The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-08-03

nationalities have been fairly well
satisfied with their luck thus far It
appears also. however, that the
successes they've scored up to date
have been greatly exaggerated TO
them, whereas news that isn't so
favorable is strictly suppressed.
One story that did get out,
though, at least in Japan. was the
account Of Jimmy Doolittle's air
bombing raid over several of Nip
pon's leading cities.
The censor kept it out of print
TO be sure, but so much damage
was done that great numbers Of
folk saw and talked about il among
themselves. In fact, some observers
are Of the opinion that the per-
Torrance made a deeper impress
sion than 1t would have done II it
hadn't been so complete a surprise.
II was so exactly in Enthusiastically
convincing contradiction Of all the
gladstone official reports on which
the government had been feeding
its public that the Japs have
turned a bit skeptical Of the
sources of information they're sup
posed to rely on.
Made TO Order
Just why other American aH-
ators haven't been more prompt to
follow up Jimmy Doolittle's ex-
ample isn't quite clear.
Japan simply was created TO be
air raided. Not to exceed l per cent
Of its architecture consists Of any,
thing but bamboo sticks, paper
walls and pasteboard roofs, with a
little mucilage to hold EN- to-
gether.
Bombers are described as having
knocked buildings in such cities as
Cologne and Hamburg into heaps
OF rubble," to employ the popular
reportor!al expression. But to
transform ore Of those substantial
German edihces into rubble re-
quires a direct hit. Another one,
across the street. may not have
anything more than its windows
broken. And even rubble can be
scooped up and more or less reas-
sembled.
But Jap shack? Drop a lighted
match on it and it'll blaze up to
beat a bonfire, whichll spread all
over the neighborhood in jig time.
Putting out a fire IN Nippon is a
matter Of tearing down everything
within miles around the scene of
the conhagration. No rubble's left.
Not even kindlng wood remains.
It's consumed as fast as the blaze
spreads. "Scorched earth" has
nothing on it.
Following about a dozen inten-
sive Yankee raids there can be
nothing left. as much as a foot
high, for the Mikado's feet to come
home TO. So how can it reft and
get back into action?
Except the merest primitive
coolie. every Jap knows all this.
Either he's a crazy Samurai, per-
fectly willing to commit suicide
land why not help him to do it?)
or his morale will crack as soon as
he realizes what he's up against.
China's been fighting EN- for
FIVE years without winning, but
Chinas entirely without equipment.
The Chinese can literally swamp
EN-, II we give EN- the stuff to do
1t with. Or. we can do II, from the
Aleutians. for instance, if we get
busy. Only. nobody's started it but
Jimmy Doolittle.
I've lived in Japan and know
what I'm talking about.
II Hits Morale
Well now. as previously re-
marked, that Doolittle raid threw
a bad scare into the Japs. Their
morales considerably disorganized.
How about the remaining Axis
countries, as they begin to en-
counter reverses? Italy ought to
hatten out quite promptly. The
Germans are harder boiled. The
Italians aren't hard boiled at all
The Japs have nothing but a hard
boiled yolk 70 their egg.