Sobering Up in Sakhalin

From the Sea of Okhotsk fog and rain creep southward to shroud a long, splintery island hugging Russia's coast. The island is Sakhalin, stern, unfriendly, peopled with grandsons of the criminals Czarist police sent there to rot and die in chains.

But Sakhalin is fabulously rich (timber, gold, oil, coal), tempting to greedy neighbors. In 1905 Japan wrested its southern half away from Russia. In 1918, when Russia was in revolution, Japanese soldiers marched north, held the whole island for seven years. When finally they left the upper half, they took with them a 45-year concession for coal and oil.

Last week, 26 years ahead of time, Moscow abruptly forced Tokyo to abandon its Sakhalin concessions. The enemy of Germany was still at peace and still bargaining with the enemy of the U.S., Britain and China. But what Russia gave Japan was nebulous or nominal: 5,000,000 rubles ($950,000), plus a promise to sell Japan 50,000 tons of oil annually for five years--after the war. Japan has vast stocks of oil on hand, can get all she wants in the Dutch East Indies. But the road south is long, watched closely by U.S. subs. Short on tankers, Japan can ill afford to trade a short, unconvoyed lane to Sakhalin for the perilous haul from the south. What Russia took was solid gain: the concessions' entire installations, equipment, even food.

In a sister-accord, Russia renewed for five years her fisheries pact with Japan. Here too Moscow was tough. It withdrew from Japanese use 24 fishing "lots," upped the rent 6%, banned Japanese fishermen from the east side of Kamchatka (facing Attu).

"Next Best Thing." Said an Allied diplomat: "This is the next best thing to giving us bases." Moscow's tone was tough and belligerent. The Government's Izvestia said that Japan had promised to cancel the Sakhalin concession early in 1941, failed to keep her word. Said Izvestia scornfully: there were some Japanese politicos who had bet on Hitler's victory, "but the Red Army's successes and the developing war operations of our allies have played their role. A sobering up had to come. . . ."

Tokyo played up the fisheries pact, played down the lost concessions ("It wasn't much anyway"). Said wishful Radio Tokyo: "Friendly relations have been further bolstered."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.