The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-09-11

90 through the processes Of so
fundamental a change in character
as that one appears to have UNDER
gone in the intervening period.
Evidently ! was mistaken initially,
but certainly II was the most COM
pletely 100 per cent mistake that
l ever made on any subject.
The Yankee news service ! rep
resented had an information-swap-
ping arrangement with what was
known as the Nippon Dempo Tsu-
sinsha, meaning the Japan Tele-
graph News Agency At its head
was an old Jap named Mitzunaga,
who has been mentioned in dis
patches from the Orient Of late.
The welcome / got from that
outfit was something TO warm the
human heart. Director Mitzunaga
couldn't speak English. TO be sure.
but his foreign editor. Ryonasuke
Seita, educated in an American
university. was assigned TO care
for me. l wanted interviews with
high Observation-Disclosures men,
bers and such. I'd only to express
such a wish and messenger would
arrive with a note, written in hen
tracks. cordially inviting me to
drop in. Editor Seita would trans
late the hen-tracks for me, and, IL
the sought-for potentate was un-
familiar with English, would be on
hand to act as interpreter. or
would assign to the Job his assist
ant, Sub-Editor Ooeda.
Complete Cooperation
And, believe me. those cabinet
GERS were communicative. l would
not guarantee that they always
told the truth. but they were a
darned sight more polite than the
average functionary in Washing
ton.
1t wasn't solely a matter OF BUSH
ness, either.
NY wife was with me, and the
Seitas. the Mitzunagas and the
Ooedas were families Of their own.
We entertained back and forth. l
never knew anyone in the United
States whom I liked better than
the Seitas. Had war broken out
then, I'd no more have suspected
that pair Of an inclination 10 tor
ture me. as an internee, than Id
have anticipated such an molina
ton on the part Of any Of my
friendly neighbors here al home.
And (dash-ding it, doubt that
they'd have had it.
Ny theory is that the torturers
are that internal Jap military
class, who run things regardless
Of the comparatively civilized civil
ian element. just can't believe II
Of folk I knew so well and liked
so much.
There's a thickness in the Jap
makeup, but, II that imitation was
pure thickness, il was wonder.
They fool you in another way
The dope has been that Jap in
genuity has been deceptive. It's
agreed that the islanders are good
imitators. The japanese have built
ships and planes and other me-
chanical devices that have looked
all right on paper, but the theory's
been that they wouldn't work very
well in practice They appear to
work pretty blamed wen.
How to Retaliate
They've got us on the hog-train
in one respect, though.
They catch US democrats, So
journing in such areas as I've men,
toned, intern EN- and treat EN- in
humanity.
And what are We going to do
about II?
Grab their internees and treat
'em the same way?
Good gosh We can't.
We've got an American newspa-
perman. ] B Powell hooked by
the japanese, just back, with most
Of his feet cut off by the Japs,
while they were holding him. They
took his shoes away from him
while he was imprisoned, his feet
froze and gangrene set in. What
are we going to do in retaliation?