 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. The South Manchuria Railway Even if public opinion is against us today, there is no certainty that it will never change. Humanity crucified Jesus of Nazareth 2,000 years ago. In a few years, we Japanese shall be understood as Jesus of Nazareth was. That's what Yosuke Matsuoka said before the League of Nations. Manchuria belongs to us by rights. He almost yelled that. He argued brilliantly before the League. The Japanese had been called to account before the assembly of the League of Nations for taking Manchuria. Matsuoka was sent by Japan as its chief delegate because he knew more perhaps than any other Japanese about Manchuria. He played an important role in promoting Japan's interest in Manchuria before the shooting started. The League listened to his arguments and to the other negotiations for three months and then brought in a verdict against Japan by account of 42 to 1. Matsuoka walked out. Japan lost before the League of Nations, but Japan still had Manchuria. Years before the Japanese invaded Manchuria, when they were penetrating it economically, they explained their interest there. There is no cause for suspicion. The reasons for Japan's interest in Manchuria are easily understood. From the beginning, Japan has worked out her future by industry and commerce, not war. A thought of conquest is out of the question. After the Japanese conquest and after Matsuoka had returned from the League of Nations, I talked with him. You will say, Mr. Newton, before long the Chinese will learn that Manchuria under the control of Japan means peace and the freedom and the hope. The Chinese and eventually even you Americans will find reason to be thankful to the Japanese. Japan wants only to help Manchuria grow into a strong and independent state where all people may enjoy the blessings of peace and the good government. The instrument the Japanese used to promote their interest in Manchuria was the South Manchuria Railroad. I saw that road develop. It controlled industries, mines, hotels, food products, almost everything of consequence in Manchuria and this before they took Manchuria. Originally, the South Manchuria was built by the Russians. Hopkins covered the opening of the line at Dyeron. This is unbelievable the work you've done here, Mr. Caronyan. The rest of it is done now. You've transformed this place. Last time I was in here, this was nothing but a small fishing village. Yes, Qing Nhi Wa. Qing Nhi Wa, yes. I remember it meant black mud hollow. That's the way it looked. This port deserves to be more than a fishing village. As you know, my country has least the Laodong Peninsula from China. Smart move. Yes, it gives Russia an ice-free port here in the Yellow Sea. This is the only ice-free port Russia has on the Pacific, isn't it? That is right. Vladivostok is frozen about four months of the year. What impresses me is the way you've fixed up this harbor. We have spent millions in dredging the harbor and constructing docks and port facilities. You've done wonders for the city, too. It's like the plan of your Washington, DC. You mean the streets radiating out from circles? Yes. Of course, Darnay is still a small city. Almost just born, you could say. But when the railroad is developed, then we will have one of the most important ports in Asia. The railroad runs up from here to Changchun, doesn't it? Yes, 436 miles. But there will be further developments. Mr. Caronyan, what does Japan think about all this? That would be hard to say. The Russians got their South Manchuria line opened in 1903. Just about a year later lost it and the entire Laodong Peninsula to Japan. Japan had to win the Laodong Peninsula twice. First we won it from China in the war of 1894. Then the European nations, chiefly Russia, forced us to restore it to China. We had hardly given it back to China when China leased the territory to Russia. Now we have won it again from Russia and we will keep it. The Japanese changed the name of Darnay to Dairon. And by taking over the Laodong Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railroad, they got their first hold on Manchuria. That was the end of the old Manchuria, the start of the development of Manchuria as a part of the Inner Empire of Japan. The Japanese moved in and reorganized the railroad. You'll see, Mr. Hopkins, there is a much work to do. Are you leveling all the roadbed? We intend to make the South Manchuria the equal of any railroad in your country. An enormous job. We will not only level the railroad bed, but we will change the track from narrow gauge to standard gauge as you have in your country. Yes. Then we will get roaring stock from the United States. You're going to make it completely modern, eh? Even to putting in a double track in place of single track. You've got a tremendous job ahead of you. There's plenty of cheap Chinese labor. You see how many are working for us here? Yes, thousands of them. They look like ants forming out there. They are very efficient. Look at that. Look at them break up those big rocks into pieces no bigger than pebbles. Pebbles make the best bowels for railroad, Mr. Hopkins. When Japan took over the Laodong Peninsula, she took over with it all the privileges, concessions, and public and private property in the least territory. And soon they were converting the entire system from a rough frontier enterprise to a modern high-speed railroad. Over the side, see, it's 1,800 feet long. It is one of the 205 modern steel bridges we have built on the South Manchuria. This is one of the 60 new stations on the South Manchuria. We now have 114 stations along the right-of-way. This tunnel is nearly 5,000 feet long. It is one of the 24 tunnels we have