The New York herald., 1922-03-12
Some Feel Farley Post
poned Conflict, Others
Think Toxic Wiser.
JOURNEYS TO CHINATOWN
Spirit Of Orientals Linked
With Rising Tide Of Color
Throughout World.
BY SIR PHILIP GIBBS.

Special Correspondence to THE New Yonx
~ s HERALD.
y SAN FRANCISCO, March Elm San
Francisco. looking out for the first
time on the great waters of the Pacific
\ beyond the sunlit highway OF the
- Golden Gate. understood more clear
ly than before the enormous interest
OF the American people Of the West
In the political future OF China and
Japan. In the East OF the United
States. as in Great Britain, the prob
lens Of the Pacific, the possible men
ace Of Japan. the evolution of China,
seem rather remote in their interest
and to have no immediate bearing
upon ones own daily life and business
concerns. The discussion seems only
OF academic Importance like theories
OF men who look far into the future
and estimate the peril Of the rising
tide Of color or the possibility of ra-
cial revolution.
But here in San Francisco the gate
way to the Orient, men and women
Of American civilization find them
selves being jostled in their own
streets by Oriental competition, are
aware Of Oriental types and customs
and industrial activity, and secret
Vices of Eastern life. creeping into
their midst. stretching out tentacles to
get grip on their soil. taking possess
sion of houses and farms and streets
The peaceful penetration of Japan the
danger OF Chinese immigration, the
increasing pressure OF the East upon
the West Is no matter of mere yis-
ionary talk among people OF Cali
fornia, who find Oriental labor under
cutting their own industry, and buy
ing up farms and orange groves.
War With Japan Only Postponed.
1 was surprised by the excited way-
the passion even-with which Amer;.
can business men discussed the WASH
mgton conference and it's results as
listened to them in the smoking cars
Oh trains between Seattle and San
francisco, or in the bedroom OF nv
motel, where little group gathered
one evening to put me wise" The
: general FEELING seemed TO be that the
washington conference has only post
poned for time an inevitable con-
,Hlct between Japan and the United
States, and has indeed revealed in n
binding way the absolute resolution
OF Japan to obtain a stronghold on
China and to dominate the future of
the Pacific.
Other men with whom I talked did
not agree with that conclusion, but
4 believed in the common sense OF
: Japan. in the business sanity OF the
Japanese people. who know that war
: between themselves and the United
States would end in economic ruin.
however long 1t lasted and whatever
initial success might be gained by
their navy That was the view OF n
thoughtful and CHEEKY fellow who took
me for spin in his little fiivver
through Golden Gate Park, along the
Presidio and to the edge of the great
sea, glorious in sunshine which
seemed like blessed miracle TO me
after the frozen SHOWS of Calgary and
Edmonton. Every now and then he
stopped his machine SO that / might
get out and admire the view, which
! did with sense Of ecstasy because
or that sunshine and that beauty, but
always at such moments he continued
MS argument about the relations be-
tween Japan and the United States.
Looking at the matter in a cold
blooded way" he said during one OF
, these halts, 1T would have been a good
thing for the States, and especially
for the old world IL we had declared
war against Japan soon after the
.armistice. II would have readjusted
the present economic chaos We
should nave spent billions OF dollars
in foreign markets and wiped out the
international debts. so that The Euro
pean nations would recover and
America would regain her customers,
Theoretical Talk.
1 told him that as a man pledged
TO work for international peace L
could not accept the idea of bloody
war as the best means OF securing the
economic recovery of the world, and
I he grinned and said I'm only talking
theoretically"
He made sweeping gesture toward
the coast line. the rocky coast Of Cali
fornia. with its green slopes and little
covcs where white-capped waves were
; playing-then to tho range of noun
tains stretching away and away to
distant drcam-li peaks"
War with Japan!" he said. "a
queer kind OF war anyhow. They
could never make landing here. How
couru troops-thousaud of miles from
their base-march through mountains
like that? How could Japanese fleet
operate in the Pacific as long as we
held Dutch Harbor? They might take
the Philippincs-pr probably would for
time, and there would be an awful
squeal In the United States. But II
would be "a long war with aeroplanes
and submarines doing individual heroic