Arizona republican., 1907-02-04
PHOENIX. ARIZ.. FEB. f. 1907.
WE'RE NOT FIXED FOR WAR.

WE'RE NOT FIXED FOR WAR.
 The Los Angeles Times takes. we think. an unwarrantedly gloomy view Of the outcome of the Japanese San Francisco school question of which it believes Japan will make a pretext for a declaration of war and the seizure Of our outlying islands in the Pacific.
 We have all along believed and have stated that if the Japanese were de- sirous of going to war with us and were ready for war. they would seize upon the San Francisco incident or any other incident as a pretext or. if necessary they would create a pretext.
 But Japan is evidently not ready for war and there is no well authenticated information that the government is deeply concerned over the San Fran cisco affair.
 The statement that the Japanese am bassador recently gave utterance to what has been carelessly described as an "ultimatum" saying that if the court decision in California should be ad- verse. to the Japanese contentious. more favorable treaty would have to take the place of the one which will expire on March 12 las been denied by Secretary Root The denial was un- necessary. for no reasonable man would believe so astute a diplomat as Mir. Aoki would utter a yelled threat in anticipation of the end Of a suit which the government of the United States Is vigorously prosecuting in be- half of the Japanese.
 The Times though finds additional cause for alarm in the fact that Ja pan is colonizing the Hawaiian islands with veterans of the Far Eastern war That. too. has been denied but we re- call. that the dispatches of a couple Of months ago informed us that a large number of Japanese wearing war me- dals arrived at Honolulu on the same steamer which was bringing General Harrison Gray Otis home from the Philippines. If there is one man more than another capable of detecting ~ veteran warrior though he disguise himself by wearing a war medal. he is General Otis. whose frequent contem- plation of himself renders him familiar with the characteristics of veterans.
 Added to this impeachable testimony that the Japanese are invading our in- sular possession prematurely. we have had frequent reports from Fl Paso. the natural habitat of the war correspond ent, that parties of Japanese in uni form have been smuggling themselves across the border near that point and that several Japanese officers disguis- ed as servants have been spying upon a nearby fort
 Anyway the Los Angeles Times man ifests genuine alarm and laments the unpreparedness of th.s country for the impending conflict. It particularly lays stress upon the governments neglect of the defenses of san Pedero harbor. one of the numerous sea por.s Of Los Angeles.
 That is something that we, the rest Of the country and perhaps the war department had not thought of before IL puts the whole matter in a different light We are reminded too that Smiths Cave, N. J. and Great Egg Harbor on the same coast with its not populous but important towns of Buck hill and COrbin are equally unprotected. l We may speak also of the defenseless shores of the Salton sea.
 Truly we're in no shape for war. | Why does not the Los Angeles Times war board revive itself and do some thing about it?