built on the South Manchuria. We carried on the work through severe winter weather and the storms of summer without stopping. Yes, this is a repair shop. We have constructed warehouses and warehouses all along the Rhine for the best service. Mr. Newton, the shriek of these modern locomotives across the Manchurian plains is the voice of modern enterprise bringing in a rich modern life, opportunity, education, and the havin' of to an ancient people. That was the Japanese view of the development of South Manchuria Railroad. But with the Japanese in control of the railroad, which is the lifeline of Manchuria, the ancient people could only know such life as the Japanese permitted them. Look about the peasant out there pushing his wheelbarrow with a sail on it. It's not that picturesque. The wheelbarrow with its sails epitomized the life of the Chinese in Manchuria. A high-powered South Manchuria railroad epitomized the ever-tightening grasp of the Japanese. The Chinese watched helplessly while the Japanese developed the South Manchuria line in their country. It is not only the railroad, Mr. Newton. It is all the railroad controls. Dr. Wu understood the importance of the railroad long, long before the Japanese moved in and took Manchuria. The railroad controls this coal mine here at Fushun. It is the largest open pit coal mine on earth. I had heard of the Fushun mine. It looked like a great saucer open to the sky with thousands of Chinese and machines working in it. And the coal that comes out of this mine is controlled by the Japanese. The yield from this mine must be tremendous. It is, Mr. Newton. And yet, this is only one of the mines the Japanese control. They have also taken over the mines at Yentai, at Chatsuyao, and the Chipaling and Tau Ching-Tun. That looks like American equipment down there. That is what it is, Mr. Newton. Through the eyes of the Chinese, I was beginning to see the importance of the South Manchuria Railroad. Manchuria is roughly shaped like a maple leaf. And the South Manchuria Railroad is like the veins branching up from the stem. The veins control the life of the leaf. At the bottom end of the stem was Diren. You see, Mr. Newton, Diren is the key to the development of Manchuria. Yes, yes. Diren now has awards to duck 50 vessels at one time. You must have done a great deal of construction here since you took the port over from the Russians. It has all been done by the South Manchuria Railroad. The building up of the city, too? All the basic developments, yes. The hotels and the business houses and the banks and clubs and boulevards. What about these ships? A railroad must have freight to carry. Are these ships owned by the South Manchuria, too? Most of them. You see, by using the South Manchuria Railroad, travelers now have a short route between China and Europe. I see. They come across the LSE here from Shanghai. That is right. Then they take the South Manchuria and make connections with the Russian Trans-Siberian Railroad. So you see, Mr. Newton, there is a distinct advantage in doing business with us. In 1920, Yosuka Matsuoka came to the South Manchuria. He came as a director. I remember he told me he regarded the South Manchuria as the spearhead of the Asian continent. Hmm, spearhead. It could only mean that he regarded the South Manchuria Road as Japan's spearhead into the continent of Asia. Matsuoka saw the value of water-borne traffic to the railroad. That is the source of traffic we must develop. He was thinking not only of freight coming into Manchuria, but also of the products of Manchuria going by railroad down to Dyeron, and out through that South Manchuria port in South Manchuria ships. I talked with him in the Dyeron Yamaka Hotel. How do you like this hotel, Mr. Newton? Very beautiful. Yes. It is patterned after your best hotels in America. Well, it certainly got all the comforts of home. Yes. We felt that we must provide all the conveniences which the experienced traveler is accustomed to in the best foreign hotels. I've found fine hotels everywhere I've been in Manchuria. Port Arthur, Mukden, Changchun. They are all South Manchuria Railroad hotels. Yes, so I understand. You people are not only in the railroad business and in the coal and iron business, but also in the hotel business. Yes. I could tell by Mr. Matsuoka's reaction that he was disturbed. And that was the end of our interview. It was apparent that the South Manchuria Railroad was being used to promote Japan's influence on the mainland. At Dyeron, I went over to have a look at the gas plants. I met Dr. Wu there. This plant here has a production of 215 million cubic feet a year. Imagine that. That's amazing. A modern gas plant as big as this right here. It should give you some idea of what the Japanese think of the coming importance of Dyeron. Dyeron's pretty important already. Yes. It is a Japanese city in China. And you know what that can mean. Well, do you think, Dr. Wu, that sometime the Japanese may actually take this region of Manchuria? I have watched all their developments. These are straws in the wind. Look at that great electric works over there. Yes, I've always wanted to visit that. That plant supplies electricity for light and heat and power. It is equipped with the most modern machinery. And there has been a steady increase in the output of current. Of course, Dr. Wu, a city like Dyeron must have a modern electric plant. All cities must. Our concern is how these instruments will eventually be used against us here in our own country. In another quarter of Dyeron is the Central Laboratory, a research bureau. I watched the brilliant young Japanese technicians working in the laboratory. What are they working on there, Dr. Uyeda? They are trying to