Evening star., 1945-08-18

means Evening Star and whose
views you see quoted so frequently
by Domei-and to digress again
Domei, if you don't know it, is a
forced combination of Rengo and
Dentsu, former rival news agencies
welded at the point of government
shotgun in order to make easier the
control of all news (your corre-
spondent knows something about
this because he was over there
while the compulsory courtship was
going on and even made speeches
protesting the bans, although pre-
tending to know nothing about the
japanese governments part in the
ceremony and thus giving rise to
the saying that for ways that are
dark and tricks that are vain, the
heather Americans are peculiar
this Asahi, I started to say, is a
great newspaper.
Has Fine Plants.
1t has mechanical plants in its two
cities that many American news
papers might envy and it has enor-
nous circulation. 1t has all the
dignity of its New York exemplar
and when it says something it con-
veys the impression that a great
deal of thought has gone into the
utterance
And now Asahi, according to a
Domei broadcast, warns the Japa-
nese people against any illusion re-
garding the hardships and privations
awaiting Japan" Continuing, Asahi
says. What the japanese nation is
confronted with is not negotiated
peace, but one-sided defeat. The
Japanese should fully recognize this
stark reality and unite themselves
under the guidance of his majesty
in order that they may survive the
great trials"
That makes a certain amount of
sense: it gives the japanese some
idea Of what is going to happen to
them. I regret to report that on
the same day the New York Times
offered the Japanese people a pic
ture somewhat less realistic. Says
the Times: THE United Nations
promise that all obstacles to the
revival and strengthening of demo-
cratic tendencies among the Japa-
nese people will be abolished and
freedom of speech, of religion and
of thought will be established"
This, says the Times, means that
under occupation rule they can
hold public meetings to discuss pub
lie questions without hazard that
a Japanese policeman will halt the
meeting and arrest its leaders If
something is said that displeases
him. - Freedom of thought means
for the Japanese that no longer can
a policeman knock on his door and
place him under arrest on the out
rageous charge of harboring evil
thoughts. 80 The occupation au-
thorities will allow no man to be
arrested and held in Jail without
charges for endlessly successive 10
day periods, as was possible under
the laws of imperial Japan" And,
finally, IF this political bill of rights
is extended to the economic field, as
it should be, a japanese citizen can
look forward to a fair reward for
his work, something that few 81
them received under the economic
system of imperial Japan"
Job for Japs Themselves.
So that's the little job Macarthur
is going to do in Japan? Mac
Arthur and who else? Well, rough
ly, about ten million American boys.
That number, working without
sleep for something like century,
should be able to guarantee the
japanese against any infringement
Of their freedom by their local
Rankins and Bilbos. The hundred
years may be optimistic, since we
haven't accomplished all those
things in THAT space of time in this
country and surely the japanese are