Evening star., 1942-01-16
U. 5. Trucking Expert,
Escape 10 Burma 10
Speed Arms Traffic
Coueht in Philippines
By War, 43 Complete
Journey to Runeoon
By BLAIR BOLLES.

BY BLAIR BOLLES.
After an extraordinary escape
from the Philippines, 43 American
trucking experts, bound for the
Burma road, have arrived in Ran
COON, 1t was learned here today from
high authority.
The safe arrival of these men in
Burmese territory is regarded here
as an event of great importance for
the hopes of the A. B. c. D. powers
In the Far East Their job is to
keep the goods of war from the
United States rolling into China and
to speed their movement to point
never known before.
In order to coordinate Chinese
operations with the headquarters OF
the arsenal for democracy, WASH
ington, a special Chinese military
mission is now here.
It is understood that DR.. T. V.
Soong, the new Foreign Minister of
China. who has been the lease-lend
representative of Chungklng in
Washington for months. will stay on
here in his capacity as cabinet min
lister.
Experts Stranded for Time.
The men in Rangoon were enlisted
in this country at high pay in order
to bring efficient management to the
Burma road operations They had
reached Manila on the journey to
the Far East when the war with
Japan broke out and stranded them.
How they made the difficult jour
hey from Manila to Rangoon. across
seas filled with Warships and lands
occupied by the japanese, is unex-
planned. It is expected they soon
will proceed north from Rangoon to
Lashio, where the Burma road be-
gins.
Lease-lend goods from the United
States are still reaching Rangoon,
and the success with which the sup
ply lines from America to the East
have been operating during the war
has made the American and Chinese
governments confident that the
United States can keep on sending
China what the Chinese armies
need
Variety of Experts.
The experts now in RangoOn who
will guide these lease-lend materials
into Chungking include trucking su-
perintendents, zone managers. shop
foremen. leaders, dispatches and
mechanics.
They have been long on the way.
The American Government began its
search for these experts even before
Daniel Arnstein, the New York taxi
cab expert. made his report about
the improvements essential for efh-
cient operation of Burma road.
The idea is to install American
methods of moving freight" Mr..
Arnstein said. That is what the
men now in Rangoon propose to do.
One problem they will have to deal
with concerns the race riots between
Chinese and Burmese truck drivers,
although these fights have been re-
duced in number by recent rulings
Of the Southwest Transportation Co.,
which controls the traffic on the
Burma part of the road.
One soldier is now assigned to
and to prevent stealing. AS a fur
ther safeguard against larceny,
trucks carrying lease-lend goods
over Burma road are powered by
tinted gasoline Possession by any,
body else of similarly tinted gasoline
is taken as proof that it was stolen
from lease-lend trucks.
Joint Operation Proposed.
The Chinese government is hope
ful that the American and British
governments will approve its propo-
sal for establishment of Joint
American -British-Chinese Military
Mission to operate and patrol the
road, but it has been indicated that
this proposal will not be accepted
Many of the problems connected
with the road have been easeo py
the arrival of the Far Eastern war
and the termination of Burma's pol
tcv of isolation, it is said here.
Strict orders have been issued by
Marshal Chang Kai-shek, Chinese
eeneralissimo and allied supreme
commander in the China theater. for
punishment by swift death OF any
Chinese found interfering with the
progress of trucks laden with lease
lend goods along the Burma road.
These instructions followed the
dissemination of reports from Ran
coon to American newspapers that
the Burma road was a nest OF offl--
cial scandal. The American Gov
ernment is said to be satisfied that
the reports were overdrawn, but they
were forwarded, nevertheless, to
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