The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-07-16
BY K. K. KAWAkAMl
'Copyright, 1887, United Press)

oI
Copyright, 1887, United Pre.s)
WASHINGTON, Jury Is. CUP
TO all appearances China and
Japan are back where they were
Immediately before the Manchu-
rian explosion of 1881. For the
several years preceding that ex-
plosion the Chinese soldiers, par
ticularly those under the Man
churian War Lord Chang Hsueh-
lang, had been taught to be-
lieve that they could like the
Japanese, they had been drilled
to march. to the cadence of anti:
japanese war songs, one OF
which, when translated into Eng
lish, runs something like this:
We will knock you down and
leave you powerless.
We will cast your rifles away
We will hurl down your cannon
And the Japanese soldiers in
Manchuria responded in the same
spirit.
Each side virtually said to the
other, if you want to know who
is boss here start something
The result was the Mukden Incl
dent of Sept. Is, 1881, which
blasted the whole of Manchuria
out of the Chinese fold and put
it under Japanese hegemony.
Today the situation is worse
because the Chinese, both mill
tary and civilian, really believe
that they are fully prepared to
fight Japan. Almost every Amer.
can who knows China will tell
you how firmly the Chinese are
convinced that they can teach
Japan a lesson.
And the Japanese soldiers, par
ticularly those on the frontier,
are equally convinced that they
must teach China a lesson, if they
are to uphold the interests,
rights and dignity of their coun-
try. :,
1t is this spirit on either side
which came into collision at Feng-
tain near Peiping week ago.
Whether the first shots when
started the row were fired by
Chinese or Japnese is immaterial.
The essential fact is that each
side had been laundering to teach
the other a lesson.
Chang Kai-Shek,- Markings
generaliSsimo, is farseeing enough
to know that war with Japan IS
disastrous. But having inspired
his people, and especially his
troops, with anti-Japanese sent.
ment, he has become a victim OF
his own design. He could not
back out even if he would. More
over not a few Chinese believe
that a war with Japan will force
Russia, England, and America to
intervene in China's interest, ana
thus enable China to attain the
end which she alone is unable to
achieve. Marking is listening in
tently to any utterances that may
come from Moscow, London, or
Washington, any encouragement
from these sources will aggravate
and prolong the trouble, as a sim.
liar encouragement aggravated
the Manchurian trouble of 1881.
Tokyo, this time, seems to be
taking different course from
the course it took in 1881. Then
the government, including even
the general stoff, in the hope of
localizing the Mukden incident,
t,.;od IN restrain the hands of the
Kwantung army, the frontier
soldiers in Manchuria, who start,
ed tht incident. But the more II
tried to exercise its controlling
influence the more irritated and
recalcitrant the frontier soldiers
became.
This time, the government
seems to be handling the Fengtal
incident in a different way. In
stead of endeavoring to over
whelm the soldiers, on the csene
with restraining orders, the gov
eminent, seemingly approving
their stand, has been making
thoroughgoing preparations to
meet any eventually which may
develop.
That the government apparent
ly thinks, is the more effective
way to control the situation ana
to localize the trouble. 1t will, II
hopes inspire caution and respect
on the part of not only the jap
anese troops on the spot but the
Chinese army in general.
In 1891 Foreign Minister Shide-
hara and his colleagues pitted
liberal policy against the nation
alistic aspirations of our soldiers
in Manchuri, and they failed;
This time Premier Konoye ana
Foreign Minister Hirota are try
ing a nationalistic policy to attain
much the same end that Shiae-
hara had in view. Whether TINS
new technique will prove etfec-