Evening star., 1921-12-18
BY JAMES MARTIN MILLER.

InlTal odEOu hdIOs 1AdSO 40
as common a name in Japan
as Smith is in the United States. While
a small man, Vice Admiral Kato is
considerably heavier than Admiral
Baron kato. The latter is quite slen-
der and frail looking. He weighs
slightly more than 100 pounds. The,
vice admiral is fifty-one years Of age
older.
But small as they are, the two
Katos are power In the Washington
conference. Both are affable and good
natured, always smiling or laughing.
Thoroughly trained and disciplined,
both are cool, calculating and never
impulsive. Impulsiveness Is a char
acteristic of the Anglo-Saxon and the
Latin races. To be sure. all of these
are not of impulsive natures. for we
we'll know that we have cool and cal
culating people in Europe and Amer
lea.
But the reverse of impulsiveness is
q characteristic of the Japanese peo-
pie, and. in fact, Of all orientals. The
a great advantage over the impulsive
one, whether in diplomacy. ordinary
commercial transactions or q poker
game. That the Japanese have made
their reputation famous as diplomats,
all concede. And they have not been
in the diplomatic game many genera
1ions. Europe and America taught
them this fine art, and induced them
TO adopt western standards of civili-
zation- 1t seems at times that it is a
case of these clever students know
ing moro than their instructors
X X y y
VICE ADMIRAL KATO talked in
terestingly, from the Japanese
viewpoint. about Japan before our
standards of civilization and Chris
tianity in that country. The vice ad-
miral Is intensively educated and he
is a thinker. He is competent to por-
tray the Impressions of the people Of
Japan.
He was a sub-lieutenant in the
Japanese-Chinese war Of 1895 and
AAhoAy Will <AuIlliI
Togo on his flagship, the Mykasa in
the JapaneSe-Russian war of 1904-5.
He is a graduate of the naval aca-
deny of Japan. namely the Navay
High College at Toxic. He Is now
president of this. greatest naval
school In the orient and one of the
greatest in the world. All the in
tructors of this institution are now
Japanese. except the professor Of
English language. This was not true
in the beginning years of the Naval
High College, for Japan then brought
military instructors from Europe.
Some Of their instructors were sent
part Of their training.
Vice Admiral Kato was sent to st.
Petersburg. Russia. in 1899 to study
the Russian language. He remained
in Russia for three years, with the
result that he came back home able
1y. Two other Japanese were there
with him studying that language.
Within two years after his return
home to Japan the war with Russia
broke uot. The vice admirars know
ledge Of the Russian language was
OF very great value to his government.
The vice admiral is the naval ad-
= conference here. In addition to his
secretary, he has other experts on
! his staff. He speaks English fairly
we'll. but it might be called a "hesi-
tation English" the same as so many
of our returned soldiers now speak
a hesitation French"
Brimful Of good nature, politeness
and affability. Che vice admiral
feared he might offend some one if
he told the story about the growth
of western standards Of civilization
/, i'll Japan, and in accordance with this,
! the building up of a great navy and
army patterned after those of Europe
sured that the American people like
TO have the facts and admire plain
spoken words, and the man who
speaks them. After discussing the
subject at some length on two diff
ferent occasions, I am quoting him:
Now. you ask me the question:
Would the Japanese people and the
world in general have been happier
had Commodore Perry and all the
other advance agents of civilization
and Christianity stayed away from
Japan altogether and had not planted
auy Of the "seeds of the western
standards of civilization"
"I am expressing a pretty general
view in Japan. The subject is often
discussed with us.
I'm trying to answer this I am not
finding fault with Commodore Perry
or any of the other advance agents Of
civilization and Christianity, as you
call them. But, when We were a
'heathen' people, as the people of
Europe and America used to call
us. we never had any wars that
could be called such. We then had
no navy to scrap and no army to
d sarm.
k.DEFORE the western standards OF
- civilization took root in Japan
csc soil we were at peace, practically
speaking, with our neighbors. AS
time went on. after your Commodore
Perry sailed into one of our then
crude harbors in 1856. certain kinds
Of western progress went forward in
Japan. We heard many Of your splen-
AL naop1a cav that now JaDan will