discover better methods of extracting the oil from soybean and new uses of soybean. Well, that's right, Manchuria. It is a great soybean country, isn't it? Yes, it is, Mr. Newton. What's done with the discoveries made here? The reports of this research are translated into English and French and the German and are sent to Europe and America. Strange thing for a railroad to be doing, isn't it? The South Manchuria Railroad has no other motive than to increase the output of Manchuria products. You see, Mr. Newton, this in turn will mean greater revenues to the railroad and, at the same time, help the Manchuria people. Under Matsuoka, the South Manchuria Railroad not only controls 686 miles of railroad, but operated steamships, coal mines, steel mills, chemical plants, gas and electric plants, hotels, hospitals, schools. Within the tip of the Lao Dung Peninsula, Japan crowded more than 300 industrial plants. For 25 years, the Japanese penetrated Manchuria economically through the South Manchuria Railroad. By 1931, they were ready to take their first military step. They looked in Manchuria, where the Japanese alleged that the Chinese destroyed a section of track of the South Manchuria Railway. Rastic measures have been taken by the Japanese who are moving with strong forces against the Chinese. This is Dr. Wu. Let us in, please. Oh, yes, just a minute, please. Help me in with Dr. Wu. Are you sure? Sure. Yes, close the door, please. Japanese. Dr. Wu, tell me what happened. They're Japanese. They have attacked. They have taken the arsenal and the airfield and the whole city. They said we wrecked a piece of track on the South Manchuria, but we did nothing. You must hide us. Here, now. You just lie quietly. Ah, let me see where you... It's all right. It's all right. The Japanese have already poached long proclamations all over the city. Proclamations? Yes, and they are printed. They couldn't have printed them during the night, could they? No. They must have had them ready. They started shooting at 10 o'clock. They said the track was wrecked, and yet the train from Changchun came in on time over that track 20 minutes later. And the Japanese have really done it. Did I not say some time it would happen, Mr. Newton? Yes, you did, Dr. Wu. If they have attacked here, they have attacked other cities in Manchuria, too. Don't talk, Dr. Wu. Don't talk, please. Get some water for him there, will you? Yes, I'll get it. We did the best we could for Dr. Wu, but he died before morning. All Mukden was under strict military law. Japanese with rifles and fixed bayonets and machine guns commanded every strategic point. Hopkins and I listened to the reports that came in over the wire. Japanese troops have taken new Chang, Antung, and Changchun. They have seized all important junctions and stations along the South Manchuria railway. That doesn't sound as if this thing came as a surprise. No, it doesn't, Hopkins. If you ask me, the Japanese were all ready to move in. It was all planned. What about the report of the damage to the track? Newton, the South Manchuria has been patrolled like a military nerve center ever since the Japanese took it over. Yes, I remember seeing even detachments of cavalry along it. Cavalry, infantry, and artillery. The fact is, Newton, that the South Manchuria lines have been so closely patrolled that no Chinese could get close to it. Well, three days later, the whole thing was before the League of Nations. Actually, the incident is of no importance. It can easily be settled by direct negotiation. We have withdrawn the major portion of our troops into the railway zone. We will complete the withdrawal as soon as the situation is improved. But so far as the Japanese were concerned, the situation along the South Manchuria never improved. Japan went ahead with their military occupation. In Shanghai, there was a violent reaction. I crossed the LSE on a South Manchuria railroad steamship and went into Shanghai. The city was seething with Chinese demonstrating against the Japanese. I looked up one of the Chinese leaders of the boycott. As you know, Mr. Newton, China is next to the United States, the largest buyer of Japanese goods. Well, I didn't realize that. We don't have much else to fight the Japanese with. But we have the boycott and this we shall use. It was evident that the Chinese were an earnest. They had been shocked and outraged by the seizure of Manchuria. But it was also evident that the Japanese would not back down from the Chinese boycott, but rather would fight it. At the waterfront, I talked with the Japanese consul. Japan intends to show China that it will tolerate no nonsense. Well, from the number of troops and the tanks in artillery are landing, it looks as though this is going to be a full-scale war. It might be. You've had 5,000 of your marines here. What are you going to do with all these troops you're landing? Take Shanghai? Mr. Newton, we Japanese possibly understand the Chinese better than you do. I was beginning to see the scope of the Manchurian incident. The Japanese had taken all Manchuria and now they were moving to crush the Chinese reaction in China itself. I didn't have long to wait. The Japanese moved against the Chinese with bombing planes and tanks and artillery. The Chinese fought back only with rifles and machine guns. Wait! Wait now! Wait till they get advanced and we will trap them. The Japanese held the Japanese for more than a month. Then one day, at the height of the fighting, a report came out. Well, the South Manchuria Railroad has gone to Shanghai as a special envoy of the foreign minister to negotiate with Chinese leaders in connection with the boycott and the fighting that has resulted from the Manchurian incident. At