Lieutenant Kusama
On the first of September Lieutenant Kusama left his regiment in the country and came up to Tokyo. He was to have entered the Toyama Mihtaty Academy, which began on the fifth of the month, but on the first there was a great earthquake. The students were informed that the academy would remain closed until further notice.
Just when he was wondering what on earth to do, he met an Auto-Corps officer whom he knew. “You’ve been called out,” the officer told him. He was attached to the Military Commander of Tokyo after considerable delay, and was given charge of eighteen commandeered automobiles. He worked hard from eight every morning till six at night. His chief job was transporting rice and flour. In the stores, besides rice and flour, great piles of bread and fruit were going to rot, and this at a time when thousands were starving. The reason given for this was that no official instructions for their transportation and distribution had been given. Impatient at such waste and inconsistency, Lieutenant Kusama asked permission to distribute them among the needy. Permission was refused on the ground that enormous complications connected with the settling of accounts would arise and the preservation of the official routine was more vital
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