The Washington times., 1937-08-25

BOake Carter
It Isn't War.
Death and Destruction.
Are We Keeping Out?

TWENo VI oGSeA dSdIIl Lying
- through the air-yellow man
killing yellow man-Japanese
hurting themselves forward and
perspiring Chinese artillerymen
loading-firing. loading--firing
-troopships disemb arking-
troop trains unloading their hui
man freight-long gray memo
war, flames from their guns
stabbing the sky-black clouds
of billowing smoke as some ware
house or hotel burns unattended
"a shrill whine. rising to a
shriek-people run madly in all
directions-crash!-the cart
rocks, the street opens UP as If
in convulsion-bricks, mortar
come tumbling in showering
caScade-smoke and an acid
smell fill the air-here comes a
man, staggering blindly, his face
a bloody, gooey pulp, his hands
out before him in helpless sup
plication.
EORTY men lounging around
L the we'll deck Of that great,
long sleek United States cruiser
lying out in the overwhelming
q movie while men gasped and
died on the banks of the river
a squadron Of planes passed
overhead-bang! bang! bang!
went the naval archie batteries
lower down the stream-a whine
again from the sky. a lurid
greenish.yellow flash and the
moviegoers lay strewn upon the
deck-eighteen wounded by fly
ing slivers of shell-one boy lies
still-forever.
War?-No, this isn't war
the diplomats and the politicians
say it isn't-they haven't dressed
up in top hats and their fancy
striped trouSered buds and given
each other formal notice yet
the law-the international law
they call it-says you can't be
at war until you say you are at
war.
WHAT are they going to do
w about that erican
cruiser that was hit by shellfire?
-nothing-she'S got a right to
be lying there in line Of fire
no war has been declared and
the international law says for
eign shipping has the right to
come and go as it pleases.
What's she lying there for?-
waiting to guard evacuation Of
Americans-how longs that 60
ing to take?-only Washington
can answer--but Washington
has set no deadline for evacua-
tion-why doesn't it do that
the longer United States soldiers
and the navy hang around here,
the more likely Uncle Samll get
hooked into this thing.
What they ought to do is to
give all citizens a week to get
themselves together and get out
under cover of the navy while
they can and then pull the army
and the navy out.
Yeah, but some guys will want
to stay behind-but they ought
to be told that it's their funeral
If they do and they can't ex-
pect the whole United States to
go to war to save them If they
get hurt and after they were Of
fered safe passage out Of here.
Yeah, but some guy back
home, some big shot, is going to
howl that his property'S being
shot up here and they ought to
keep the navy here to save it
for him. There's $3.50, ZOO, 900
worth Of private United States
property in this town-no, it
don't belong to the Government,
it most all belongs to the big
boys, bankers, oil companies,
the Wall Street guys-they al
ways want their property saved
by Uncle Sam-they did 1t the
last time.
X
0H, sure, they're smart and
" they got the dough-they
put out the propaganda, say the
United States is running out on
her citizens, Uncle Sans q yell
low gutter and all that stuff
the poor dumb public. you and
me, Bill, lap it up, start a.pound-
ing our chests and talking about
national honor and wen teach
'em where to get off"
And next thing you know the
recruiting sergeant's telling you
what company and battalion