Evening star., 1942-02-02
Member Of tho Associated Press.
The Bottle for Face

The Bottle for Face
Behind and above the bloody bat
ties now raging from the island
dotted South Pacific to the marshes
or India, another battle is going on.
This parallel conflict Is located in
the realm of ideas. It Is being
fought with the written and spoken
word rather than with shot, and
shell. But 1t Is none the less impor-
tant for that. Indeed, the outcome
Of this Intangible struggle will de-
termine the shape Of the future quite
as much as material clashes between
troops, ships and planes.
Those bold gamblers who have
mortgaged Japan's destiny In q su-
preme bid for empire are out for
more than provinces or raw ma
terials. They seek to conquer the
minds Of countless Asiatic millions
and bend them to their imperious
will. Being themselves Asiatics,
these Japanese leaders know the
traditional Oriental formula for con-
quest, expressed in the one word
"face." Our English word needs to
be put in quotation marks, because
it very imperfectly renders the East
ern meaning which Is q blend Of
three concepts: Prestige" dignity"
and, above all, power"
To all Asiatics, high or low, "face"
Is supremely important. To gain
much "face" is more precious than
gold or silver; to lose "face" utterly
Is deemed worse than death itself.
In the Orient, the authority Of gov
ernment rests far more upon "face"
than upon material force. When the
adventurous white men in their tall
ships reached the Orient, four CEN
turies and a half ago, their ocean,
going galleons, thunderous cannon
and masterful qualities 50 impressed
the Asiatics that they soon gained
enormous "face." Upon that psychic
foundation, vast colonial empires
were founded with amazingly small
numbers and a ridiculously dispro-
portionate expenditure OF actual
force. It is that psychic basis which
Japan is today resolved to destroy.
Japan it was who delivered the first
blow at Western "face" by its sue
cessful challenge to Czarist Russia
in the year 1904. The victory Of an
Asiatic people over a major Occi-
dental power sent a questioning
thrill throughout Asia and even Al
rica. Western "face" was further
damaged by the World War Of a
generation ago, when the white ma
tions humiliated each other in the
East and called Orientals wholesale
to their aid. simultaneously, West
ern inventions, methods and ideas
naturalized in the Orient awakened
widespread desires for independence
of Occidental authority. japanese
agents have long stirred those dis
contents, though with the secret
plan of substituting their own domi-
nation. Still, in most Of the East,
the foundations of Western "face"
had not been fatally undermined.
This was especially true Of British
"face." The majesty OF the Indian
Empire, the might of Singapore, the
splendor of Hong Kong, the bustling
prosperity of Shanghai; these and
hundred other aspects made British
power and dignity respected in ORR
entail minds. Yet today the incredi-
BILE has happened! In two short
months Hong Kong is gone: Singa-
pore and Burma may be going. Brit
ish "face" Is in jeopardy.
In striking contrast, the chief up
holders OF Western "face" In the
Orient today are the Americans. The
amazing record of our volunteer
aviators in Chinese service is but the
prologue Of glorious deeds daily done
on Batan Peninsula by General
macarthur and MS Dand OF heroes
hurting back Japanese assailants
outnumbering them ten to one.
When the japanese general on Luzon
notified Macarthur that he and his
men could afford to surrender be-
cause their honor was unalterably
vindicated, the "face" of America
was magnificently e-established.
Dutch "face" has been similarly vim
dicated. The psychological battle is
thus far from lost. It needs only
material reinforcements arriving in
time to shatter not merely Japan's
material offensive but its psychic
drive as well.
Ala~~.l.:. D..L