The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-02-27
THURSDAY. FERRuARY q. lg3e.
WHY THE ASsASsINATIONs?


MOT because East is East and West Is West hut
rather because things political are seldom what
they seem, Americans likely to have difficulty in
making sense out Of the latest japanese assassna-
tons
Aimed by the military, so the cabled stories seem
to agree, primarily at the aged Takahash finance
minister the hot-headed attack takes also the lives
of those mild military men, Admiral Okada premier,
and Admiral sato, former premier. Why? Perhaps
because of their very mldness. For all accounts
coincide in accusing that extreme group in the army
which wishes to push Japanese cnquests farther and
which resents the growing conservatism in that
respect of the civil government of which Okada
the head
AS for Takahashi. He, a great inancier and in
dustrialist, had the job of raising the money for
the military program, job that has become harder
and harder the military ambition flames higher
and higher Ills disposition naturally if only because
of the difficulty of his task, was to restrain the
spreading military Imperialism.
TN our language Takahashi and his colleagues have
come to be called liberals Liberal is a very loose
word even when applied to our own domestic affairs
It requires special definition as applied to the
japanese situation. 1t appears to mean those who
seek to assert the power of civilians against the
military element the processes of parliament against
the independent power of the army and the navy
For the army and navy in Japan are not the crea-
lures of parliament and subject to its control as is
the case in this country or in European countries
having the parliamentary system.
Yet the conflict between the two elements is not
simply that of all civilians against all militarlSts
The principal political parties in Japan represent
primarily the business and industrial elements-as
in other countries
They would hardly be called liberal in the more
usual Western sense of the word; it would not De
said they represent economic liberalism That being
so it is hard for to understand why the cofllcC'
The army and navy, experience reveals is usually al
the service of business and industry in all countries
But that has not been the case in Japan, ana Uhere
lies the very important distinction.
The cult of the Sanurai, Japan's military noolllCy'
is unsynpathetc to business. The greatness OF ia
nan is their religion They fight to extend lts glory
and what they conceive it to mean SPIRITUALITY Ciey
don't fight they say, to exploit other anos LOT Jap
anese business men and ndustrialists. They point
to Manchukuo the puppet state they nave SET up
TO prove their point The bankers and industriaists
have not been permitted to follow the nag there'
Banking in Manchukuo is state function, the great
industries railroads mines and the rest-even the
nrincipal hotes-are owned in principal part by the
government. Some of the military men dream not
ONLY of making this system permanent in ManchuKuo,
but of extending it to Japan proper
fantastic dream no doubt, in the light OF the
extraordinary competence of Japanese financial and
industrial leaders, a competence shown by COM
mercial invasion of the western world on scale to
astound even the most obsessed military patriot
PATRIOTISM is the religion of Japan and its his
l. toric custodians are the military men. Its symbol
is the Emperor The military have an independent
access to the throne They strike in deadly warning
whenever threatened with civilian restrictions. And
they are well beyond the reach of fear for If they
die for their assassinations they have died. so they
feel, for their Emperor.
1t is pretty hard to do anything with an outfit
like that.
Yet intelligent Japanese believe the net effect OF
yesterdays tragedy will be to strengthen the hands
of the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. who endeavoring to
restrain Japans military ambitions Previous as
sassinatons have not stopped the development of
this sentiment The elections of few days ago, the
very elections that precpitated this latest outbreak,
showed a considerable gain in the strength of the
observation-disclosures this in the face of previous
assassinatons, of which there have been plenty in
the last dozen years.
Most of us will hope that this belief is well
founded, for we have to dislike in
strument of national policy and we never did like
assassination as an instrument of party policy.