Evening star., 1926-11-21
By ". Jefferson DaUis
I,ieut. Col. 0. r. c.
LEGAL Adviser for the United States at tho
Congress on International Aviation

grants and have been ordered to continue op
eratons. To help matters, the army dlsIrlouses zee
planes, free Of charge. to civilian aviatoi E %
civilian training, upon request. mus ,ar - in
possible for every Japanese pilot TO Keep AZ
constant training against any demands u IN II
government or commercial enterprise. -
times past some difficulty was experienced ~
recruiting for the aviation services oecauSo
the women of Japan were reluctant ABOUT con
tracing marriage with avators the na1anu 49,
Gus nature of pilots employment oelhs slvo so
as the reason. This situation no longer
exists.
1t has gained current opinion that the Japa-
nese do not make good flyers on account oa
physical and temperamental dlsaoiil.ies tc
French, English and American observers s.a.e
that this is all "bosh"; that the Japanese
flyers are remarkable for skill, dash ana couI
age and that physically they are the equals
of any corps Of pilots in the world.
The Japanese is of an assimilative race. anx-
ious to learn all of the political ana sclentlto W
offer, but this only as it affects his eco.
nomic and strategic advantage-lt ooes no.
reach his heart and soul-he puts II on anu
takes it off to suit his own peculiar REQUIRE
ments Such things do not reach the depth
of mind resulting from many centuries ol
development in habit of thought, ana ne
would shed Everything received from tne
west without disturbing the equaninity or MS
soul were it to his advantage to do so.
Thus it is that the Japanese are IN tneis
strong position among the nations OF the
world not through the processes of national
scientific and economic evolution out tnrousl.
quick absorption. They lack the background
of development and, taking unto themselves
the full grown, or, at least well deveiope9
products of Western research, they are oouno
to make many mistakes. They start at tne
point where Western scientific, military anu
commercial development stand today, and
while in their handling Of these instruments
of peace and war they may be hkened 10 d
child of 10 starting out to handle "a locuIno
tive. they are learning fast. sparing neither
expense nor effort to acquire the necessary
knowledge and possessing the innate shrew9-
ness to press that knowledge TO tneir ao
vantage - ~,
When we stop to think that between the
end of the World War and today Japan mas
Jumped from the slowest methods OF transport
into the very front rank of the nations using
the swiftest method known to man, II His the
mind with aStonlShment.
The Japanese for many centuries nave peen
looked upon as a slow moving race Except
for the jnrikisha, largely kept going by the
demands Of the European and American resi-
dents and tourists, the masses the majority
Of the population, projected themselves
through space by means Of their own peoal
extremities, limited only by physical endur-
ance. 1t costs much money to build gooo
roads and lay rails in a country largely noun
famous and of recent volcanic origin, so that
the Japanese have been pedestrlan-golng
people partly from economic necessity on Ihe
one hand and geologic conditions on the other
But they absorbed the automobile as quick
ly as conditions would permit, ana soon oe-
veloped a sense perception of time, space ana
velocity sufficient to establish motion driven
vehicles as a commonplace factor in general
traffic.
X 4 *
Today the Japanese mind IS undergoing
training along aeronautic lines and it Will only
be a short time before the necessary co-or-
dination between brain and motive centers IS
fully developed, adjusting that mind to the
mechanical devices Of aviation When this Is
brought about generally, the Japanese aviator
will be as potentially dangerous in warfare
and as thoroughgoing in peace as can be
produced by any other nation.
Japan's material growth d1ring the past two
decades has been phenomenal enough to those
who have witnessed and to some extent par
ticipated in it's development, but the past Is
as nothing to compare with the development
which will follow in the wake of her expand
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