The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-16
Folly to Disarn, While
War Spirit Is Ablaze,
| H.G. LsP0ints Out

q military government, holding Its peo-
| pie in it's hand like q staff or q weap-
on. while America and France and
Britain are peoples operating the gov.
ernments. more or less imperfectly.
In no relationship il confusion upon
this point more probable and more
dangerous than between Japan and
Britain or France at the present time
and in no connection 10 there greater
need Of perfectly plain statement.
Seeing that Britain IL still q mon-
archy with many artistocratic forms,
1t is fatally easy for a Japanese state
man to fall into the belief that the
British government Is as completely
In control and its officials as able to
bind or loose as the Japanese govern
ment and officials, and because of
this belief to trust to the private as
surances and general attitude Of per.
sonages in high places far more than
they are justified In doing.
Always Preoccupied.
The British democracy 10 very must
like the American democracy in its
inability to keep watching what is
happening overseas. I. Is preoccupied
by domestic questions and things that
are near to 1t. You cannot expect q
Wiltshire or q Lancashire cotton
spinner to keep up day by day with
the concession hunting game in Persia
or South China. But II that game OF
concession-hunting piles up to suf-
ficiently serious consequences, these
democracies are likely to wake up in
a manner quite outside the Japanese
range of possibilities. And to a large
extent. the same Is true Of France.
It is the blessed privilege Of an
irresponsible journalist to say things
that no diplomatist could ever say.
and upon the relations of japan.
America, and England there are GER
tain truths that seem to need saying
very plainly at the present time. But
though 1 am an irresponsible journal
list. it Is also to be noted that I am a
very English Englishman and I know
the way of thinking Of my people.
The British people have been sleep
ing happily upon the belief that war
with America Is impossible. And for
them 1t is impossible. In this matter
the British have special and extra
ordinary instinct. They will not fight
the United States Of America.
I will not go into the peculiar feel
ings that produce this disposition:
Americans do not understand and
have indeed taken great pains not to
understand
But to the common British. fighting
Americans would have much the
same relation to fighting other
peoples that cannibalism would have
to eating meat.
I hear q certain type OF American
over here slowly and heavily debating
the Hughes proposals on the assunp.
ton that there may be a war OF Amer
lea against Britain and Japan. Such
an assumption is---if may be per-
mttted the, word-idiotic.
As a people, the British have not
been thinking very much about the
Pacific Question. They have been
preoccupied by Ireland and their
own economic troubles. But II that
question presently moves toward q
level of intensity where war il pos
sible. let there be no mistake about
1t In Japan. The ordinary English
will begin thinking with the Ameri-
cans. They will read much the same
stuff because they have the same
language and think in the same way.
because they have kindred habits of
thought. 1t will not matter then
what assurances and sentiments the
Japanese may have had for official
personagee in Great Britain. For
we are dealing here not with a mat