Evening star., 1945-07-30
Letters to The Star
Suggests Mikado Appoint Brother
Premier as Peace Move

Suggests Mikado Appoint Brother
Premier as Peace Move
To the Editor Of The Star:
1t seems to this writer that there can
be compromise between those who
wish to destroy the Emperor Of Japan
and what he stands for and those who
are urging appeasement in order to
shorten the war and save lives.
Appeasement ever has failed in face
of force and violence. The compromise
suggested is that the Emperor be in
formed that If he will appoint his
brother, Prince Chichibu, as premier
with authority to act and to appoint a
cabinet Of his own choosing the United
Nations may find an authorized and
somewhat popular government with
which the democracies can deal.
twill be remembered that this Prince
Chichibu was educated at oxford. Some
years ago when he visited America he
was so democratic that his suite was
shocked to tears when he shook hands
with every one, drank cocktails and
mixed freely, regardless of his alleged
divine ancestry. When this war started
he was so liberal that he was promptly
held in protective custody" at the in
stance of the military party. The sup
position is that it was because he was
opposed to the war. 1t is significant
that he now, as 1t Is reported, has been
released from what was virtually i'm
he 10
choose his own brother as premier with
full authority, 1t would not only pre-
serve the symbol of japanese religion
and traditions but provide us with
liberal and progressive man in sympathy
with the foreign point OF view with
whom to deal. This perhaps would be
the first step to a more representative
government though the achievement of
a real form of democracy like ours may
be matter of decades.
Says Japanese Are Different.
In any event, the time now has come
to analyze the Japanese problem that
faces us. The philosophy of hate, rid
icule of their peculiar and ito us)
fantastic form of worship and constant
threats to treat the Emperor as a war
tion simply are not getting us any
where and only serve to stiffen Japanese
resistance 1t Is time for us to UNDER
stand that we cannot judge the Jap
anese from the western standpoint, for
they are utterly different from us in
r,h{INSNnhu Nd Mt ~ VII
The Emperor is worshiped not as an
individual but as symbol Of Japanese
traditions, history, pride of race and Of
their own peculiar form of spiritual life.
Attacks on the Japanese religion in
volving some deification of the Emperor,
whoever he may be at the time, are in
consistent with our own Constitution,
which in the first amendment to the Bill
of Rights guarantees freedom of wor-
ship, as does the spirit of the Atlantic
Charter.
Understanding" Held Needed.
The most important thing in war Is
to understand the psychology of the en-
emy and know what he fears and what
he hopes for. Hating the Japanese,
calling them names gets us nowhere.
Probably the whole civilized world ia
vors unconditional surrender, but it is
we'll to define just what Is meant by that
term. AS long as the japanese believe
that it means an attack on their religion,
of which Just now Emperor Hirohito is
the symbol and as long as they see 10
possible hope for their future they will
continue to fight with desperate fanati-
cism. 1t must be realized that IS million
people in japan are living in an arabic
area no larger than the State of West
Virginia end that at least IS per cent
of their food supplies come from the
Asiatic mainland. Likewise all of their
iron, much of their coal and minerals
are imported. Without access to raw
materials the japanese simply will per-
ish. But it is not feasible to kill or
starve to death IS million people, though
it is quite proper to kill five or six
million of their armed forces, if that be
necessary. 1t, then, is the thought of
this writer that some concrete plan
should be worked out whereby the Jap
anese may see the possibility of living
and rebuilding their cities. Perhaps
treaties guaranteeing favorable trade
agreements could be arranged which
would make 1t possible for them at least
to survive.
The continuous bombing of Japan will
create demand. first by the industrial
lists and then by the civilians, for any
form of peace. The war was brought
on by the militarists and perhaps en-
couraged by the industrialists, but
neither, without the Emperor, can curb
the whirlwind they let loose in 1941.
Surely, no one who knows anything
about Japan conceives that a provi-
sional government Of any form like our
Western democracies can be set up over
night. We have to work through avail
able channels until out of sheer expe-
diency the Japanese gradually will &C
cept a more representative and more
modern form of government, though 1t
may take very long time.
If we substitute hate for reason.
ridicule for understanding, the war may
last a year or two longer and our cas-
ualties run anywhere from one to two
million. STANLEY WASHBURN.
Lonsfellow Quoted