July 24
Japan is not to blame if self-deception continues to mark the world's attitude to the realities of her military, occasions in North China, A Military Observer's technical survey of the situation in this journal on Thursday was followed—and reinforced—yesterday by Mr, W, Lewisohn's despatch from Peiping and by a special article which endeavoured to distinguish between the real goal of Japanese actions and the ninepins temporarily set up to amuse the unsophisticated critic. The situa~ tion -is said to be easier. Maj hostilities are believed to be less probable, How far that reading ts] correct events alone can show. Even, #0, it does not dispose of the: plain fact that, with the impending yelnforcement of her army in North. China to a strength of about 55,000 men, and taking into account her unassailable command of the sea, Japan is in a position to confirni beyond contradiction her already virtual domination of China nort!. of the Yellow River. Her steady! progress to this goal has been unaffected by the successive staging' of incidents, diplomatic or other~ wise, Even' General Chiang, Kaishek's "announcement of China's: refusal to submit to further a eroachment on her territorial rights had implicitly to admit the existence of a situation which only. self-deception could invest with any sort of guarantee of Chinese sovereignty in the North, As despatches on the spot have unfolded the course of events in the last fortnight tt has been remarkable to observe ow they have consistently taken for granted the power of the Japanese military] authorities to dictate Local actions. has seemed as if those authorities wore actually mobilizing the North to defend itself against some hostile attack from Nanking, the 29th Army being a "rebel" force to which it was necessary to apply corrective discipline, Avguments to prove the diplomatic impropriety of this position or the moral justice of China's com plaints have been regarded as Iivelevant, Even those who are prepared to condemn Japanese Aggression are so inured, to its existence that they are inclined trilicize as _unwise or even worse Puen independent Chinese action as may conceivably impede its tension, Japanese troops may wander' at will over' Chinese sell Chinese troops on that, same, sell have to mind their "ps" and "a: duly translated into Japanese, hey discharge their nominal duties. Chinese officials acquire merit solely in proportion to their read-{ness in conforming to Japanese requirements, They become "ban ails" or "communists" if by any] chance they venture to put Chinese heeds frst in their minds. Each clash is followed by a. reported agreement the effective provisions of which do not see the light until they Become enshrined in- some further Japanese erosion of Chinese oil, That is at once sanctified by charges against Chinese good faith, of which, in the absence of specific Imowledge, the public has to rely on Japanese interpretation. It ts greed therefore that morality or international comity is pitifully irrelevant to this issue. As Lady, 'Teazle remarked, "Don't you think' we might leave honour out of the question?" Equally, of course—although in the circumstances it.is imperfectly recognized—the alleged delinquencies of Chinese character, policy and actions drop out of the picture, Truth rests where the point of the bayonet can enforce it, Tt becomes falsehood, insincerity or "anti-Japanese" where that bayonet is against it, In fact it seems as if far too much ingenuity were wasted in proving how unfortunate is the Japanese Army in being contin-uncusly compelled to advance the boundaries of its influence and, control. 'That painful afMiction might by this time be taken for' granted, Sélf-deception must go, - The world has to recognize that the only governing factor of Sino-Japanese relations is the need of! Japan, as Japan sees it through the unwavering eye of the General] Staff which, with a few occasional, if irritating though perfunctory, interruptions, has been able to' get its own way. So the present crisis should be properly assessed without regard to such trivialities as Chinese susceptibilities or China's national aspirations. China must be wrong, for China has not the power to prove herself right in the only effective manner in a world! of ecstatic sincerity and impeccable probity. On this clearly-defined basis of realist judgment how does the scheme of Japan's continental adventure appeal to the perceptive observer? At the moment hege~ many over North China is considered essential to the consolidation of that other newly-acquired hegemany in Manchuria. The suggestion is that, once it be secured, there will be no further distressing ly urgent need for advancing into Chinese territory. It may be indecent to recall that the same suggestion, has been made and, when it suited the General Staff's book, incontinently abandoned on several occasions in the last six' years. There is no reason to, believe that any peculiar virtue in the waters of the Yellow River will bar repetition of the empirical process of "trial and error". The Prospect may please the military mind, Is it equally pleasing to Japanese who have the long view! and the temerity to consider the: fMnaneial and economic needs of their nation? Perhaps to them. China's insistence that political stabilization of a dangerously fluid situation should be a condition. precedent to economic ce-operation, logical and reasonable, It also has the merit of promising to safeguard Japan herself against the perils of the unknown. It does not, however, ft in with a military philosophy which imagines that economic ce-operation can be; enforced by bombers and tanks, regardless of political anomalies. Lot it be granted that the immediate result of the present] crisis may be to give Japan the custody of the five Northern provinees with the reservation reasonable access to the Centra Government of China, to use the Tanguage of the divorce court. What commitments thereby accrue to Japan? Will they not soon create others? China may grieve now and have to grieve for some: years to come, She may laugh last nevertheless. "Naturam expelles: furca," said. Horace "taken usque reeurret." And, despite the present, fashionable contempt for international morality, the same principle applies to that inconvenient verity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.