Boiler Gang

The Japanese are a race of involuntarily short men with voluntarily short memories. Last week Tokyo newspapers published a warning issued by the Japanese Military at Tientsin: Unless Great Britain showed a more sincere attitude and stopped deliberately delaying the Tokyo parleys on Tientsin issues, the Japanese Army would soon pull some more high jinks to make Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's blood boil.

Japan's little soldiers had found it convenient to forget two things: 1) the Japanese themselves delayed the opening of the talks for two weeks, while British Ambassador Sir Robert Craigie cooled his heels, occasionally wiring the Gaimusho (foreign office) in Tokyo that he was ready any time; 2) the Japanese agreed before the parleys opened that anti-British demonstrations were not consistent with heart-to-heart discussion; and yet last week demonstrations were getting bigger, if anything--10,000 shouted "Down with Britain!" on the Embassy's very doorstep.

In London the British Government formally announced that not only would the four alleged puppet-killers in Tientsin be handed over, but also a fifth man, previously unmentioned. The British proudly stated that the fifth man had been surrendered only with the proviso that the British Consul General could occasionally go and look at him to make sure that he was not being tortured.

At week's end Japanese Ambassador-at-Large Sotomatsu Kato warned Sir Robert that unless Great Britain resumed negotiations within 24 hours, the Army delegations would break up the parley, go back to Tientsin, set off another boiler under Neville Chamberlain. After 24 hours the parley was still recessed. Without losing their tempers, the soldiers buckled on their swords and flew back to China. "If Britain mends her ways," said one, "we might come back."

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