| OCR Text |
Show Now What Will We Do? OFFICIAL Washington, not with complete success, suc-cess, tries to look disarmingly nonchalant and naive as reporters and correspondents ask about the significance of the "shelling" of Admiral Yar-nell's Yar-nell's flagship. The president was at his best In putting on a show of artlessness at his press conference when he parried every pointed question ques-tion shot at him. He did say that our officials In the Far East would do anything that is to be done but he didn't say whether it would be on their initiative or by direction from Washing ton. It is a little significant that neither the state department nor Senator Pittman, chairman of the foreign relations committee, released a tingle word for the news wires. - The Augusta was reported hit by a shell from n antiaircraft one-pounder from "an undetermined unde-termined source," but plunging from a high angle. an-gle. It is wholly within the range of possibility that Admiral Yarnell knows from what direction it was fired and whether by Japanese or Chinese. Chi-nese. Just before the cruiser was hit, three shells fell close to her, supposedly from Chinese batteries bat-teries in northern Shanghai. Soon afterward, another shell landed lest than 100 yards astern. If the Augusta was a target, that was bad marksmanship, marks-manship, but good information for naval intelligence intelli-gence to start an investigation as to the position of the battery doing the firing. As a war mystery story, the plot thickens as it is disclosed that Admiral Yarnell and Japanese Jap-anese naval officers had been having a slight flare up. They had asked him to notify them if n American ship was to move after dark. In terse sailor terms he told the Japanese that he would navigate whenever and however he wished without reference to the Japanese. The admiral was busy seeing to the evacuation of our nationals and welcoming marines from Manila and Ban Diego. If his crustiness seemed highly impolite to Nippon's navy men, did they express resentment In a manner to do damage to the flagship? That point is certain to be looked into, if only to satisfy the admiral's curiosity. The parallelism of British, French and American Amer-ican naval policies in Far East waters is no accident acci-dent No ranking officer has made a move to provoke either China or Japan in the face of numerous nu-merous irritating, if not grave, "incidents" which ordinarily would bring about at least mild retaliation. It seems surely that this must be related to Washington's delay in making up its mind about neutrality proclamation. President Roosevelt remarked with simulated Jocularity yesterday that neutrality is talked about every day with nothing being done about it It is, if his words are taken at face value, nothing to bother about, is only a current conversational topic. Britain, surely, is not in its traditional role. It was complacent when its nationals and iu ships were endangered in Spain and in Spanish waters. France has been and is following the British course. We are following our own, but it is like theirs. All are trying desperately to keep from involvement Meanwhile, Russia is not taking advantage of a situation which many observers have said it precisely what the has been waiting for. To proclaim neutrality would be, not legally, but actually, to take tides. We would deprive China and Japan of access to American markets, but China needs our goods more than dope Japan. It would deprive American industry of Its market for wares both nationt eagerly de-tire. de-tire. It might hurt foreign trade after the conflict con-flict ends. It would not lave life in the danger dan-ger tones, probably would endanger our ships, crews, cargoea and refugees trying to get home. The safest and sanest policy will be to get all Americans onto safe toil, mind our own business busi-ness tnd calmly weigh the cost of becoming embroiled em-broiled overseas, in men and money, against the total losses which might be sustained if all American Amer-ican investments in the Orient were to be wiped out |
