War Lord's Bribe

Still hog-tied by Japan's militarists, the Empire's peace-minded politicians last week tried to upset the jingo Cabinet of Premier Admiral Okada by exploding a bomb of scandal. They blew up the previous Cabinet by the same tactics, proved embezzlement on "subordinates" of sly old Finance Minister Takahashi (TIME, July 16). Although the old fox is again Finance Minister, for the seventh time, and although the new Cabinet is again riding them, the timid but persistent politicians last week maneuvered blunt War Minister General Hayashi into serious admissions.

At a session of the Japanese Diet's Budget Committee, the War Minister was faced with this question: "Is it true that our Minister of Communications, His Excellency Takejiro Tokonami, took a bribe of 500,000 yuan in 1928 from the Manchurian War Lord Chang Hsueh-liang?"

Not liking to say yes, unable to say no, Japan's blunt No. 1 war dog barked that when Japanese troops invaded Manchuria, drove out "Young Marshal" Chang's Government and opened his abandoned steel safe they did find therein a receipt for 500,000 yuan signed by "two Japanese." The two names General Hayashi refused to reveal.

Later, politicians drew from General Hayashi the significant admission that, after the bribe receipt was found, nothing was done except to discipline a certain Major Tanaka, apparently because he blabbed the secret to members of the Young Officers League. These naive hotheads, not realizing that they were playing into the peace-minded politicians' hands, dished up the scandal in a lurid pamphlet which declares photostats of the compromising document were made by a sergeant major of the reserve. Reputedly Army secret agents caught up with this sergeant last week, persuaded him to burn his photostats.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.