Evening star., 1932-02-28


be all right"
Half an hour later the Chinese me-
chanics announced that they had COM
pleted the Job The planes themselves
had not been touched, but the tags had
been united and shifted to their proper
positions.
I don't know whether that story about
the $50 twelve year old planes is true or
not; during the years 1 was in emma
did not hear of that shipment being in
the country. But i. does represent 1alr
picture of the condition of Chinas air
force as compared to the ultra modern
aviation units of Japan.
Every advantage so far as equipment,
personnel and numbers are concerned,
rests with the land of the Mikado Japan
has seven times the airplanes, pilots and
ground personnel as Central China. Her
pilots are infinitely better trained; she
has at least half dozen well tnanced
factories capable of turning out military
ships fitted with the latest devices OF war.
Her airdromes and airways compare IA
vorably with those of any other nation.
China, on the other hand, has only
handful of planes, and many Of them are
obsolete. Her pilots are more or less IN
dividualists, and are poorly trained; dur
ing my months in China 1 did not see
single flight in close formation. She has
but six or seven airdromeS, all more or
less poorly equipped. In all China there
is not one airplane factory that can COM
pare with the poorest of those in Japan.
The advantages seem Overwhelmingly
in favor of Japan, and yet the Nipponese
would think twice before sending their
fleet and army transports and their air
craft carriers and immensely superior
force of planes up the Yangtze River TO-
ward the interior of China at this time
of the year-a move which japan almost
certainly would want to make should
China declare war.
The japanese would not hesitate on
account of the numerous Notifications
that are strung at strategical points on
both sides of the river all the way up to
Chungking, 1900 miles inland. And some
of these forts are nothing to laugh at
witness the troubles the japanese have
had with the Woosung Notifications.
Mo, the japanese would be afraid OF the
tiny little Chinese air force. For,
although the Chinese don't have num-
bers or equipment on their side, they do
have allies which, at this time of the
year, are even more powerful First, they
have the elements-the fogs, the pre-
vafling winds and the depth OF water in
the Yangtze River Second, they have
the topography of the country. Third,
they have the very backwardneSs OF the
Chinese nation.
China is probably thanking her lucky
Confucius right now that she has been
a slow, progressive nation, and has
not built any modern overland trans
portation routes into her rich interior.
Beyond Nanking there are no railroads
which the Japanese could use for the
mass movement of troops and supplies,
and no good roads.
If the japanese are to move vast num-
bers of men and war materials to the in
terror of China they must depend upon
their fleet and the YangtZe River. And
here the Yangtze comes to China'S aid.
1t offers a highly important natural bar
ricade to the movement of Japan's fleet
and troop transports. Right now the
river is more shallow than at any other
time during the year-the water varies
about As feet in depth from Winter to
Summer-and none of Japans men of
war, and probably none of her transport
carriers, can proceed much beyond Nam
king.
There are further natural barriers that
would enfeeble any massed air attack by
the japanese. Day in and day out at
this season a low-hanging, extremely
thick ground fog blankets virtually the
entire length of the YangtZe River ex-