The Bad Word

Anti-Japanese feeling dies hard in Australia. Last week, a decade after Tojo's men were driven out of islands adjacent to the southern continent, Australians were excited anew about the "Yellow Peril." Into Rabaul Harbor came a Japanese pearling ship, its crew battened below decks, its captain a captive of Australian Planter Ray Stacey, who, with the aid of native islanders, had seized the vessel at the Feni Islands, 80 miles to the southeast. Australia accused the Japanese of violating immigration laws, but the real charge was poaching pearl shell beds in waters which the Australians insist they own--a claim which Japan disputes.

Behind the issue was the widespread Australian fear, stated by Labor Leader Herbert Evatt, that "the southward expansion policy of Japan is gradually, being resumed." This month the Tokyo Giants baseball team called off its Australian tour, complaining that it was "virtually boycotted." Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies, trying to negotiate trade agreements with the Japanese Government, has frequently complained that "the greatest stumbling block is the perpetuation of enmity." Said Menzies wearily: "You only have to mention the word Japanese for it to be worth three headlines."

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