The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1916-12-19
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Shall our country DRIFT into wa


Shall our country drift into war
with Japan?
That is a very important question
for all peace-loving Americans to
consider 1t must be admitted there
is being laid a foundation Of radical
prejudice and misunderstanding that
can lead to nothing but hostilities On
the Pacific Coast, where most of the
Japanese immigration has made it
self felt, the feeling may be more
acute, but from reading the papers
from all parts of our country we must
conclude that preparations for the as
sumed inevitable struggle are mentally
progressing AS usual, the newspapers
lead the campaign for the develop
ment of unfriendly sentiment and pol
iticians are always ready to fall for a |
demagogic or yellow line of policy. 1t |
is so much easier to accept prejudice !
than to try to gain accurate informa-
ton and act along lines of intelligence
and reason. Emotionalism is high
ly American trait and the country will
suffer from it as time progresses.
1t is little use to tell the political
demagogue that Japan was opened to
|
modore Perry, and in the past fifty
years commerce amounting to about
one hundred million dollars per an
mum has grown up between Japan and
the United States. We are today de-
pendent upon the shipping of Japan
as never before to carry our mails
and our commerce ON the Pacific
ocean. Instead of developing an at
mosphere of unfriendly feeling against
Japan we should be engaged in
campaign of education among our
own people for the better understand
ing of the most enterprising CONNER
cial nation of the Orient. The same
feeling is sought to be developed by
the most intelligent newspapers of
Japan, and by the Japanese-American
press of this country. To prove this
we reproduce the following article
from the Japanese American News, of
San Francisco, October 20, 1916. 1t is
headed Wanted-American Propo-
ganda in Japan, by X. X. Kawakamui
America should send to Japan
. man, not a diplomatic official, but
private citizen, not a mediocre man.
but brilliant, versatile, resourceful
man, whose view is broad, whose
knowledge of American history and
of international relations is not super
nclal. Such a man should explain in
) speeches and through newspapers and
: magazines Americas real policy and
attitude towards China and Japan.
He should employ one or two compe-
tent Japanese interpreters and trans
lators, and present his views to the
Japanese public, not in English, but
in Japanese. For in these busy days,
and they are busy even in Japan, no
japanese newspaper or magazine edi-
tor would take the trouble to pore
over English manuscript and trans
late them for publication.
} 1T is strange that this idea has not
long since occurred to peace organi-
cations of this country. The Japanese
misunderstood America just as much
as the Americans misunderstood jap
= an. And mutual misunderstanding has
already brought the two countries to
y a point where neither is quite sure
= of permanent peace. The moment is
certainly critical, and the public
d spirited men on both sides should ex-
> ercise the utmost influence to pre-
. serve what is left of the former cor
10 dial relationship between the two ma
tons.
< with the question of preparedness
I uppermost in the minds of the Ameri-
= cans, wild stories about alleged jap
2 anese ambitions have been so freely
e published in many American news
/ papers that the Japanese feel almost
sure that the American press. in uni
. son with big interests, are engaged in
conspiracy for discrediting and
slandering Japan. l need not recount
}. mere how many imaginary slams the
Japanese have been accused of com
Z mittlng since the preparedness ques-
ton became Americas foremost issue
Even before the launching of the pre-
paredness propaganda in this coun-
1 try, Japan had long been treated bad.
p ly enough As Mr.. George Kennon
says in the New York Outlook. BE.
n ginning with the San Francisco pub
p lie school troubles, the japanese have
t. been accused of preparing for wal
+ with us by buying 100000 rifles from
= the Cruclble Steel Company (190S)
r OF plotting against us in Hawaii and
e the Philippines 5000 of excluding
Americans from the Manchurian min
= ing field (l909); of discriminating
= against our commerce by means OF
transportation rebates on the Man
~''N INV eS AlJOJJ Oh seeking
to monopOlize the truck farming lands
in California (1909); of sinking of the
dry-dock Dewey in Manila bay Q91O)
S OF planting mines in that same nav
I (19lO); of secretly conspiring with
J., ing charts of California harbors in
e (l9lO); of secretely consipring with
S Mexico against us Q911); of attempt
. ing to secure Magdalena hay. in ow-
er California for a naval base d911) :
OF secretly taking photographs and
making maps of the coast of Alaska
. Q9lD; of trying to get supreme con-
troll in Manchuria under pretense OF
fighting the bubonic plague Q91D ;
OF conspiring with Mexican insur-
gents against us Q912); of persecut-
$ ing the American missionaries in
Korea and trying to abolish Christian
ity there 0912); of conspiring with
f Germany to overthrow the Monroe
Doctrine Q912); of attacking the Amer
fGap Ct1I in 4