The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-04-27
| Cover the World

VXTASHINGTON, April 27.-Neither the jap
w anese government nor the Imperial jap
anese navy has ever looked askance at the COM
ing North Pacific maneuvers of the American
feet, Ambassador Hirosi Saito told the Scripps-
Howard newspapers today.
At the end of last December timed with Nip
pon's dramatic denunciation Of the Washington
naval limitation treaty, stories were widely cir
culated in this country that the United States
would hold the greatest naval battle practice in
its history at Japan's front door,
Widespread protests followed this alleged
answer" to Japan. Some Of the protests we're
even sent to the japanese embassy here. The
maneuvers, it was charged, were provocative
Cabled abroad, the Japanese took the American
protests at their face value. A popular miscon-
ception arose on both sides Of the Pacific,
fraught with undoubted potentialities for jap
| anese- American in-win
What both japanese and American govern
menCs knew-but what the public did not seem
to know or had forgotten-was that the ex-
ercises had first been preached as far back as
1888, and that they had been publicly and Of
hcialy announced in mid-September, 1884.
THIS was full month before the japanese
i and American delegates arrived in London
/ to confer on naval ratios, and more than three
months before Japans withdrawal from the
| lin1itatio agreement on Dec 90 The maneu-
vers. therefore, had no bearing whatever on
London or its aftermath
Another thing the public seemed unaware of,
but which both governments knew, was that the
fleets exercises would be confined to the north
east corner Of the Pacific between California,
Hawaii and the AleGtian Islands. And the Pa
cifc is % times the size of the United States.
THE Japanese government and our naval
people have never misunderstood the matter, y
Ambassador Saito said. They know that navies
are navies and that it is the navys business to
be familiar with not just some of their waters,
but all of their waters Never having exercised
in the misty North Pacific region, it clearly
understood that units of the American fleet
would want to go there.
THE only miScOnCeptlon was in the minds
Of the public. But now that it is becoming
known that none of the American ships will APP
proach closer to Japan than the 160th meridian,
more than 1000 miles from Japan proper, the
misunderstanding is clearing up. The friendly
visit of American warships of the Asiatc Squad
ron to Yokohama and Kobe should also help"
Ambassador Saito is perhaps the youngest
and most outspoken ambassador Japan has ever
sent to the United States He has spent many
years of his life here in the consular and diplo
matte service of his country. He knows Ameri-
can psychology as we'll as he knows that Of his
own people
TNHERE is every reason in the world why the
i United States and Japan should be on good
terms" he declared. Fundamentally our ma
tional interests probably clash less than almost
any other two nations one could name They
are for the most part Complementary instead
of competitive. We buy your cotton you buy our
silk. And so on.
WAR between the United States and Japan
would utterly ruin both countries. 1t could only
play into the hands of others"
The ambassador paused and chuckled
"Once there were a stork and a clam. They
were neghbors on the same beach. Spying the
open clam, the StOrk reached down with his
long bill to swallow it. But the clam closed
down on the bill of the stork and wouldn't let
go. So the stork had the clam and the clam
had the stork but along came fisherman and
took them both.
Its an old Chinese fable.
There is a good deal of jealousy in the world
at the expense CT Japan and the United States
That has been so ever since the World War.
There are people who would not at al mind Sc
ing us destroy each other for their benefit 1t
is up TO America and Japan to see to it that
those who would create friction between them
get nowhere"