JAPANESE MENACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1921, Page 5

JAPANESE MENACE.

WHEN FLEETS DEMONSTRATE.

N.Z. DOCTOR’S IMPRESSIONS.

“It is the sacred mission of the Japanese race, even, at the cost of much suffering to vindicate the right of the yellow race throughout the world to be equal to the white race.” This sentence in a leading Japanese magazine made a profound impression on the mind of Dr. C. S. Davis, a muchtravelled New Zealander, who arrived in Sydney by the Tango Main the other day, en route to his home town. Dr Davis left for London at the beginning of July, and after some special professional studies he returned homeward via South America, over the transAndian railway, up the South American coast, through Panama Canal to New Orleans and New York, across America, then to Japan.

He stated that it was quicker to go from Valparaiso to San Francisco via New York than to go to San Francisco direct by coastal steamer. The journey through the canal took 17 days, and it took a month to go north by boat.

He was in Peru when the Japanese fleet visited that part of the world. He described the recption given to the fleet and the crews as wonderful. Literally, the people hung around the men’s necks. There was not much love lost between the South American countries and the United States, principally caused through the United States forcing up the exchange on the dollar. In consequence, the eighteen-penny dollar was worth only about 8d or 9d, and American trade was falling off considerably.

When he got to Colon, on the Canal, Dr. Davis said, he had 'the good fortune to see the great American fleet from the Atlantic passing through to junction with the Pacific fleet in order to make a counter demonstration at Valparaiso, Callao, and other South American ports. The difficulties of the Japanese problems were forced under Dr. Davis’ notice on many occasions, and while in Japan he spent almost the whole of hia time going among the people trying to ascertain their views towards the white race. He found, he said, that as far as the great bulk of the people were concerned there was not the slightest animosity towards the whites. The people were uneducated, and quite content to coninue in their slum-like mode of existence, uncaring how the world wagged. But among the educated Japanese there was. he thought, an element of grave danger, and Europeans were looked upon with considerable suspicion. The. Japanese nation is making feverish efforts to gain naval superiority. In a series of articles recently published in Tokio it was declared that 50 per cent of the revenue was being expended on the navy and the army, and only 5 per cent on j education. In another magazine he ; found the sentence quoted at the head of this article.

In his opinion, said Dr. Davis, th< Japanese were untrustworthy as a nation, and wo’uld have to be closely watched for the next few years. If the proposed treaties were arranged and signed it would be a great thing for the peace of the world. The Japanese, he said, had no particular initiative, but were wonderful copyists. As long as a nation built great warships and gathered together vast navies the Japanese would do the same, but he did not think they could carry out any such programme on their own. Discussing other matters, Dr. Davis said that there was a great deal of unemployment in America, and he was struck by the paucity of space given to Australian news in British newspapers.