Evening Post. TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1933. DESTRUCTIVE ONLY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 8

Evening Post. TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1933. DESTRUCTIVE ONLY

■'■" Tlie comparison of Japan to Prussia has been so inevitable and so widespread, since she took to treating Manchuria much as the Hohenzollerns treated Poland that her new Ambassador at Berlin, was singularly foolish to fit the cap with the precision -indicated yesterday. He emphasised the surprising similarity in the character of the world outlook for Japanese and Germans, •which is expressed in a simultaneous fight for -world, position.. lie added that no nation understood, the Nationalist Revolution better than the Japanese It was right for an Ambassador to introduce himself by addressing some polite generalities to the nation to which he was accredited, and from a Japanese Ambassador a double portion of politeness might reasonably be expected. Nor would a world, which has long since recognised that "an Ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad" for the benefit of his country, be disposed to cavil if the generalities employed on such an occasion were moro polite than accurate. But Mr. Nagai has been specific in his compliments instead of general, and .very stupidly specific, too. He has noted with a naive surprise the similarity in world outlook between his own Government and the regime which has.spread a reign of terror throughout Germany, and, if it proves to be as stable and strong as it is mad and wicked, will do the same for Europe. And when he adds that "no nation understood the Nationalist Revolution better than the Japanese" he plainly implies at least a general sympathy with the aims and the methods of the Nazi terrorists. There is, .of course, a certain fitness in such a eulogy from such a source, in the approval of one Government which has shocked the conscience of the world by tile representative of another which has equally shocked it. But in so far as the judgment of the world is influenced at all by the foolish comparison the effect can do Germany no good but will certainly be harmful to Japan. Yet, in fairness to ,the Japanese, it must be admitted that, except in its contemptuous violation of public right, their policy is much better fitted for1 contrast than for comparison with' that of the Nazi Government. If in their ruthless disregard of .national rights and treaty obligations they have followed the example of 18th century Prussia they have also imitated her efficiency. Their so-called independent State of Manchukuo is, of course, a dummy and a fraud, but in one of the first essentials of a State it is doubtless far better off than it ever was when under the name of Manchuria it was subject to the jurisdiction of the Chinese Government. If that Government has been unable for years to maintain law and order in large areas of China proper, it is not surprising that the same problem presented insuperable difficulties in Manchuria. Discipline and system being points in which the Japanese are as strong as the Chinese are weak, they should be able to make an infinitely better job of law enforcement in Manchuria than its lawful owners could be expected to do for centuries to come. But the odd thing about the comparison which the Japanese Ambassador at Berlin has invited is that in this matter of order and discipline the Nazis are at present showing a much closer resemblance to the Chinese, and that the chaos into which they have plunged Germany is threatening^Europe with a similar danger to that which Japan feared from Manchuria. Writing for the March "Contemporary Review" just a fortnight after Herr Hitler's call to office, Mr. George Glasgow referred to the sudden disappointment of the hope that the Schleicher Government would provide that "atmosphere of political quiet" which was essential to .Germany's economic recovery, and described the Chancellor's tactics as follows :—t Horr Hitler made speeches in his novmally emotional strain without giving any precise indication of the policy he would adopt if successful at the election.. Ho woro his Nazi uniforms He suppressed newspapers. His gunmen, increased their toll. of murder in the streets. A great meeting was held irt the Sportpalast on February 10, at which Herr Hitler's almost hysterical rhetoric, relayed by loudspeakers to ton crowded squares in Berlin, con-fi-ived to inflame, -without enlightening, his frenzied disciples. The only "definite thing he said was, "We will not lie and we will not swindle." Probably HenHitler himsolf felt a little in the dark about his policy and prospects. • But at that time, as Mr. Glasgow pointed out, the Chancellor shared a triumvirate with Papcn and^

Hugenberg, and there were others of the President's Avatchdogs in the Cabinet to keep him out of mischief. It was impossible for a Chancellor so circumstanced to lay down a definite policy till the electors had spoken on March 5. But it is now five weeks sine'e the verdict of the electors gave Herr Hitler such a majority that we have hardly heard the names of his rivals mentioned since. He. has not only the President's friends but the President himself in his pocket. He has the Reichstag in his pocket, and by virtue of an Enabling Bill can legislate exactly as he pleases without the formality of a vote. Yet so far as any constructive policy is concerned we are just as much in the dark as when.he took office at the end of '-It may even*be doubted whether Hefr. Hitler has been faithful to that very narrow and negative statement which Mr. Glasgow describes as his only definite election utterance, "We will not lie ancf we will not swindle." He may have; been true to the letter of that pledge in its narrowest meaning. He has not told personal or even political lies in the ordinary sense, but he has compelled the people to lie by terrorising them out of a free election, and he has swindled them out of such representation as they were able to achieve under these conditions by excluding from the Reichstag a large' number of members who had been lawfully elected.' , We may add that if suppression of the truth is as bad as telling what is untrue Herr Hitler's one election pledge was grossly violated during the campaign. The Opposition Press was intimidated and often silenced before the election,, has suffered far worse since, and is' now apparently to be extinguished wholesale. "The highest duty' of the Press at present," says the Chancellor, "is not criticism but the creation of unity of thought and will." Not criticism but adoration is what' the Nazi leader wants, and is determined to enforce. Nor are individuals to have any greater freedom than the newspapers. "Anyone speaking the truth," we were told yesterday, "risks a fearful beating, imprisonment, and even death." There are suppression and persecution and hatred and terrorism in abundance, but no constructive policy is yet in sight.