The Wilmington morning star., 1944-04-03
Interpreting
The War
BY ELTON G. FAY
Associated Press War Analyst

sSu AICSS war Analyst
With Allied military forces oc.
cupylng more and more strategic
islands in the South and South
west Pacific on the trek to Tokyo,
the problem of what to do with
the Japanese civilians found on
the conquered territories is be-
ginning to interpose itself.
Gradual defamation of Japan
csc military forces there - the
war department estimates 100000
Of Nippon's soldiers face death by
gunfire. starvation or disease as
a result of Allied offensive op-
erations raises the question of
what Is to be done with the jap
anese civilians who migrated to,
or were born in the Marshalls,
lCarolines and Marianas since ia
pan acquired them by mandate
after World War I.
| Estimates of the present civilian
enemy population in the inundated
islands range as high as 100000.
Men, women and children however
were not put aboard ships in Jap
all and sent out to develop plan
tations and mines for the glory
of the Mikado's realm. While Jap
an has continued to ship settlers
| into the inundated islands, the
population has increased swiftly
because of the tremendously high
Japanese birthrate.
At the same time, the native
population of the islands has dwin-
died at a speed almost compar-
able with the increase of Japanese.
The ruthless exploitation of the
japanese has been a prime factor
| in this process, but even before
the enemy moved into the is
lands the natives had begun to
succumb to diseases and other
causes that usually follow the adj
vent of civilization in primitive
populations.
There is strong possibility that
the Japanese population now may
exceed the native population by
| all ALMOST L-l IdIlO III lllS AoAe'ifNo'
When the necessities of mill
/ tarv security and the announce
ment at the Cairo conference last
: December by President Roosevelt,
Prime Minister Churchill and Gen.
eralissimo Chang Kai-shek are
t considered, the presence of big
japanese population in the man.
, dated islands assumes significance.
: Among the pledges made by the
three powers at Cairo was this 1T
+ is their purpose that Japan shall
be stripped off all the islands OF
, the Pacific which she has seized
or occupied since the beginning OF
, the First World War in 1914"
This language embraced both
the inundated islands and those
which have fallen under japanese
conquest since Pearl Harbor.
To take the inundated islands
from the control of Japan but to
leave in them a huge population IN
doctrinated with the Japanese spi'
rit of revenge, conquest and 1ntrl-
que certainly would be curious
military procedure.
Those who believe the japanese
} population should be cleared from
the islands and sent back to their
homeland justify it with two ma
, ior contentious: AS a practical
method of guaranteeing that the
| islands never again will be Sec
reilly developed into citadels nor
become temporary or permanent
Allied garrisons menaced by large
: blocs of hostile civilians; as
fair thing to do for what is lett
of the native population-the re-
turn of land the economics Wrest-
ed from them by their Nipponese
conquerors.
} Permanent solution of the ques-
ton appears to be one to be work.
!, ed ont at the end of the war. Inc
on-the-spot course has been 10
establish a naval government, but
whether this procedure will be FOL
j lowed. with various sea and lSnd
force chiefs taking over as thelr
respective forces get footholds IN
the inundated areas, remains 10 De
seen.
There would seem possibility
that here the Allied Military Gov
eminent might find new field OF
endeavor in the Pacltlc'