The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-05
JAPAN TRYING SAME TRICK
SHE PLAYED ON MR.. WILSON

will not work at Washington II Mr..
Hughes and his American colleagues
have even the small amount OF COM
mon sense necessary to buy peanuts
by the bushel and sell them by the
pint on a street stand. Unhappily
the history Of nations and of peanut
stands shows that the Statesmen
who conduct the peanut stands
usually have more horse sense than
the statesmen who conduct the at
fairs of nations. Nor has anything
transpfred SO fnr in tkia conference
at washington to cause an impartial
observer to suspect that the fore
going rule Is not in good health and
working overtime.
The Administration ought to know
by this time that this conference win
either be a failure or a fatal sur
render Of American rights and
American security, and that in any
case the best thing they can do.
either from the standpoint Of party
welfare or from the far higher
standpoint of American welfare, ID
to send the whole foreign crew home
with a polite farewell and q con-
cealed. but heartfelt sigh of relief.
III the Japanese want to make q
show of insisting upon q larger pro-
portional navy. why then tell them
politely to go home and build their
navy as big as they want IL. and
America has been doing In the
meantime in her steel mills and
navy yards.
Dangerous Bunk"
There Ia no more dangerous bunk
in the world than this sentimental
slush about an era of brotherly love
and undying good will to be ushered
in by sinking some of our capital
ships and ceasing construction of
our naval armament entirely. There
never was and there never will be
In our time any such thing as broth
erly love between nations.
In the short space OF our own ma
tional life we have fought with Eng
land. fought with France, fought
with Algiers, fought with Spain,
fought with Bulgaria and fought
with Russia. We have waged war
on three different continents and not
one single generation Of Americans
has come and gone without hearing
the clash OF arms with some other
nation. And yet we are an insular
people having a domain more than
sufficient to ourselves. and arc
more free from designs of exterior
conquest and subtugation than any
great nation ever was In all history.
NOW, then, since we have been 30
repeatedly plunged into war. what
sense Is there in deluding ourselves
with the belief that we are not to
have any more wars and that we
are to escape future conflicts nv
throwing our weapons OF defense
into the sea?
The British empire IL an empire
built upon and maintained upon
aggression. conquest and subjuRa-
ton. 1t began practicing sea piracy
and land piracy in a small way 400
years ago and has never ceased to
follow that profitable practice a
single day since the last Of the
Tudor sovereigns inaugurated that
practice In the sixteenth century.
Japan Has Profited.
Japan Is an empire built upon and
maintained upon conquests and SUBJ
jugation Of the most treacherous
and ruthless kind. There is not a
foot OF the territory which she has
acquired by force since she set out
upon her career Of highway robbery
which she holds by any show of
right or justice.
The imperialistic and militaristic
ambitions and the economic inter.
ests OF these two conquering and
subtugating empires with which
We are now asked to form a prac-
tical alliance clash with our politi.
cal policies and our economic inter-
ests at q thousand crossing points
on sea and on land. It Is impossible
that such an alliance should endure
1t would not last year without
chickering's and disputes. 1t would