The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1904-06-06

TOXIC. May 1.-The sinking Of
the Kinahu Marn Oft Oenaan ~
other day gives an example ~ ire
peculiar quaHtY Of courage which
the Japanese possess aud which
makes them 80 hard 10 understand.
The men who vent down 10 death
on that Inflated ship are heroes N
Japan and always viii be To The
Western mind Il seems ~ n they
sacrificed their llvea needlesaly. bit
from their point ~ yies there Vas
nothing else for them 10 DO.
That a little handful u soldiers
ahoald stand On the deek of their
little ship and fire their little Eans
against a fleet u armoEsa eruisefs
until tho ship sank under them
that the nou=eammisslaned officer
/ Ia command shond KIN himself. that
theaa aoldiers should allow them
sslen 10 be drowned.
CRYING "HANZATr
10 the emperor a. the water en-
, quilted tham-aad all this ehen auf-
render would have saved their lives.
Ia a thing which no Western mind
can grasp. and which no Western
code Of honor or bravery can aabe-
ton.
But 60 the japanese they we're
heroes. 20 the japanese thsy wefs
ahlnlnE examples 0f what men
should DO n they would save their
honor and make their names re-
vrrsf
I tried 20 ct japanese gentle
man 60 argue the matter with me
lie il a man Who has lived In Amer
lea and In practically every country
ia Europe. and be 10 uell acquaints
"a wiih Western civilization and
Western methods ~ thought
or course they died. ne said.
what else could they do"
They might have surrendered. =
on. no. japanese soldiers 90 not
surrender"
aBut.' said. when these men
found there Was no escape. would Il
not have been better for them q
have surrenderedf They miGhf
have been exchanged, and anyway
they would have been Of use after
the var IL over. They could have
returned 20 their families and their
friends. aud II Japan ever vent e.
war again they would have beer
Just that many more trained Hoi=
dlers A. Il Il they can never Be-
% any use To anyone.
True" Was the instant reply.
'but their honor would have beer
LOST"
Then I gave it up aud tried al
other tack.
What would have been their po-
aitlon on their return II they had
surrendered"
That il question that does not
need an answer. Tor u II Impossible
under any circumstances that sol
dlers Of the emperor should sur
render"
But iet ua imagine a case. sup
pose they had surrendered =
II Was like pulling teeth 70 get
him to answer even a hypothetical
question
s.If n soldier OF the emperor
should ever fall 30 low as 90 give
himself up 10 the enemy he would
never return 90 japan Thcfe
would be no place for him there.
His friends
WOULD sHuN HIM.
his family, his father. his vie.
would refuse 10 see him. lie would
be kicked into the gutter like the
dog that he would be. But what
In the use discussing the question.
II Is an impossible case o
but how Of the nun-commia-
stoned officer who killed himeclf2
Ia our country We consider suicide
the act OF a coward"
$50 DO We in japan under most
circumstances. II man leads a
dlRsoiuto life, II be falls In bust
ness. N he has done wrong 20 his
fellow man, he owuld be a coward
to kin himself He should live 10
atone for hia faults or his mistakes.
But when a mans honor h. con
cerned. then II IA honorable. This
non-commissioned officer was re-
sponaibie for his mon. OF course
Il was In no way his fault. but the
men for whom he was responsible
were about to die His honor was
touched and he was right 10 com
NIT markham which. YOU know.