The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-02-17

New York, Feb l6-"There are more
factors pointing toward war with Japan
today than pointed toward war with
Germany in 1911" declares Professor
Walter B. Pltkin.
He IS associate professor Of journal
ism in the School Of journalism. Column
bia University. and is the author OF 4
book entitled. Must We Fight Japan
which contains many startling state
ments.
1T is quite simple" he went on. L
haven't discovered any dark plots. II
my statements seem sensational. II Is
because the greater part or our country
has been sedulously ignoring plain
facts. | wasn't aware rust how import
ant these facts were myself until quite
lately. write a good bit for maya
zines, and about Il year ago l had IN
mind some articles on the California;
Jananesc question. When ! came to
look about me for material, I was really
startled to find that practically every
thing I could geJ hold OF was sheer
nropa ganda PrO-Japanese, antl-Japa-
ncsr. no one dispassionately Settlns
forth all the discoverable signlncant
facts. -,
Il became intensely interested In this
absolute lack Of uacolored material on
which one might base justlhaple oplh-
ion. So interested that l set out to the
Pacific coast, TO see the California Sit
uation with my own eyes lntending ~
90 on to the Hawaiian Islands and
Japan.
IT found a whole book Of tremendous
~ imDortant facts right there on our
own western coast. and because the sit
uuiinn WAS SO dangerously acute l made
ND my mind that ] would write ina
book and get into the hands of Amerl-
cans at the earliest moment consistent
with sound work.
II started right in on my inVesll ga
ticn, resolved on two things; hrst' that
not one line of propaganda should creep
in; second, that my book should De con-
structlve suggestive. not alarmist.
"Rut the probabilities of war II VIC
continue TO drift and do nothing arc
really not capable of exaggeratton. The
oucstjon in that case IL not all whether
we shall have a war with Japan, but
only when and how,
You think" asked him. that some
incident like the Vladivostok affair, Tor
instance. might touch OF an explosion!
Yes That was dangerous. Very
dangerous. or course. as matter OF
fact neither Japan nor America really
wants TO night now. America Is still
heartily sick of war; the influence OF
International menace is against war; the
new Japanese industries are very de-
pendent upon American raw material !,
cspecially cotton. But unfortunately
history proves that there is no good
reason for assuming that we are SAFE
from war because neither nation wants
it. You know. of course. that there have
been student demonstrations in Japan
aCoinSt the United states, and that Jap
ancse students have debated the ques-
ton: shall We Declare War on the
United States Japanese naval Officers
arc telling their men that the United
States is jealous of Japan's power and
prosperity, is insulting their national
honor--and then asking what they arc
going to do about il.
That is the kind OF thing Germany
was doing before the war Many OBJ
servers have been struck with general
resemblance between Germany before
the war and Japan now. The more one
goes into it, the more striking it is;
idolatry Of the State. the influence pos
Srssed by the militarists, over-popula-
( tton. new industrialism, large tech
nically educated class. restricted natural
resources. and desperate need of place
( in the sun government censorship OF
the press-!n fact. ] have drawn up in
several successive chapters ilfteen re!
ally important points OF resemblance be-
tween japan and pre-war Germany.
"Of course. We don't have TO fight
| Japan because she Is like Germany. As
: | said, every element OF the situation
cody considered. points to the utter
undesirabilty Of such a conflict for