BLOODY BUT UNBOWED

Untaught by the burst of protest against Defense Day, President Coolidge has lent his support to a nearly identical program. Unchastened by the virtual fiasco of last September's celebration, he has endorsed in a letter whose enthusiasm is matched only by its length the proposed celebration of today as Navy Day. But the militaristic basis of the plan he concealed beneath a quite proper emphasis upon the peaceful achievements of the naval forces in exploration, charting, assisting commerce, mapping currents and winds; in sum, making the seas less the dreaded playground of unfamiliar forces.

At a time, however, when the moderate leaders of Japan, the nation which came off third in the Washington Naval agreement, are seeking by every means to allay Oriental distrust of America's naval ambitions, it is unfortunate that the chief executive should feel obliged to boast of a "naval rank, second to none". Japan's sensibilities, deeply outraged by the immigration insult, will store up the needless affront. Japanese pride, made anxious by the stabilization of naval ratios at 5-5-3, will not be allayed by this new demonstration, for it will not be perceived that it is but the act of an official. The Japanese newspapers will quote the President's letter and the accounts of the celebration, not the unfavorable comments which are bound to appear.

Moreover, the celebration is to take place on the birthday and in the name of a friend of Japan and a foe to ostentation. Roosevelt believed certainly in a strong navy; his own record as secretary of the navy and as president proves that; but he did not believe in incurring the jealousy and fear of Japan. Roosevelt always had a strong respect for Japanese grit and strength. He would have been the last to propose a showy demonstration which cannot fail to react against the pro-American party in Japan, which, with little cooperation from this side of the Pacific, is striving to maintain the entente cordiale.