Evening star., 1934-04-23

IL Is a very Silly business, viewed
from the inside.
Our officials cannot understand why
Japan ever took such step at this
time.
The japanese iDeH kne1U our un-
announced attitude CdS to mind
our otpn business and ledUe Japan
and the Orient alone. On the qt.
1Ce more or less expected that Ja-
pan tDould ertend her influence
oDer China by economic dggTes-
sion and perhaps eUen some mild
military steps.
We were prepared to let her do II
quietly in order to avoid trouble. We
were willing to go to any honorable
diplomatic extreme in order to avoid q
showdown in the Far East.
One thing, not generally knoUn,
Which has nettled the japanese
1Das the order of Commerce Secre-
tary Roper stopping the ScrGpping
of Shipping Board uessels. The
japanese tDere buying much of this
scrap for munitions purposes.
This latest japanese situation Is moi
an abstract international matter, but
of vital interest to our cotton and to.
bacco growers and manufacturers
China is one of their best foreign Gus.
toners.
Enthusiasm HurtfuI.
What is behind this whole thing, o1
course, is the campaign Japan started
generations ago for the conquest o1
the Far East. First, it was Korea
then Manchukuo, and now all China
Eventually she will dominate all, but
in her enthusiasm for hasty realiza-
ton Of her objective, she sometimes
oversteps herself.
When Foreign Minister Hirota's
honeyed peace note came across the
Pacific month ago, our officials
thought it meant a lull of few years
in the japanese campaign. They
thought Japan's fear of war with Rus
sia had Gained her down temporarily
There are good reasons for believing
our sigh of relief then was justified
But the very moment that Europe
became involved in a new warm dis
armament squabble and our feet left
the Pacific, the japanese statesmen
seized the opportunity to renew theiI
conquest project. They do not want
war They want to gobble up the Fal
East by diplomatic guile and CONNER
cial aggression, and this Is part of the
game.
Blunders Come Quickly.
Chairman Steagall of the House
Banking Committee conceived an idea
for stopping the Mcleod bill petition
He decided to present the bill to the
House before the petitioners coulc
force him. Hastily, his committee met
and authorized the presentation. But
after the presentation was made, lo
and behold, newsmen discovered Stea-
gall had presented the wrong Mcleod
bill. (McLeod had several)
This hasty error Uas no sooner
strdightened out than it 1pls dis
covered that StedgdlPs committee
had met in the afternoon. That
is against the rules, so the presen-
tation pas illegal.
So Steagall withdrew the bill and
had morning meeting of his commit
tee to do the thing right.
The point is that all this required
nearly a week and delayed the vote
on the Mcleod bill that long.
Pressure Is Great.
The pressure for the Mcleod bill
comes from out in the country-it is
as strong as the veterans pressure re-
Gently exerted on Congress. Every
person who lost money in banks ap-
pears to be writing in, demanding pas
sage of the measure which would di-
rect the Government to pay back his
money.
It has no chance of final enactment
because the President is dead sci
against 1t. But Is passage in Congress
will enable the Representatives to gair
political support back home, as on the
veterans issue.