Evening star., 1954-06-24
Japan and Certain Truths

Speaking before the National Editorial
Association President Eisenhower has had
some timely and trenchant things to say about
Japan'S vital Importance to our own American
security. And he also has effectively demon
Strated how certain so-called truths" are less
than true or realistic when applied to that key
Asian country or to a number Of our other
friends and allies abroad.
AS samples Of these "truths"-often dog
matically aSSerted-the President has cited the
following: Cd The United States, since it's
shoulders are not strong enough to carry the
whole free world, should stop its "give-away"
aid to foreign nations; (2) our allies should not
be allowed to engage in any kind of trade with
the Communist empire; 90 we should not i'm
port goods from countries whose living and
wage standards are much lower than ours, and
"a America should not "get involved" in South
east Asia.
Up to point, as the President has said,
all these and similar assertions have measure
of truth in them. Beyond that, however, they
are major oversimplifications that could do
great harm If our international policy were
tailored to them indiScriminately or without
qualification. Thus, although our aid can do no
good in country that has no interest in pre-
serving freedom, what about those nations that
firmly commit themselves with us to mutual
defense? Similarly, as for trade, 1t is obvious
that our allies should not ship strategic, war
making goods to the aggressive Communist
world, but how can they-in addition to main
tanning their present ban on such shipments
place a complete embargo on eUery type of COM
merce with that world? How can they do so
without injury to their own economies and how
would some of them be able to manage if we
shut our doors to low-price imports even though
those imports would have no appreciable effect
on our domestic employment? And finally, as
for getting involved" in Southeast Asia, how
can the United States and other free powers
avoid suffering disastrous setback if they let
that crucial part of the globe go by default to
the Red totalitarianS?
The President has cited Japan as specific
and Supremely important example of why the
truths" he has discussed are thus in large
measure utterly unrealiStic. For the simple
fact is as he has warned, that Hirohito's trun-
Gated island nation cannot make a living" or
be saved from the Iron Curtain unless it re-
ceives aid from us, unless we import goods from
it, unless it can carry on some non-strategic
commerce with Red China and Russia, and
unless Southeast Asia-an area important to it
in terms of trade-can be preserved by Amer1-
can and allied defensive measures from Com
muniSt conquest.
In sum- we cannot act according to the So
called truths" without ultimately forcing the
Japanese into the Peiping- Moscow orbit, in
which they would eventually play a key role
with their great potential naval power-in max
ing the Pacific Communist lake." That is
why the President has declared it absolutely
mandatory to our safety" to do everything pos
sible to keep them free. To do less than that
would be to gamble recklessly with the security
of America and the entire non-Soviet world.