Evening star., 1950-12-24

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efforts to avoid bloodshed and
find ways of leading a neighborly
life, they have been thrown into
a new war, whose end nobody can
foresee.
But while our enemies-Russia
and her willing and unwilling
puppets-have military superiority
on paper, there is not much doubt
as to our eventual victory.
The Russian leaders have not
learned from history of the capa-
bilities of the American people.
They have forgotten the lesson
taught the japanese warlords,
who believed that by attacking
us when we were unprepared mil
itarily, as we are now, they could
win an easy victory. The Tokyo
warlords also believed that Amer
lea was soft and unwilling to put
up a fight against heavy odds.
In February. 1882, when our
relations with the japanese i'm
perialists had become unmistak-
ably bad, Admiral Nomura, who
later became the last japanese
Ambassador in Washington, passed
through Washington on his way
from Europe to Japan. He was
given an informal stag dinner by
an American admiral who had
known him for many years.
This reporter was among the
guests. After dinner there was
the usual small talk and pleasan-
tries. When asked whether he
considered conflict between
Japan and the United States pos
sible, Admiral Nomura replied
with the usual polite japanese
smile: Goodness, no. There is
no such possibility. The idea exists
principally in the minds of you
newspaper writer's. who must al
ways be sensational"
This was a highly gratifying
answer. Asked to amplify this
statement, Nomura said tersely:
because of the Beautyrest mat
tress." One of those present, who
thought that the bourbon had
been too strong for the japanese
admiral, asked him to expand on
this answer. Admiral Nomura
did so gleefully:
Nomura's Theory
"You see," he said, "your people
are happy people. They have
everything. Your workers have
nice homes and all you people
have automobiles, much to eat
and q very easy life. Why should
your men, who are more COM
Portable than any other people in
history, wish to shoulder rifle.
live for months or years in
trenches full of rats and other
vermin, and risk death or per-
manent disability, when they have
all they want?
people of a nation like yours
are not willing to fight because
you have everything. The Situa-
ton is different with my people.
They are poor and miserable.
More than rs million are squeezed
into few small islands, lacking
most raw materials and produc-
tive good earth. From the prac-
tical point of view a japanese
soldier or sailor is far better of
in barracks or in a trench, where
he gets ample food regularly,
than in his own home, where he
lives in dire poverty.
1--WE need to expand because we
are sitting in our small islands.
You don't. Hence, while the
Japanese is willing to meet death
in order to improve the conditions
of his children and grandchildren,
what is there for the American
in a war? Nobody bothers YOU.
You have everything for the ask
ing in your own country.
Believe me, the Beautyrest
mattress, which is so much more
comfortable than a trench or a
hammock on a man-of-war, will
be the principal factor in the
absence of war between our
countries"
The Russian rulers, whose men
tality is closer to that of the
Orientals than that of the West
erners, have a similar opinion of
the American mentality. Because
our leaders coddled them after
World War II and made endless
concessions to their Unsuitable
thirst for power, they have in
terpreJed this to mean that we
are afraid to fight again.
The men in the Kremlin are
pathological liars, who end up
believing their own lies. The
Soviet leaders have convinced
themselves that they alone de-
feated the Axis and that their
light days Of minor skirmishing