The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-10-23
Inter-Racial Complications

There is one phase of the Italian-Ethi- opian struggle that has received much less notice than it deserves. That phase which, in the long view, may become the most important and most potentially dangerous of all the phases-is the inter- racial complications that may arise from Italy's imperial ambitions.
 Here is the way it is expressed by the famed American Negro leader, educator, and writer, w. E. B. Du Bois, in the Octo- Der issue of Foreign Affairs: '"The proba- bilities are that Italy will subdue Ethi- opia If this happens 1t will be costly victory, both for Italy and the white world-India, China and Japan, Africa in Africa and in America, and all the South Seas and Indian America-all that vast mass of men who have felt the op- pression and insults, the slavery and ex- ploitation of white folks, will say: I told you SO! There is no faith in them even toward each other. They do not believe in Christianity and they will never volun- tarily recognize the essential equality ot human beings or surrender the idea or dominating the majority of men for their own selfish ends. Japan was right. The only path to freedom and equality is force, and force to the uttermost.'
 MT. Du Bois' allusion to China and Ja- pan involves another point that IS not so well understood as it should be- When Japan started her invasion of Manchuria a few years ago, the white nations seemed to be solidly on the side of China. Japan was called an outlaw among na- tions, was held to be menace to the peace of the world. Yet legion of white observers have returned from the orient I>,o;xo kI,n f11of day feels more friendly to the Japanese from her large share of her territory, than she does toward the English, the Americans, the Germans, the Italians and others. Result of that has been something approaching a concord be- tween Tokyo and Nanking governments Whites have definitely "lost face" in China-they are mistrusted, disliked, feared. The Chinese believe that they talk much, make fine promises and then do nothing They believe that the sole white ambition is to exploit the resources, human and material, of the black and yellow peoples.
 The situation is particularly serious to England. If, as MT. Du Bois also pointed out, an understanding between China and Japan closes Asia to white "aggres- sion", India need no longer hesitate be- tween passive resistance and open rebel lion. India is mighty muscle in the body of the British Empire. Her millions of natives are governed by few thou sand whites. What an Indian revolt would mean can only be conjectured- but the sun that finally set on it would be red indeed. So it goes throughout all the colonies of black peoples governed by Europeans British, French and Ital- ian Somaliland, in Kenya Colony, else where in Africa and South America.
 Nothing is more horrible, more dan gerous, more corrupting to the orderly processes of civilization than race war fare. The great majority of the earth's population is colored, and great major ity of these colored peoples are domi- mated by whites. If the Ethiopian disorder leads to decisive split between the two great groups, it will be one of the most important events in the history of the world-an event that, over period of many years, perhaps centuries, can change all the maps, and remake the earth to different plan.