Evening star., 1938-05-01

to destroy what Is technically their
own property.
The Russian contingent in Hankow,
a group that keeps to itself even more
aloofly than the Germans. also lives
in the Japanese concession. Most Of
the Russians are pilleted in the Japa-
nese Club. Students of irony - and
for that matter any one who remem-
bers the antediluvian yesterday when
Chang was fighting the Communists
relish the big picture OF the gener-
alissimo in the main hall. flanked by
portraits OF Stain and Lenin.
No Fraternization.
The Russians and the Germans al
most never meet. They may be fight
ing on the same side, and ultimately
their orders come from the same
source, but there Is nc determination,
no social contact of any kind. Even
the antiNazis among the Germans
are wary of the Reds"
There are about 120 Russians in
HankoW, and 200 more are coming
soon. They are all pilots. They have
very fast pursuit ships. also powerful
bombers. but so far they have not
been as active as they presumably will
be later. The raid on Formosa in
February was, however, carried out by
Russian planes.
The Russians, like most Russians
everywhere. are attended by an at
~, ocpt,ora of -, y,aIo6ronoo ~p1 v,ycta ary,
They stick to their ships. they obey
orders, they keep their mouths shut,
they avoid the Chinese and foreign
ers alike One day, met four of
them, all survivors Of recent dog
fight. One had a broken spine, one
terrible burns on the face and hands.
The Russians give up their Soviet
nationality on taking service in China.
OF course, when they return to Mos
COW, one assumes that they will get
their passports back. They get good
pay in China. But they deserve It,
They are a vital factor. Some Chi
nese, however, think they are a lux
ury. because Of the special privileges
they have demanded. One story Is
that they lost a good many planes.
because their ships were too fast for
the primitive Chinese landing grounds;
they crashed on delivery. OF course,
Chinese landing grounds are story in
themselves-the only air fields in the
world which are peripatetic. The
Chinese move them from open space
to open space overnight.
Protested to Litvinov.
Recently, the japanese Ambassador
is Moscow protested to Maxim Litvinoy,
Soviet foreign minister, at the pres
ence Of Russian pilots and planes in
China. Litvinovs reply was neat;
that the japanese did not yet admit
that war was taking place in China,
and that therefore the protest was
irrelevant.
The Russian government, however,
has done something to soft-pedal Rus
sian assistance to China. Its policy
had been similar to its policy In
Spain: To render some help, but not
too much. Stain wants his strength
at home. Hankow gossip has it that
Soviet Ambassador Bogomolov and his
military attache were recalled to MOS
sow because Bogomolov gave the Chi
nese too much encouragement. When
the Chinese politician, Sun Fo, son of
DR.. Sun Yat Sen and head of the
legislative Yuan, went to Moscow on
his recent European trip, he got a
rather cool reception.
The squadron of flyers known as
the international squadron" a group
mostly of French and American volun-
teers, has been demobilized It was
shot to pieces in recent fighting; only
seven pilots, was told, survived. Cen
eralissimo Chiang's two personal pilots,
Roy Leonard and Julius Barr, are,
however. Americans: both are mar
velous flyers and indispensable.
France Friendly to Japan.
1t is striking that Germans, whose
government lines up with Japan. are
fighting for China; it is even more
striking that France. which one might
assume to be sympathetic to China,
has been friendly to Japan. The best
japanese fighting planes are modified
French Dewoitines. A report was
heard recently that the French intend
to halt shipment Of munitions on their
railway from Haiphong to Yunnanfu,
an important channel for Chinese i'm
ports Of war material.
Another totalitarian paradox is that
the Chinese, who dislike the Italians
Italy and Japan have been playing
closely together, more closely than
Germany and Japan-nevertheles
hope keenly that the Anglo-Italian
talks will be successful and will result
in a Mediterranean pact. Reason:
China calculates that, if the British
are freed from Italian worries in Eu-
rope, they will be free to give China
more support in the Far East.
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