Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-29

MOST OF wv Americans,
However, Take Life
Without Complaint
BY A. T. STEELE,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
+ CHUNGKING, Dec. GA strong
heart, a sound pair of legs and
tolerant attitude toward the other
fellows philosophy and way of life
are absolute essentials for any
American who is contemplating a
trip to Chungking and who hopes
to be happy when he gets here. If
he doesn't have these requirements
he might as well give up his priority
and let the airplanes use their pre-
cious space for something that will
really contribute to Sino- American
amity-like a drum of high octane
gasoline
Life is no bed Of roses for Ameri-
cans in China in these war days,
and most OF those here are taking
it without complaint. But every so
often the planes from home dump
off passenger who judges every
thing in China by American stand
ards, complains increasingly and
makes no effort whatever to under
stand the Chinese. There is plenty
of room here for criticism and the
Chinese can take it as we'll AS the
next fellow. but the infieXible
treaty-port mind is as out of date
as extraterritoriality
This is a fact that We are going
to learn sooner or later and we
might as we'll get used to it, Here
is a picture of life as we live it in
Chungking. If you can't take it,
don't come.
Whisky 500 a Bottle.
Prices are high In terms of Amer
lean dollars, but there is not an
American in Chungking who is not
getting plenty to eat and who does
not have Chinese servants to dish
it out to him. I thought 1t was
scandalous to have to pay the equiv
alent of cents pound for coal to
heat my room until I walked into
certain Chinese government Offices
where Junior officers have been do
ing without heat for five years and
they work at their desks in their
overcoats.
A pint of whisky is something like
500 bottle Well. that is too bad.
But thirsty Americans manage to
keep warm with a variety of local
chungtah whisky, cowboy gin and
orange wine at r/50th the price of
imported Scotch.
The transport problem is really
tough. There are no taxis and buses
are damned and an automobile costs
IS 900 or more. A friend of mine
has just negotiated a deal of a new
tire. 1t cost his $3.50 you'd think
from his attitude that he had bought
an apartment house Most of us
have no worries of this kind. We
ride rickshas, or walk. Walking is
usually the easier of the two once
you have developed that Chungkine
| springiness.
The browning test comes when YOU
have made the long pilgrimage to
the American Embassy-3 miles OF
walking through the whole undulat-
ing length OF the city, then down
$40 stone steps to the bank of the
Yangtze and. after the ferry ride
up another 400 steps or so on the
other side. When you can do that
without whiting you have become
one OF Chungking's own.
United States Coffee, SIS a Tin.
Cut of as we are from the outside
world, except by plane, it is to be
expected that we should get along
without things which at home we
take for granted However, we ap-
preciate these commonplace things
all the more when we do get them
A cup of honest coffee is an occasion
| A package of American cigarettes
is rarity of great price. A pair OF
American shoes, tube of tooth
paste. a bar OF a well known Amer
lean soap, a box of razor blades-all
these are things to be treasured.
In the absence of these so-called
necessities we have turned to their
local equivalent. We smoke cupid
cigarettes. at 81 package. instead
OF American brands We eat pea
nuts and chestnuts instead of choco-
late. Peanut butter takes the place
OF real butter. When We feel cold we
| put on another layer of underwear
instead OF stocking the fire with black
gold
Actually. you can buy almost any
thing here if you are able to pay the
price for there is no rationing and
pre-war stocks are still available in
small quantities. Chinese stores ex-
hibit cans of American coffee 1928 a
TIM, foreign packaged goods and
manufactured articles. They sit
temptingly in the shop windows to
be sold to those who may feel that
birthday or holiday justifies a
spending orgy.
l,ooS Foreigners in Capital
Night life is almost nonexistent
here and early to bed and early to
rise are the rules. Social occasions
are invariably informal and oftener
than not you have to find your way
to and from your guests house on
foot, climbing up and down couple
Of small mountains in the process.
You never 60 out at night without
a fashlight. To do so is to risk step
ping of an embankment or into a
manhole.
! Despite all this, the foreign popu-
lation of Chungking has doubled
within the year. Today there are
1908 foreigners Of all nationalities
in the Chinese capital, including
POT Americans, $50 Britons and l24
Soviet Russians.
Although Americans in Chungkine
are at the farthest end of the long
est American supply lines, they are
in some ways closer to home than
before the war. You realize this
when you meet people like Joe Alsop
who arrived in Chungking the other
| 0aV Onlv Is davs after he hod Sfap