The Daily Alaska empire., 1929-04-15
FOR THE HONOR or THE
 MIKADO
Ru nE WITT MACKENZIE

ms IS the SJOry or great Qe- votion to the code of honor of old Japan, the sort of devotion which in days gone by has led countless sturdy hearted sons and daugh- 5ers Of Nippon voluntarily to join their mikado in death
 I should state at the outset that cannot vouch for the authenticity of this tale. It was related quiet ly in well informed circles abroad during the war I made no effort to verify the statements, because the censor would not have allowed me to publish them in any event I did not doubt the story at the time, and I do not doubt it now But were I to ask for official con- firmation at this late date I am certain that I should be met by polite shrugging of shoulders, which might mean little or much. So I present the story at face value
 The submarine warfare was at it's height. No one who was not actually on the spot can realize the awful anguish of those times at sea. Commanders of ships turned grey from the frightful strain Day and night the air was filled with pitiful wireless appeals, which were in fact the death cries of brave ships
 It was during thes troubled times that there ploughed into the Mediterranean from the east a convoy of ships filled with Aus traian soldiers and women nurses who were being taken to the vest ern battle front. The boats were conveyed by Japanese destroyers under Lieutenant Commander Sat suma, on the Haiyama. use the designations "Satsuma' and 'Haiyama" because they are not the real names.
 For thousands of miles the war ships had led their helpless charges through the eastern seas. Now for the first time they were in the real danger zone. The Japanese officers paced their bridges cease lessly, binoculars to their eyes watching for signs of the peril lurking beneath the blue waves Upon the square shoulders of the grey haired Satsuma rested the weight of the safety of the con voy. Quite apart from his person. al desire to see his little fleet safely through he carried in his hand the honor of his mikado That had been the Japanese code of the sea from time immemorable 1 Suddenly and without warning there was a detonation off there by one Of the troop ships, and the vessel leaped upward, like a fish trying to escape an enemy of the deep. Satsuma's shoulders stiffened, and his teeth clicked together like two pieces of steel, but his face was inscrutably masked with ori- ental calm as he turned and rap ped out his crisp orders.
 The troop ship was listing badly and settling rapidly.
 Save the soldiers first, and then the women," snapped the com mander to his lieutenant.
 The subordinate's eyes shot a question at his chief. The com mander caught the clance.
 Tt is hard, but it is war" he said. "The allies need troops. There are plenty of women left.
 But they saved them all, both the men and women, and took their flotilla to port.
 The Haiyama and her sister ships were steaming out to sea again, homeward bound The command CT and the lieutenant were on the bridge, looking in silence towards the receding land. But they watch ed with unseeing eyes, for each was busy with the same thought. They had brought their human cargo through all right-but ship had been lost. Satsuma, the trusted, had lost ship. His code said that this was dishonor. Only one thing could wipe out the stain
 The lieutenant had not noticed that the commander had drawn away across the bridge. The sharp report of a pistol woke the subor- dinate from his reverie. He spun on his heel For a long moment he gazed down on the still form be- fore him, and his hand came up to salute. There was pride in his eyes, and his lips moved with words which had no sound:
 For the honor of the mikado and the fleet"