Tokyo, Sept. 17.
The. Government has managed to weather the storm in the Privy Council over the London naval pact, and, at this writing, it seems quite clear that the Council will recom mend ratification to the Throne, After the treaty is ratified, Premier Hamaguchi will, it is expected, broadcast a speech to the world on. the significance of the naval treaty. This was the suggestion made by President Hoover to Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Hamaguchi. On the same day, President Hoover and Mr. Macdonald will als broadcast speeches, their subject being the same as that of Br. Hamaguchi, The proposal of President Hoover was made through the Japanese Foreign Office and, on September 6, the Cabinet asked the Department of Communicatiors, which controls the radio in Japan, if such a broad-east was possible and to make the necessary preparations, The Communications Departmen: after consulting its experts, sai that it was technically possible and a test will be made. towards the end of this month. 'The only difficulty will be in regard to the time, in view of the fact that Tokyo time' differs by some nine hours with London and by 14 hours with Washington, The long-drawn-out controversy Between the Government and the Privy Councillors over the London Maval pact gave rise to some very Iaughable incidents. One of these was when eavesdropping newspaper lenths found all key-holes in the doors of the chamber where the Privy Council was meeting clogged with cotton wool, This naturally raised the temperature in the room and no less than six fans were ranged on the table, while more heat was generat ed a8 the Councillors stormed away at the Government, It transpired, according to the newspapers, that some of the Privy Councillors were purple with rage at the facile ant easy-going replies given by Mr. Hamaguchi to the angry Coun-elllers, and more so because of ths apparent calmness and sangtroid with which the Premier bore the barrage of questions, censure and even insults that wore directed at One Japacese paper claims that reporter managed to. find a curious statement in a waste-paper Dasket, written by a Privy Coun-oiller,' and, according to. this shows that the Privy Councit were working off a little private revenge and camouflaging this by pretending to be deeply engrossed about the safety of the country. The "curious statement" reads:
Minister of the Navy Takarabs is a dunce, Says much, but never hits the mark. His utterances, besides, are almost unintelligible be cause he has that nasty Satsu lect. I think I would give him 50 points, Gee, but it is hot. Shide~ bhara doesn't amount to much either, but he is better. At least he can talk decent Japanese as a Japanese should, His replies to some of the questions put to him were both erratic and erotic, Seventy marks for him. The Premier almost showed intelligence to-day, rome-thing that is as rare as orchids in the Japan Alps, Anyway, let's sive the blighter 100 marks. Just a minute, these narks are out of a otsible total of 180."
To Tax Soviet Trade It will come in the nature of a surprise to many abroad to learn that the Soviet has been enjoying a considerable advantage, compared with other countries, in its trade with Japan, as Soviet commercial agents have not been taxed on the! profits like other foreign merchants who are to-day oven taxed on their Tosses. But this is to cease and a will be imposed.
Commercial transactions handle by the Soviet Trade Department hhere total approximately 20,000,009 yen a year, and the Finance Departnent has decided to impose a tax.
net profits from this year.
The general opinion of the press that this is in reality retaliation it the ighchanded attitude as- "legion, aamed by the Soviet authorities towards the Vladivostok branch of the Bank of Chosen, Non-Career Men as Diplomats A plan has been mooted in the! Foreign Office to admit into the diplomatic and consular services of the country persers who are better acquainted with other countries, especially in regard to economies.
Hitherto, appointments to such Posts have been confined to the so-called career men. Due to she fact, however, that a great deal of the business handled by consuls and consular agents to-day is essentially economic and financial in its more important features, the Foreign Office is said to have come across instances where insufficient knowledge on the part of the concerned resulted in very un-factory returns. This was particularly the case with the country's consular representatives.
It is also recalled that assignments have to do primarily with business and finance and yet their occupants are shifted from one post to another before they become familiar with the actual conditions Of the respective countries they are sent to. In addition to the handicap resulting from the short time they ids to which they a good number of them pave been found, the papers state, to be unequal to the requirements of modern times, which call for mental preparation totally different from that which held good for the old-type consular official. For these reasons, it is reported that the Government proposes to overhaul the diplomatic service thoroughly.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.