"Let Them Wait"

German correspondents in Tokyo, writing for their newspapers, revealed much that was not meant for U.S. eyes.

When the Government closed all theaters, Tokyo newspapers complained: "The hard-working population cannot live on patriotic speeches and moral sermons alone." Thereupon the Government reneged. But Japs who had flocked to comedies a year ago were numb now. The theaters drew no crowds. The people were too tired, the trolleys too jammed.

Tokyo and other big cities were being evacuated of all but essential warworkers. It was troublesome business, because so many evacuees insisted on taking their cherished gardens (including rocks and trees) as well as their furniture with them. The Government finally had to order: leave the gardens.

But most Japs were careless. There was a false alert May 24 (when U.S. flyers apparently extended a flight over the Kuril Islands). Lazy inhabitants suddenly discovered that their many safety trenches, dug along Tokyo's streets, were waterlogged. Said the Tokyo press next day: "It was high time that sirens sounded again, because the majority of Tokyo's population had become indifferent to air danger and had neglected preparations. . . . Some of our citizens still seem to have rather thick skins. Let them wait until . . . they have to crawl on their bellies in water-filled trenches; they'll quickly drain them. . . ."

Radio Tokyo announced that many Government offices are being transferred to the prefectures (provinces). Apparent object: to forestall the paralysis that might come with an air blitz on the capital.

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