The Waikato Times MONDAY, MAY 23, 1938 A GREAT REPLY

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20505, 23 May 1938, Page 6

The Waikato Times MONDAY, MAY 23, 1938 A GREAT REPLY

- * ma^ nerve centrp- „f i J' Their ai rcraft passed over some of the population twr? pan v.’ dropped leaflets assuring the Japanese civil to P their base ad , n ° enmit y a S ainst them, and then returned defendpd v’ • r !f. le P Yto the enemy’s tactics of bombing unTn atav command the attention of the nftions for mani at t ?° aueeessful alr - r “d could ever do. The Chinese, inate boml i ° nths ’ have suffered grievously because of the indiscrim- “ „ “'7 b . y Japanese aircraft. The intention of the assailants r o fo, P r A r 11 " as to smash the of the nation, and cared + Q. era “ ent to submit to whatever terms the Japanese form f dletate - The lQ sses among civilians due to this inhumane children T l £ terrible ‘ old and men, women ctnd children, have had to suffer.

it- d / eem u tha i lf ever a nation could have retaliated with all wef rv, ’ 3nd 7 lth sufficient reason to convince the world, that nation ac S S= rt a 'ri,- InSt = ead the first raid carr ied out by Chinese aircraft s the China Sea, and over Japanese territory, was used to make an appeal, not to the Government at Tokio, not to the militant leaders £ho have preached the gospel for force, but to the civilian population, ombs m Osaka could probably have wiped out one of the chief inustna centres of Japan. The buddings, in the residential area, re of the most flimsy character and fire would have swept through l h -°™ d ai / U . “ ruinS ' ' ll ,vas for the time being at the mercy f the Chinese, for the anti-aircraft defence appears to have been ineffective. The fortified areas that were passed over could, of course, have been bombed without exposing the Chinese to any criticism whatsoever. When a country is fighting for its very existence anything that would deprive the enemy of suitable bases is fully justified. Dut the Chinese made no attempt to destroy from the air, probably because there are at Nagasaki and elsewhere huge civil populations and they probably would have suffered had an attack been made. Restraint could hardly have gone further, and it will be interesting to see what reaction this surprising development has, not only in Japan but also iji other lands. It makes the actions of the countries that have contributed machines, bombs and men for the bombing of undefended towns in Spain look very poor indeed. The military mind may say that it was a fine gesture but bad warfare. It was more than a gesture. It was a demonstration of restraint that may have far-reaching effects. The destruction of Osaka would not have cancelled out the ruthless bombing of Nanking, or of Canton. It would only have doubled the misery that innocent people must suffer when militarists take control of national affairs. There could have been no protest had China adopted that course, for a nation can be excused if it retaliates in kind after its people have suffered so severely for so long, but China took a better course. She showed that she had the power to strike at the people of Japan, and she refrained. That deed will be remembered long after the other events of this insensate struggle have been forgotten. The critics may contend that it was quixotic, but the fact remains that it was magnificent. It maj- not have been war, but it was a noble thing for any people to do. And it may, and should, ensure for the Chinese the support of world opinion. In invading China, without declaring war, Japan outraged the conscience of the nations generally—with two marked exceptions—but nothing that the invaders can claim to have achieved can be compared with this action on the part of the stricken country. In its hour of agony it refrained from retaliating.