Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-22
lohn Hersev The Girard Trial Is Safety Valve

rs,
judge. He is learning how not r.
be q hero. but his departure from
the court with q brigadier gen.
eral flown out from the States TO
follow his trial, and with the ma
jor who is his American military
adviser. gives him brassy look
to the Japanese.
William Girard viii never look
apologize enough to the Japan
csc. Americans, even sensitive
Americans - and he cannot be
charged with over-deveIoped sem
sitivity-simply do not have it,in
their tradition to fall to their
knees and bow their head to the
floor in abject humility, either lit
orally or figdratively.
1t is too much for the Japan
csc to expect him to do this. His
torebears have not: he does not
know how. II he repents Of what
ne has done. he win be no less
sincere II he does not do this.
lnept Abiectness
In fact. an ironic storm has
arisen over the possibility that he
might have been pushed into GO
ing through the motions Of alb
5ectnesS.
Under Q long standing Japanese
tradition it is proper for an Of
fender to call on one whom he
has aggrieved and apologize and
make q coincidence gift Of money.
A claim for damages having been
entered on the behalf of Mrs.
Sakai's widower, the United
States Government, advised by
the special procurement agency Of
the Japanese government. decided
to pay Akikichi Sakai $1.74s.
Then someone proposed that
William Girard should 20 along
at the same time and say he was
sorry. The proposal was made
public before his Japanese lawyer
could spike it.
This proposal coupling the pay
OF and the apology was most un-
fortunate, and by the time an
American representative called on
Mr.. Sakai. without Specialist Gil
rard, the widower refused the
money altogether, not, one can
Imagine. without swallowing hard.
because in Somagahara village
that sum is a fortune. Mr.. Sakai
later said to this writer with OBJ
vious resentment, you cannot
replace human life with money"
Thus, ironically, an attempt to
follow q time-honored Japanese
tradition has, through tactlessness
been turned around into a ma
terialistic American attempt to.
buy on justice.
Money has Zen a sore point
in more ways than one in con-
nection with this case. The rela-
tive standards of living of the
Japanese and the Americans have
long made both uncomfortable.
The salary Of the presiding Judge,
Yuzo Kawachi, q man Of pre-
eminent learning and experience.
is the equivalent Of $3.50 q month;
that Of william Girard, the &C
cused, truck driver who barely
got through the eighth grade. is
$234.70.
The Bross PickeFs
The brass pickers of Somaga-
hara are of an exceedingly de-
pressed class. A full days scrab-
bling in the shellpocks and on the
slopes Of the firing range may net
200-500 yen (55 cents to $l.4Ol.
Need for money has brought the
brass pickers onto the firing range.
in swarns Of hundreds at time,
contrary to regulations while ac-
tual exercises with live ammuni-
ton were in progress. The frus-
tration Of not being able to drive
these poor people away has
strained the tempers Of American
troops. and it undoubtedly wor-
sened the atmosphere at the time
Of the shooting.
A consensus Of Japanese who
have been following the trial is
that William Gfrard win very
likely be found guilty and sem
fenced to about three years in
jail. but that the sentence will be
suspended. on his good behavior.
1t is Of course possible that ma
terial brought out in the trial
might affect the sentence.
: Such sentence, it goes with
out saying. would satisfy Ameri-
cans that the trial had been fair.
Many Americans. in fact, would
be surprised and chagrined at the
lightness Of the punishment.
It would also satisfy Japanese
to know that the American who
had done this terrible thing had
been found guilty In a japanese
court Of justice. They would
doubtless wish he could make q
better demonstration Of his re-
pentance.
Copyright 1857 By the Associated Press