Book Review: Key to Japan, Eclipse of the Rising Sun
| Author | George S. Patterson |
| Published date | 01 July 1946 |
| Date | 01 July 1946 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070204600100311 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Resiews
which
assist
the
reader
in
reconstructing
the
historical setting
of
each
editorial.
The
editorials
selected
are
confined
to
the
period'
between
the
Mukden
incident
in
1931,
and
a
date
three
days
prior
to
the
author's
death
in
January,
1944.
From
1919
to
1930
Mr.
Dafoe's
advocacy
of
the
cause
of
collective
security
was
characterized
by
confidence
that
the
League
could
become
the
successful
instrument.
This
period
was
by
no
means
free
of
anxiety,
but
there
was
present
a
reasonably
confident
hope.
The
year
1931
brought
a
change.
The
flouting
by
Japan,
of
the
League,
the Nine-Power
Treaty,
and
the
Kellogg
Pact,
and,
the
failure
of
the
League
and
the
United
States
to
check
Japanese
aggression,
ushered
in
a
period
of
doubt, which
is
reflected
in
this
volume.
There
was
no
doubt
in
the
mind
of
the
author
as
to
the
efficacy
of
the
principles
of
the
League,
but
merely doubt
as
to
the
willingness
of
the
powers
to
apply
them. The
issues
were
clear,
and time and
again
the
second
world
war
was
predicted
as
the only
possible
alternative
to
the
invoking,
under
League
auspices,
of
collective action
to
check aggression.
In
the
author's
opinion,
Abyssinia
presented
the
possibility
for
the
recovery
of
the
cause
of
collective
security,
an opportunity
which
was
missed.
Soon
after
Munich
he commenced
to
discuss
the
new
world
organization which
might
be
achieved
after
the
next
war,
if
the
peace-
loving nations
could
win
it.
As
World
War
II
proceeded,
it
was
obvious
to
him
that
the
new
organization
taking
form
at
the
conclusion
of
the
war
would,
at
the
outset,
be
comprised
of
the
United
Nations,
but
he
never
wavered
in
his
faith
that
it
would
be
founded on
the
principles
of
the
League. Only
three
days
before his
death
he wrote: "Whatever
form
the
future
structure
of
world'peace
may
take,
it
will
rest
on
foundations laid
by
Wilson
and his co-workers
in
Paris
in
1919."
If
the
reader
is
careful
to
view
each
of
these
editorials
mindful
of
the
setting
in
which
it
was
written,
he will
be
deeply
impressed
not
only
by
the
consistency
of
the
advocacy,
but
by
the
foresight
of
the
author
and
by
his wisdom
in
the
selection
of
his
arguments.
In the
short-run
it
was
an
unsuccessful
struggle,
but
surely
he
and
his
counterparts
in
other
countries
have
made
it
less
likely
that
the
present
peace
will
be lost
through
failure
to
develop
an effective
collective
security
system.
One
puts
down
the
book
with
heartfelt regret
that
John
W.
Dafoe
is
not
still
with
us
to
bring
to
bear
the
great
heart
and
mind
of
Canada's
greatest
journalist.
Winnipeg,
May
1946. E.
J.
Tarr
KEY
TO
JAPAN.
By
Willard,
Price.
1946.
(New
York:
John
Day.
Toronto:
Longmans, Green.
309pp.
$4.50)
ECLIPSE
OF
THE
RISING
SUN.
By
Richard
Hart,
with
a
statement,
by
Owen
Lattimore.
1946.
(New
York:
Foreign Policy
Association.
Headline
Series,
No.
56.
96pp.
25
cents,
U.S.)
KEY
TO
JAPAN
"is
an
attempt
to
explain
some of
the dark
windings
of
the
Japanese
way
of
doing
things.
It
has
a
lighter
purpose
too
..
271
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