March of Japan

CHILDREN OF THE RISING SUN--Willard Price--Reynal & Hitchcock ($3).

Japan, predicts Journalist Price, will conquer China with "magnificent success." She will introduce orderly government, eliminate illiteracy, raise China industrially and culturally to the level of the first-class powers. At that point, "a brief hundred years or so" hence. China will revolt and resume "her ancient position of leadership."

Written in vigorous journalese, with a great show of impartiality, Children of the Rising Sun deals with the challenging first half of this prophecy. Author Price gathered his statistics, anecdotes, reflections during four years' travel over the Japanese Empire, including the 2,550 islands of the Japanese mandates which he described in Pacific Adventure.

Most talk of a Japanese crackup, thinks Author Price, is wishful thinking. According to his observation, the practical Chinese accept Japanese rule far more willingly than is supposed. In Manchuria, where he accompanied a punitive expedition against "bandits," he found a stable government and currency, intensive beginnings of mass education ("strongly pro-Manchukuo but anti-nobody"), regeneration of former "bandits" by means of seed loans, roads, vocational guidance.

After China, prophesies Price, comes inevitable Japanese domination of the Philippines, Siam, Dutch East Indies, Australia, New Zealand, the African west coast. Having enumerated his reasons why Japan cannot lose and the U. S. cannot win in the Orient, Author Price suggests that the U. S. "retire gracefully." His alternative suggestion is that the U. S. hereafter do business exclusively with Japan.

Author Price's main reason for urging closer co-operation with Japan is unusual: ... If time modifies the Nipponese crusade, making it less militant and more cultural, less the elevation of a world-Emperor and more the spread of a world accord, she can do a real service in helping to wipe out the petty nationalism that is today plaguing most nations, including Japan." Anti-Japanese readers will certainly believe that lively Author Price is suffering from a Rising Sunstroke.

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