last, the fighting stopped. The Japanese consul presented to the Chinese mayor of Shanghai five demands. First, Japan demands a formal apology by the mayor of Shanghai. Second, immediate arrest of all those responsible for the recent outbreak. Third, payment of damages and hospital bills. Fourth, adequate control of the anti-Japanese movement. And fifth, immediate dissolution of all anti-Japanese organizations engaged in fostering hostile feelings and anti-Japanese agitation. Well, the Japanese won. No one saw much of Matsuoka in Shanghai. Presently, he was in Geneva, arguing in defense of Japan's seizure of Manchuria. Matsuoka argued that Japan was ensuring her lifeline and quoted the report of the Lytton Commission of Inquiry. The commission, because this august body has named to inquire into the causes of this conflict has said the following. And with this, we heartily agree. This is not a simple case of the violation of the frontier of one country by armed forces of another neighboring country because in Manchuria there are many features without exact parallel in other parts of the world. And while he argued, damaging points of view were expressed by others. After all, Japan's interest in Manchuria might be a good thing. If China has no foreign control at all, she might become an unruly country. And who then would hold her in check? Well, actually, it's not a question between Japan and China at all. Anything, it's a matter between Japan and Russia. I don't follow you. Why? Well, it's a certain thing that Japan plans to use Manchuria. And whom would she use it against? Russia? Of course. She could use it as a base for invading Asiatic Russia. And if she did that and took eastern Siberia, that would occupy Japan for a good many years to come. That's taking a great deal for granted. Possibly. But there's still a more important angle from the standpoint of the Western democracies. Ultimately, Japan would have to come to the Western nations to borrow money to help those vast regions develop them. If we permit Japan to run free, ultimately, we may not have any money to loan. You overlook something. In the process of a conflict with Russia, the attention of Japan would have been taken from the Western nations. And meantime, the Western nations could have won control of the balance of power in the Far East. That was the thinking at the time the Manchurian incident was before the League. And there was one more point of view. The thing you've got to see is that Manchuria is a great tract of undeveloped territory. That's a good chunk to digest. 360,000 square miles with more than 30 million people. And that will occupy Japan for a long, long time. While Matsuoka was not arguing, he heard these opinions. And when, after the vote of 42 to 1 against Japan, he walked out, he still had Manchuria securely in his pocket. And more than that, he destroyed the League of Nations. He was well-satisfied. His baby, the South Manchuria Railroad, played a big part in Japan's acquisition of Manchuria. And he could point out that it was to the good for all the Chinese. In this corner of Asia will arise, within the lifetime of most men now living, a civilized state, well-founded and the very quick. Japan went only to help Manchuriko to grow into a strong and independent state in which all people may enjoy the breathings of peace and the good government. And as a sort of postscript, Matsuoka added one more thought. It is hoped this will allow China to an effort to put her own house in order. Matsuoka had earned his spurs. And in 1935, he became president of the South Manchuria Railroad. Through him, enormous sums of money had been spent to develop the country. The Japanese undertook to digest Manchuria with its hundreds of thousands of square miles and millions of people with a seal that amazed the world. Rather than occupying them a long, long time, the Japanese were ready in two years to use it as a base of attack. The Japanese have attacked the Chinese, the Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Beijing, and are advancing in great strength in North China. Manchuria, with its iron and coal mines at steel mills, factories, research laboratories, schools, hospitals, was geared to the Japanese war effort. And the lifeline of all this was the South Manchuria Railroad. Soon we were to be at war with Japan, and the Great South Manchuria Railroad with all its mills and mines and factories were to be used against us. And some observers were to hazard the guests that with all this, Manchuria was to give the Japanese the realization of their old dream, domination of a vast continental empire on the mainland of Asia. The Japanese with their South Manchuria Railroad have done very well. Yes, Mr. Newton, it could be said that Japan has profited somewhat from her activities in Manchuria. But on the whole, the results have been far from commissary with the money and effort expended. This is largely due to the fact that the South Manchuria Railroad regards itself not as a mere commercial enterprise for a profit, but as a great civilizing force. 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 crosscurrents of life in the Pacific Basin. A reprint of the Pacific Story program is available at the cost of $0.10. Then $0.10 in stamps or coins to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. We repeat, a reprint of the Pacific Story program is available at the cost of $0.10. Send $0.10 in stamps or coins to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific story is written and directed by Arnold Marquess. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Palusso. The principal voice was that of Joseph Kerns. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company.