The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-16
TRIPLE D|SASTER R SOUNDS DOOM TO TAP M|L|TARISM
Reconstruction Plans Fail To Make Place For War
 Preparations
BY CLARENCE DUBoSE. (By Leased Wire to The Ase-HeraldD

TOKYO, Oct. 15.--As Japan re- builds her future after the triple dis aster of quake, fire and flood, 1t be- comes evident that militarism in Japan has been damaged, perhaps be- yond repair Many believe that 1t has been destroyed.
 The war office buildings, the gen. eral staff headquarters and a score of other structures where heads Of the army hold forth, survived the earthquake and the fire, but the tnsti- tution of militarism toppled. Militarism in Japan meant tre- mendous expenditure of money, and Japan now has no money to spend on ships and guns. She will have none for years to come. Government revenues must go into reconstruction, into rebuilding and re- establishing the destroyed or badly crippled industrial machinery of the nation. It was this machinery that. directly or indirectly. brought into government coffers the money the militarists spent. Militarism Alone Excluded. There are reconstruction plans to- day in Japan for almost everything under the sun-except mil!tarism. No one has yet proposed to reconstruct
 
 tarists have urged appropriations for war preparations.
 The first great blow to militarism will come this winter when the Diet passes the budget. In the past the army has had just about what 1t wanted in appropriations, so has the navy. But this year the story will be different. The government will have to choose between appropriating money to reconstruct destroyed cities and industries, or to maintain the army upon the old scale.
 There is no doubt of what the de- cision will be. The militarists are expected to save face" by asking voluntarily for greatly reduced ap- propriatlons, thus saving themselves the embarrassment of having the Diet cut the budget for them.
 Naval Base Demolished.
 The navy suffered the almost com plete demolishment of the Yokusaka naval base, just beyond Kamakura. It was near Yokohama, and a most important strategic point. protecting both the great merchant port and the capital of Tokyo. This base probably will be recon structed, but present indications are that it will not be done in any great haste.
 The Washington conference con vinced most Japanese, except the professional fire eaters, that there would be no frst-power wars in the Pacific. Now, in the earthquakes trial of terror and destruction, have come two realizations:
 Firstly, that with the vast destruc- tion of industries indispensable to war as well as peace production, Japan would not now. or for a long time to come, fight one of the big powers.
 Secondly, the conviction. born of the abundant good will shown by America and by all nations, that no power wants to pick q war with Japan.
 If these reasons were not sufficient for sharp curtailment of fighting force appropriations-and most Japa- nese say they are-there is another point well recognized here: That Japan must float large foreign loans, and that foreign powers and peoples would not support such loans if Japan's own revenues were expended for militarism instead of peace re- construction.