Evening star., 1941-11-11

Henry McLemore would have
summond me this week and as
signed me TO welcome Saburo
Kurusu, Japan's special envoy who
brought a belly, belly belligerent
message from Premier TOTO to
President Roosevelt.
Frankly, I'm sorry this dream
couldn't have come true.
Boy, I know just exactly what
would have done.
In the first place, would have
met him in a heavy tank rather
than in a limousine and would have
had some tough marines put the
frisk on him when he stepped of
the Clipper. just as some Of his bows
have done to our folks on the other
side of the Pacific.
He wouldn't have gone straight to
Washington either.
No sir. I would have told him that
a little trip had been planned for
him-a trip that would show him
our country and afford US time to
discuss thoroughly the wisdom Of
Japan taking measures against US
unless We koW-toWed to Japan's de-
mands.
Our first stop would have been
Buffalo where Saburo Kurusu could
have seen Bell Airacobra fighting
planes rolling off the line: Curtiss-
Wright Kittvhawks having their
guns mounted and Great Lakes
grain ships being loaded with
enough wheat to feed Japan for a
year.
From Buffalo We would have hop
ped lin a Boeing flying fortress, Of
course to Detroit and let Japans
cocky little emissary have what the
japanese so dehcately call a gander
at what Ford, General Motors and
the other up-and-coming indus
trialists are turning out in the way
Of fighting stuff.
From Detroit We would have made
little aerial inspection of perhaps
two or three days length Of pretty
fair-sized "breadbasket' of the
Western Hemisphere.
Down below. Saburo in case the
size Of this country is bothering you
a bit" We would have pointed out,
ARE the fields of Iowa. Kansas. Mis-
souri,, Ohio, the Dakotas, Minnesota
/ and other States. They aren't bad
producers
After that We would have headed
| for the Far West and ct the honor
able gentleman from Asia take q
look at our side of the Pacific Ocean,
San Diego, with its navy yard and
aircraft factories. Los Angeles with
/ its innumerable defense plants. San
/ Francisco with its tremendously
guarded gate And so UP and up the
coast with almost every city. town
and hamlet working on something
that shoots and for keeps.
From the coast the itinerary
would have been a wandering one.
The vast shipbuilding plants on the
Gulf Coast. The countless air fields
of Texas. The oil Of that and sur
rounding States. too. Pittsburgh and
it's blast-furnace flares. The Caro-
linas with hundreds of thousands of
soldiers under arms and on maneu-
vers. Norfolk with its magnificent
navy yard The mighty boats rid
ing in the roads. The mighty boats
in the yards. The aircraft carriers
riding at anchor.
New York. Masses of stone and
steel with no bamboo and paper
houses in sight.
AS we rode from New York to
Washington on the final leg I would
have asked Saburo Kurusu, once
again, just why it was mis- country
was threatening this country and
just what it was using for a threat.
I would have asked him if the letter
he was carrying In his kimono
wasn't a little bit too strong and II
the gamble he was taking wasn't a
little too long.
Something tells me that such a
reception for Saburo Kurusu would
have prompted him to make few
personal if unauthorized corrections
in that letter he was carrying to
President Roosevelt, Something tells
me he might even have Joined up
as a Defense stamp salesman and
called Premier Toto collect and
suggested he quit monkeying around
with trying to save face and start
trying to save Japan.
distributed by McNausht Syndicate, IncD