Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-07-09

- - were ready
MIX III hLhiN" 10 die All
that remained was 10 or =
hours IN which 10 90 10 Pearl
Harbor and 60 drought the ac-
tons of destroying themselves
The submarine itself il a
dinky trinket Of war. It's 81
feet long, just big enough To
carry two torpedOes, 800 pounds
of nitroglYcerine, and enough
storage batteries 10 run the
boat $50 miles.
The commanding Office
stands in the coming tower
it's only l5 inches across at the
hatch and. once inside, the Of
ficcr has only 3 feet, ! inch of
head room, 80 he has to be
small, even for Jap.
Farther back in the engine
rooms The mechanic oonly the
two men are needed CrawlS
through the paSSagewayS which
are so low that he never can
stand Up AZ all There's room
for hum 20 he down on top Of
the batteries. though There
in hi, cramped space he keeps
The motors gong and waits for
the commander 10 blow inc
whole work, 20 the Nowery
kingdom Of his ancestors.
Theoretically. the submarine
fires it, two torpedoes. Then
the submarine nestles beside or
underneath ship, the comman-
der pushes "A button. and the 800
pounds of nitrogiycerine blow
mp ship, submarine and crew--a
glorious end. 10 the japanese
way OF thinking.
II --fr70 TIy7 IT me submarine
which is here today The JapS
evidently couldn't find any
American ships 20 attack. II
dltn ? even fire q torpedo
United States forces. the day
after Pearl Iarbor found the
submarine caught on a reef
Later. they found The CoWman-
dcr in tho water alive but with
only part ~ hrs dignity He was
IN his underwear
The mechanic wasn't found
Ho must have drowned prcSur'-
ably with Nipponesc happiness
IN his heart
But how much did the sub
marine commander really want
Co die
At his funeral services. be
fore setting out In the sub
marine. he had been decked In
his dress uniform. with his
ceremonial sword. or Samurai,
al his side. Then. he was Sprin-
Killed. with perfume 30 that he
would smell nice when he met
his ancestors i'm another half
dan
What We're hI> thoughts whom
The Pearl llarhor attack ended
he hadn't been able 10 FIRE a
shat for h+--t--r-fr1tr-y -tr7rf tT7
couldn't 90 home He didnt
have enough power 10 get homo
Anyway. ne no doubt wouldn't
have been welcome. because Of
fcIally he was dead
Wen. We don't know what he
thought, hut We know what he
did ILe slipped out OF his uni
form, hut buckled on his sword
and revolver. When he was
hShed ont OF the ocean. he was
Still wearing his shorts and his
SidcarmS.
After being captured. be-
asked 10 borrow an American
officers pistol with which 10
kin himself.
Tho Americans asked why he
hadn't killed himself with his
sword or his own pistol while
hc still had them The Jap had
no answer. Perhaps there is no
stigma 10 a japanese IN being
alive -aybo the disgrace Is be-
ING caught alive
Merely know what cold
blOOded means the japanese
- adopt ought tn nv the best pos
Sihle way to sell war bonds.
which, Of course, is the purpose
Of bringing this boat 10 Detroit.
II still doesn't explain why
the little brown men hold life
~ cheaplN, nor does II give us
any clcw aS To when-if ever
they may get new scale Of
values, Certainly. " they value
their own 30 little. IL takes no
great imagination to guess what
they would do 10 us II we let
them conquer.
But, while they toss away
lives without Qualm, they arc
prudent enough with material
things.
This submarine must have
been planned Ions. long in adj
vance. and built very largely Of
materials that We sold 10 them
Nice opponents. aren't they ?