Evening star., 1933-01-29

Ozaki Faces the Dagger
Gone Home

humble Toxic home with daggers and
revolvers, but were sprawled on the
mats by four alert servants who had
made a special study of jiu-jitsu In
order to protect their master. Mean
while Ozakis 13-year-old daughter, who
is now much taller than he, tied her
kimono around the little mans slender
waist, threw something over his head
and led him out the back way. His
nonchalant statement on the affair
made him a hero in Japan and burned
the military: These attackers are a
nuisance. Publicity seekers. They are
a disgrace to Japan and I shall not
allow them to hinder me in my work.
Ozaki was the father of the clause
demanding racial equality which the
japanese delegates presented at the
Versailles conference and which Wood
row Wilson rose to kill. Ozaki felt be-
trayed by Wilson, whom he revered and
by the Japanese delegates who traded
his idealism for hold on Shantung.
But in couple of years Ozaki was at
1t again. conducting perhaps the most
remarkable single-handed campaign in
modern international history. Up and
down Japan he went, addressing some
times 10 audiences in a day, advocat-
ing the novel idea of a conference for
arms limitation in the Pacific For at
this time. 1921, he saw America and
Japan heading down the broad avenue
of armament race into war.
In 1921 the idea that governments
would sit down and agree on how many
battleships themselves and their rivals
would possess seemed fantastic to the
point of absurdity. Through ridicule
at home and gasps from abroad Ozaki
carried on and when the tens of thou
sands of post cards which he handed
out at his lectures began flooding the
japanese cabinet. statesmen in Japan.
American and Great Britain were forced
to take cognizance Of the idea.
Call by Harding Favored.
"Who are you going to get to call
this conference" OZaki was asked. Il
want President Harding to call it," he
answered, but if he does not. I want
the Japanese government to do So"
1t was the worlds first move toward
armament limitation on a quota basis
and Immediately out of it grew the
nine-power treaty, guaranteeing the
territorial integrity of China and the
four-power pact for peace on the
Pacific.
But Yukio Ozaki's enemies at home
the successors, OF Yamagata. have go'
the upper hand again. They have
made travesty OF the nine-power pact
and the four-power treaty. They have
put through the greatest budget in JAP
anese history for army and navy. They
have brought a declaration from Pres
ident Hoover that naval limitation will
pcrforce be abandoned II the conse-
quent treaties continue to be ignored
Yukio Ozaki sees them bringing about
the dreaded clash of the two great
powers of the Pacific. which he con-
Quoted a visionary and energetic CAM
paign to avoid. He sees them forcing
China to militarize-to become eventu-
ally a greater militarism than any
mailed fist showing in the world today
Yukio OZaki was forced to see the
one man who sat down with him in
Japan's first Parliament in 1890 ano
who. like himself. was elected to every
succeeding Diet Ki Inukai. made first
a puppet premier by the military clique
and then assaSsinated.
And so he is going home to die like
his aged fellow Inukai. but he knows
that in him one japanese liberal has
remained true to the faith And that
whereas Ki 1nukai became notorious
as the old Fox" he. Yukio Ozaki. will
go down as the noblest Roman of them
all" Some day he will live again as
the hero Of new Japan He has writ
| ten poem in the japanese epigram-
matte form to the men who will Kill
him. 1t is a typical Oriental barb
Praise for "kill-me" men, if they fol
their country die!
And he added in his letter to his
daughters, "One should die with a
smile, my mother taught me. I do no,
dread death, but would not like to die
in a sick bed / should like a death
which would prove lesson to pos
| terity."