Political quarters¥showed irritation on this subject when canvassed for their opinions. Their reaction was taken by foreign observers as con-Srmation of what was suspected some time ago upon the arrival here of mil Helferich, unofficial Wilhelmstrasser representative: that Germany is trying, if not to obtain outright Japanese support in the Western conflict, at least to secure her "friendly neutrality."
Germany, it was indicated already at that time, would not hesitate to revise her Far Eastern policy completely unless Japan abandoned her "hesitant attitude of complacency toward the Allies."
The first phase of the Hitlerian manceuvre, foreign observers declared today, has now been played out. It was marked at the end by the cold reception given the Wang Ching-wei regime.
"What is to be the second phase? That remains to be seen, the same quarters continued. They voiced the belief that it may be ushered in with the impending return of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, unofficial envoy extraordinary of the Nazi Reich.
The Duke has already visited Japan on his voyage to New York. He will return to the Reich via Siberia and will then again stop over here, possibly even as an official German delegate to Japan.—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.