The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-11-05
BY JAMES r. YOUNG

The full story OF the Department
OF States negotiations leading up
to the Pearl Harbor catastrophe
was not covered by the Army and
Navy courts OF inquiry. but the
more that Ia known about the de-
bacle the worse the wreckage
smells from the Washington side
The fault for Pearl Harbor lies
80 per cent In Washington and as
far as Adm. Husband Z. Kimmel
is involved. he is being prosecuted.
On the basis OF recent inter
view In Tokyo by newspaper writ.
ers with Navy Captain Mitsue
Fuchida, who commanded the six
aircraft carriers which struck at
our bottled-up fleet. | note an I'm.
portant date which ties in with an
equally important ultimatum which
the japanese gave to the U. S. En-
bassy In Tokyo In September, 1871.
Captain FuchidR says that his
carriers, which we're accompanied
by two battleships. three cruisers,
four destroyer flOtillas Of four ships
each, and eight tankers. sailed from
their bases Nov. 26, 1871. en- route
TO a point 200 miles from Pearl
HarDor.
Why the 200-mile point?
The Congressional committee
investigating Pearl Harbor could
discover that our planes were re-
stricted to this area because | am
informe !. of instructions from high
placed persons who wanted no sign
OF belligerency displayed toward
the laps during the peace" nego-
tiations. that We needed more time
to prepare for war. April, 1912.
is the popularity established date.
The Japs knew OF the 200-mile re-
striction and the disposition OF
each OF our units. SO Captain Fuchi.
da's carrier planes could strike
safely without detection.
The Nov. &c sailing date is inter
estlng in view OF the fact that a
private and urgent message earlier
had been delivered to our ambassa-
dor to Japan, Joseph Clark Grew,
warning that arrangements must
not fail for an alrplane to deliver
peace envoy" Saburo Kurusu 20
Washington by Nov. Is, because
OF special technical reasons. T
Kase, Haryard-educated Jap
diplomat, delivered the ultimatum,
Four years later he turned up on
the L. S. S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay
to help his foreign minister. Ma
moru Shlgemitsu, sign the surrend.
er papers.
Our State Department complied
with the Jap demand after the
Navy refused TO allow Kurusu TO be
landed at Guam. II the State De.
partment did not initiate the ar
rangements. then the order was ap'
proved or given the incentive by
the Executive Branch.
Now for the first time we learn
from Captain Fuchida. that the
technical reasons" were to ger
peace" negotiations under way
and TO continue them until the Jap
fleet was en- route.
Eugene Dooman, U. s. Embassy
counselor in Tokyo Rt that time,
should be questioned by the Con
orags{opal {pyaotIgatIpU corp T1ift q a
about his part in arranging for a
Pan-American Clipper plane to be
held at Hong Kong for two days
to accommodate Kurusu. Dooman,
who left the foreign service Aug
81, l945, should be brought in as a
special witness for examination In
a war crimes trial OF Kurusu. Doc.
man has been the center of violent
State Department policy contro.
versies since July, 1887.
Dooman radiophoned from Tokyo
to Maxwell Hamilton in the State
Department. Through their diplo-
matte efforts the Clipper ship was
held for Kurusu, who, in a recent
interview at a mountain resort In
Japan. says that he took no speci'
&c proposals to Washington. This
explanation fits in with my be
lief that the then Navy minister
Admiral Shigetaro Shimada. now
held as a war criminal, was counting
on Kurusu to prolong the Washing
ton conversations with our eau
tious and timid protocol agents
Admiral Shimanda must have been
delighted at the diplomatic court
esy OF Dooman and Hamilton. Ham
ilton has since been rewarded with
an appointment by President Tru
man as U. s. Minister to Finland
His chief at the time, DR.. Stanley
X. Hornbeck. has been made am
bassador TO the Netherlands.
do not believe that Kurusu was
familiar with details OF the exact
location or date OF the attack, but
a thorough Pearl Harbor investiga
ton can prove, by decided mes
sages which were available at the
White House and in the State De
partment, that Adm. Kichisaburo
Nomura, the Jap ambassador &c
Washington, and Kurusu were In
structed by Tokyo to maintain the
conversations daily, obviously until
Captain Fuchida's carrier planes
could take OF.
This available information Is part
OF a bulky package OF enemy mes
sages, as we'll as our own, now
threatened with special covering
mp legislation sponsored by the
War Department and handled ir
the Senate by Senator Ebert u
Thomas ID, ITtah). The purrose II