Evening star., 1928-12-09
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aonaen and children were beaten and
anused.
Not only are hordes Of soldiers qua
tered upon wretched towns and villages,
but reuuisitions are made on them OF
money and goods in the name OF the
Marking government. These funds
never reach the treasury but are en-
bezzled on the way.
In Peking 1000 prisoners are unfed;
the keepers have no money to buy food
and are unpaid themselves. The much
advertised schools cannot open; there
are no funds for heating nor for pay
ing the teachers. often thousands Of
civil government employees have not re-
ceived any wages for months.
The whole organization of govern
nent has gone to pieces during the II
years since the overthrow of the Man.
chus and the proclamation Of the So
called republic" The last penny is
squeezed out Of the unfortunate tax
payers in the villages and towns. with
hardly any pretense of legality. At
first taxes were collected by governor
for several years in advance. while the
next governor did the same thing, pay
ing no attention to the tax receipts Of
his predecessor. Now the wealthier in
habitants are assessed according to
their supposed ability to pay-and are
jailed until payment is made. Impris-
onment In China not only means physi-
cal suffering but often death, as in
many places the prisoners receive food
and attention only from their families.
and the jailers have to be bribed 10 per-
nit even that.
Economic Side Of Picture.
So much for the suffering of China's
immense population. Now let us take
a brief look at the economic side Of the
picture.
The whole situation is much worse
than that of any Western European
country at the end of the World War
The War Lords" of the North and
South for years not only have used the
railroads for military purposes, diSre
gardiQg the crying need for the move
ment of freight, but they have taken
the receipts to pay their troops, leaving
nothing for employees salaries or re-
pairs. Rails are worn out, ties are rot
ten. bridges have been destroyed, en-
gines and cars are useless for lack Of
essential repairs. 1t will cost more than
$50,000, ,000-perhaps double that-to
put the railways in condition.
Tax receipts of the Marking govern
nnent are entirely insufficient to pay the
expenses of the army and civil govern
rnent-even if the funds were not en-
bezzled or allotted to generals to pay
their armies. The customs and salt
monopoly revenues are assigned for the
payment of foreign and domestic loans
OF past governments of China.
The credit of the government is
worthless. owing to past defaults and
the anti-foreign policy of the Nanking
Eationaiists. Since 1894 it has been
necessary to secure all loans upon rev.
enueS collected by foreigners in the
Chinese service. as the notorious graft
ing of Chinese officials Of all ranks, from
President down. makes both foreigners
and Chinese unwilling to trust them
with funds.
While the nation was a prey to civil
war the governments of both the Ma
tionaliSts and the MilitariStS had a
valid excuse for neglecting the welfare
of the people. But the recent sweeping
victories of the Marking government
now enable the Nationalists to take
steps to relieve the crushing misery of
the whole country-with the exception
of few favored spots like Manchuria,
where japanese influence has spared
the country from calamity, and Shansi,
under the model governor" Yen.
Young Idealists At Head.
The Nationalist government, however,
b largely composed of young idealists,
often educated abroad, whose main OBJ
ject in life is to carry out new theories
which are quite unsuited to existing
circumstances, or to Chinese character
and traditions. Instead Of concentrat-
ing on saving those who today are dying
Of starvation. they are devoting them
selves to writing new constitutions to
add to the others of the same kind,
which have not worked
Virtually nothing has been done to
carry out any of the much-advertised
paper reforms Of disbanding the useless
and dangerous army, improving agri-
culture and industry, organizing educa-
ton and civil service, currency reform,
tax reduction, the ending of corruption
and bribery, road building, the clean
ing of canals, the building Of flood dikes,
motor and cart roads, and railway con-
struction. Back salaries Of military and
civil employees are still unpaid, few get
their current wages and a special grad
uated income tax Is imposed upon those
fortunate enough to get any payments
General Dissatisfaction.
There is general dissatisfaction and
disappointment throughout China at
the failure of the Nationalist govern
ment TO improve social and economic