Evening star., 1935-08-11
CHINA ISFULL OF ARMIES.
BUT CANNOT FIGHT JAPAN
Lack of Munitions and Unity of Organi-
zation and Discipline Are Blamed for
Inability to Oppose Invasion.

observers of China's tragedy, two
points need to be stressed: The abb
Sence of Chinese armed resistance
during the past months is not to be
interpreted as signifying Chinese cow
ardice; and it is not to be construed
as meaning that the Chinese never
will fight. Memories Of the Shanghai
troubles" and the Manchurlan unde-
clared war are IN point here.
The majority Of Westerners, even
those long resident in the East, must
admit when graphing with a prob
lem like the present, that Western
standards of reasoning and action
make understanding Of Chinese rea-
soning and action difficult. If an
American does not fight under op-
preston the supposition may be that
he is coward. But when watching
the Chinese one must remember that
they are immensely practical ut can
be argued that they are often too
cautiously practical to serve their own
practical ends) and that they tend
to think in terms of years when we
think in terms of months, in terms
of decades when we think in years.
Chinese Shun Extremes.
The ardent West. when its civiliza-
tion was in infancy, tied itself to the
idealism and lofty heights Of Chris
tianity, with all their implications
of struggle; to Westerners it is nat
tn Chinese ciu
ilization, when already far advanced
in the complexities Of human expert
ence, tied TO the Confucian doctrine
of the mean, which shuns extremes
and fails to see the point of striving
for the unattainable.
1t is just as natural. further. for
a Chinese to look many years ahead
as it is for an American to think
he must do it now" In the midst
of the crisis of the North I remember
talking with a Chinese gentleman in
his pleasant library, while we slipped
sweet, cooling drinks and he-a great,
stalwart Northerner in fine blue silk
robes-fanned himself with a painted
fan. There was no doubt about this
mans patriotism. There was no doubt
whatever about his bitterness over
the japanese program in his mother
land. But he was not talking about
hghting-now. He was talking about
his children.
81 have to restrain them to be care
full, they are so impulsive in their bit
terneSs over Japan. I tell them TO
wait, to study hard. to prepare them
selves, and that China'S day will come
look forward to our children
turning back the menace of Japan"
North Chinese Jittery.
One admired this confident father.
There was in him a calm sense Of
strength which contrasted oddly with
the somewhat jittery atmosphere one
sometimes Sensed in the north while
talking with certain of the japanese
military. Many Chinese were jittery.
too. Most of them were, whether
they showed it outwardly or not-and
there was reason for this. But not
few, like my friend, have about them
an aura of greater security than the
wiry little Japanese who are running
the north.
Yet to tell the thoughts of the father
whose hopes are on his children is
not telling the whole story. Judging
from what one hears from other Chi
neSe elsewhere, it is possible that his
own children are warning him of
great dangers ahead in waiting while
Japan sets up political and military
machine whereby she can control
China'S economic development for the
advantage of japanese industry, and
while japanese and Korean drug
vendors sell their vitlating wares
among the Chinese of the north.
(Copyrieht 1887