Book Reviews : Party and Policy-Making: The House Republican Policy Committee. By CHARLES O. JONES. (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1964. Pp, ix, 174. $6.50.)

• Published date: 01 March 1966
• Author: Ross R. Rice
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296601900135
• Date: 01 March 1966
• Subject Matter: Articles

176

Chapter

6

on

Ozaki

as

&dquo;spy

and

scholar&dquo;

is

perhaps

the

best

in

the

book,

delin-

eating

the

motive

of

a

brilliant

intellectual

who

becomes

a

Communist

spy

(never

a

formal

Communist)

for

idealistic

reasons.

How

many

other

noncommunists

in

Europe,

America,

and

Asian

countries

during

the

1930’s

thought

of

Russia

as

an

anti-fascist

defender

of

the

peace?

Ozaki

was

spared

the

postwar

disillusionment

of

Soviet

imperialism,

but

many

of

his

colleagues

continue

to

fear

Japanese-American

&dquo;militarism&dquo;

more

than

Sino-Soviet

policies

today.

This

work

shows

how

such

inverted

thinking

can

possess

the

mind

of

some

Japanese

intellectuals,

but

Ozaki

had

greater

reason

to

oppose

the

Tokyo

regime

of

his

day.

The

Sorge

spy

ring

was

uncovered

in

late

1941,

after

its

main

purpose

of

assur-

ing

Russia

that

Japan

did

not

intend

to

attack

Siberia

was

accomplished.

The

failure

of

the

Japanese

police

to

detect

the

ring’s

activities

until

so

late

shows

the

weakness

of

intelligence

coordination.

Japan

never

reached

the

peak

of

totalitarianism

of

its

German

ally,

nor

did

the

German

Embassy

in

Tokyo

realize

that

its

intimate

news-

man

friend

Sorge

was

a

Red

Army

agent.

The

long

interrogation

of

Ozaki

after

his

arrest

produced

two

self-critical

re-

ports

outlining

Ozaki’s

painful

and

unsuccessful

attempt

to

avoid

execution.

Only

Ozaki

and

Sorge

were

executed;

the

other

members

of

the

ring

either

died

in

prison

or

were

released

when

the

Americans

arrived

to

open

all

prison

gates.

The

role

of

the

informant

member

of

the

ring,

Ito

Ritsu,

is

fully

described

both

before,

during,

and

after

the

war

(when

he

was

expelled

from

the

Japan

Communist

party).

John-

son

makes

all

these

men

live

as

fascinating

actors

in

a

tragic

story.

He

provides

de-

tailed

factual

data

from

original

Japanese

sources

and

raises

perplexing

questions

about

the

meaning

of

loyalty.

A

glossary

of

names

and

terms

is

very

useful,

as

is

the

complete

bibliography.

No

one

interested

in

East

Asian

politics

or

the

problem

of

loyalty

in

an

authoritarian

state

can

ignore

this

book.

Its

focus

on

one

of

the

great

spy

cases

of

this

century

is

enhanced

by

the

author’s

ability

to

communicate

his

own

fascination

with

the

Ozaki

story.

I

found

it

difficult

to

put

down

this

book:

it

compels

one

to

read

it

through

at

one

sitting,

even

if

one

cannot

share

fully

the

author’s

sympathy

for

his

hero.

University

of

Wisconsin

—

Milwaukee

DOUGLAS

H.

MENDEL,

JR.

Party

and

Policy-Making:

The

House

Republican

Policy

Committee.

By

CHARLES

O.

JONES.

(New

Brunswick:

Rutgers

University

Press,

1964.

Pp,

ix,

174.

$6.50.)

The

U.S.

House

Republican

Policy

Committee

has

had

a

relatively

brief

and

undistinguished

existence.

An

outgrowth

of

concern

shown

by

political

scientists

and

other

reformers

for

congressional

reorganization

and

increased

party

responsibility,

plus

a

mounting

dissatisfaction

of

younger

Republican

House

members

with

their

minor

roles

in

party

councils,

the

Committee

has

been

employed

to

further

institu-

tionalize

party

policy

formation

while

depersonalizing

the

process.

Charles

Jones

has

given

us

a

history

of

the

Committee

and

an

evaluation

of

its

work

and

influence

based

upon

interviews

with

Committee

members

and

others

associated

with

it.