The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-07-18

gime, whatever
II may call itself in the Jap Ian
guage, corresponding to Nazism,
Communism, Fascism or Falang-
ism.
The Japs appear To be sliding
into totalitsrianism by way Of cap
italism's suppression. AT least
that's the initial step. Presumably
ordinary human rights will be
abolished likewise, shortly. Capt.
talists get the gaff initially, how
ever. The Mikado's government is
quoted, in dispatches from Toxic,
as describing 'em as radicals"
That is, they're radically disin.
clined TO be d-ispossessed Of the
last cent Of their bank accounts.
France, state departmental re-
ports indicate, Is starting in totali-
tarianism's direction from the an
gle opposite to the Japanese one.
Marshal Petain's scheme is to X
tinguish his country's electoral
system-a jab at popular voting.
The best guess is that he'll get
around to capitalism later. not
hrst, as the Japs are doing.
France, same as Japan, lacks a
conspicuous big man at the top Of
its totalitarian heap. Petain's too
old to last much longer. Further
more, his authority isn't his own.
It's Herr Hitler's. Adolf is it in
Germany. Mussolini is 1t in Italy
with a lot Of qualifications, but
not as many as the marshal's.
Stain, up TO date. is II In Russia.
Frances It, for the present in
Spain. When the Japs evolve their
Fuehrer or Duce or boss commits
sar or Caudillo or whatever they
may call him. he'll be it in Nippon.
Petain, though, isn't anything in
his own right. Still, he's doing his
darndest to turn France into a to-
talitarian nation.
Who Pulls Stringss
Japan formally announced Itself
governmentally. Precisely who did
the debating isn't revealed yet.
The Mikado, all-powerful as he is
theoretically, really is only a hg-
urehead. There must be some
whale Of q huge influence in Toxic
who hasn't been identified yet.
The nub Of 1t is that this SUI
preme authority has eliminated
every capitalistic element from the
national economic structure by
making all private financial insti-
tutions subsidiaries Of the govern
mentally-controlled Bank OF ia
pam" In short, every single sen
Jap equivalent Of one of our PEN
nies) is modified in the states
interest"
The fact is that the Japs' lower
classes haven't property enough to
be worth taking away from 'em.
Ever hear or a rfcKshaw- coofiea9-
Well, a rickshaw is a kind Of a tiny
little phaeton, accommodating
passenger. The coolie "a human
being) runs like fury between the
shafts, shaking the vehicle along
after him. He generally dies be-
fore long. for the pace gives him
heart disease. He makes a few
coppers per day while he does live,
though. Well, that guy pays an
income tax. It's like making a
horse pay one.
So it's no wonder the Jap
fuehrer starts at the radical cap
italists'" end Of the lire. leaving
the other end to be attended to
later.
Petain's View
Marshal Petain looks at the
French situation diferently-may-
be because Herr Hitler tells him to
do so. His thesis is Che made a
speech on the subject the other
day. that universal suffrage Is a
punk idea. It's a system, he said,
that vests authority in sheer
numbers-total responsibility"
Accordingly, he's appointed a
committee TO draft a new French
constitution.
Explaining what he wants, he
spoke for a small group Of higher