Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-07-10
washington dispatch to Philadelphia

Ledger.]
After the German U-boats had de-
stroyed more than 1000 Chinese lives
on neutral and belligerent ships ane
China had declared war against the
imperial German government. Berlir
chuckled Another one: laughed the
infatuated burghers. What on earth,
,hey asked, "can the sleepy pacif1st OF
he east do against our universal wal
lord!'
Here Is an answer tabloid verisor
OF what China Is doing. can DO ana, III
less than a year, has done against "ou'
universal war lord"
And It shows 1t Is no dream to as
sumo that on the western front iteell
Chinese troops may swing the ma
fortunes Of the war.
China IL commonly called ,~unw1eld-
W. Certainly her power Is not organ
lied with the witchlike compactness OF
Germanys. Millions and millions o.
Chinese have never even heard OF the
great war and doubtless never will
But II must be remembered that In SO
vast q body Of humanity even COM
paratively minor reactions OF smai'
parts of the population. loom proper
tionately large according to our west
ern standards.
Thus, as to China's army. In the
mighty aggl3meration Of races which
make up the new republic 1t Is almost
lost. And yet 1t embraces forty hve
divisions Of 10000 men each-9OO.ooo
hardy soldiers. Seventy per cent OF
these are thoroughly modern units
we'll equipped. well drilled. and led by
officers who haze met the most exact
Ing tests Of European and Japanese
training.
Expeditienary Army Ready.
Tho first Chinese expeditionary
force 10 now preparing to 80 to France.
Negotiations are under way among the
allies to put them across. This mrs.
unit IL an army corps-4o.ooo Oh
China's sturdiest troops. most OF them
veterans familiar with the rattle OF
machine runs and bursting shell. Ano
the Chinese government. II the neces-
sary financial assistance and transpor-
tation facilities are provided, can SEND
them. as fast AS they are required, ad-
ditional army corps until the Chinese
nshting forces in France number 2oo,-
600 men Of all ranks.
s,,cfn force could easily man twenty
miles OF trenches. 1t Is a third OF the
number Hindenburg and Lmdendorn
funr into their great drive from the
Chemin- des DANES to the Marne.
China Ia taking this matter OF mill
tary aid on the west front very serl-
ously. She had already established
military headquarters in Paris under
lieutenant General Tang Tsai Ii, vice
minister OF the Chinese CHIEF OF stan.
There are now many high Chinese oni-
GERS on the battleline studying the
actual conditions under which Chinese
troops expect to operate.
Chinese physicians. most OF whom
volunteered In London, are >serVing
with the British forces in considerable
numbers. And the whole worldo was
sr,nr,sed when Chinese laborers,
caught in the great German offensive
thru Ptcardy last spring. flung down
their shovels, grabbed the nearest rines
and in the critical interval, wniie
French re- endorsements were rusn1ns
TO the battle, put the irresistible hun
over the Backward Jump.
Labor Army Is Efficient.
Evidently these laborers must nave
been Of a different type from the ordi-
nary coolies we see in America They
are, They come chiefly from north
DEMONSTRATING and Chili-where the
material for the Chinese army Is re-
eruited. Swapping six-footers, bronzeo
to,a deep, FURNISHED luster. they can
work harder and longer, endure more
and eat less than the most wiry
peasant Europe produces.
There are $4,000 Of these super
laborers in France. divided between
the british and the French forces, but
now Of course, like every other mill
tary organization, serving under tho
unified command Of General Foch. For
they are military organization. They
have their own regiments and COM
panies, under their own petty onicers,
and they drill sreart!y to snapped-out
English words of command.
How they got there Is one OF the
great adventure stories Of this war.
The lure is the difference between three
cents a day and $40 month. In far
away Shantung they have beaten con-
yerRing roads to the British camps. II
they pass the rigorous physical tests.
they And themselves. queueless and
clean for the first time in their lives,
and with a metal Identification tag
welded upon the east wrist" by the
ocean fiends," we'll upon the long
tourney to the strange land where you
can buy pink underwear and see flying
dragons in the air.
They 70 to France under three
year pledge. The British are using g.
800 Of them In Mesopotamina and still
others have been sent to South Africa.
The number in France has now reached
The full quota agreed upon. hut the
chinese government sets no limit to
lie numbers who may go in the future.
indeed, that is the official Chinese at
utude, both in regard to labor and
,roops The ultimate asset OF the allies
4 man power China with almost
stoo. 900, 900 would never miss force
mat in France would be considered
enormous.
Food Resources Also Pledged.
And there is the ever-present food
question Americans who read Of Chi
neee famlnes and fail to realize that
these spring from faulty distribution.
never think OF China as a great food
producer. But she is. At the Ver-
sailles conference last November China
plvisi; ]; :.ss vi with
RI Il VII ID u