FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1934, VOLUME III



negligible amount), any animus against Japan, and that neither the
people nor the Government of this country has any thought whatever
of entering upon any course of aggression toward or against Japan.
The Ambassador said that he quite realized this. I then said that both
he and I know that the matter is often and at great length otherwise
represented in the press in Japan. The Ambassador indicated assent.
I then read to the Ambassador a paragraph from a note of comment
by Mr. Owen Lattimore in the current number of Pacific Affairs,
which reads:
  "Western propagandists in the East, and Eastern propagandists in
the West, can no longer do anything but harm. The need of our day
is for better Chinese, Japanese and Russian journalists in Europe and
America-not to tell us about their countries, but to interpret us to
their own countries. We need-and we have not begun to get enough
of them-Western journalists who can understand Japanese politics
and economics as the Japanese understand them, interpret the con-
flicting forces of Chinese history and Western pressure by Chinese
standards, and feel the creative, formative period in Russia as the
peoples of the SoViet Union feel it-or as Duranty43 feels it."
I said that it struck me that the suggestion which Mr. Lattimore makes
there is one which all of us who are struggling with problems of re-
lations between Japan (and other countries of the Orient) and the
United States may well ponder. The Ambassador said that the sub-
ject was one to which he gave much thought. I said that I thought
that governments might do a good deal toward improving the situa-
tion. The Ambassador said that he thought so too. He then ad-
vanced the view that the concluding of agreements by governments
would be helpful toward signalizing to the peoples concerned and to
the world that relations are amicable and making of trouble is not
intended. I advanced the opinion that the reading public takes "in
its stride" its reading of news of the conclusion of an agreement; it
makes passing note thereof; its eyes then go on to the next item of
news and, having seen on one day only the news that an agreement
has been concluded but seeing day after day articles and books filled
with conjectures of suspicion, erroneous and misleading information,
incitement to fear or to hostility, etc., etc., the net result is that the
concluding of an agreement does not very materially impress the pub-
lic, whereas a constant stream of propaganda develops conviction.
The Ambassador said that Mr. Hirota had done a great deal toward
putting an end to the publishing of war fiction, etc. I said that we
had observed this fact with gratification; that the Japanese Govern-
ment had more authority in such matters than had we; that they could
command whereas we could only persuade; that fortunately there had

  43 Walter Duranty, Moscow correspondent of the New York Times.



666