The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-08-06
BLEEDING CHINA

cussed to some degree at least, OBJ
ceive no consideration for publicatic
BLEEDING CHINA
Since September 18, 1881 when Jap
an occupied Manchuria, China has
been in constant state of war which
i developed into an all-out-war for ma
| tional existence when on July 7, 1897
Japanese troops crossed the Marco
Polo bridge in an undeclared war OF
China. While China probably has the
oldest civilization on earth, she was
less prepared for an about war il
1897 than Russia was in 1871. She
had the manpower, the raw material
some heavy industry considerable
war equipment and industrial machin
cry with a growing force of air-power
but nearly all, both heavy and light
industrial equipment, was centered in
few of her coastal and large cities
with no previous provisions made fol-
it's hasty evacuation in case of need
consequently most all fell into Japa
nese hands in the early stages of the
war. In fact Kai-Shek had been more
occupied in chasing the Communist
9Th route army for several years than
in preparing for the inevitable Jap at
tack. Appeasemnt had been tried out
and failed but it was not until he
was captured by the Reds he con-
scented to fight Japan and China took
belated step to fight against Japa-
nese aggression. Her heroic though
poorly equipped stand in the siege of
| Shanghai evoked the admiration of
the world and proved what she might
have done had she been better
ly concluded to move west after losing
more than ten of her troops for every
| Japanese killed. she barely escaped
encirclement and humiliation by the
Sth route army holding up a Japanese
army in the mountain passes of the
Jap occupied northern provinces.
Most of all industrial plants in oc-
cupied China was scrapped and the
machinery sent to Japan leaving the
inhabitant dependent on Japan for
manufactured goods. 1t was a re-
markable feat for millions of Chinese
to pull stakes and move thousands of
miles to settle down in the mountains
of Chungking unable to take much
of their machinery with them over
poor roads and endless trails to make
a last stand might even have failed
only for the early help they received
Alma Alta route. This was later sup
plemented by the shorter Burma route
which was but 600 miles compared to
the Alma Alta 1000.
China Makes a Stand
In China's struggle with Japan, from
the seizure of Manchuria until the
Pearl Harbor raid, her aid from the
democratic nations has been more in
the form of lip service than any real
help; League of Nations sanctions,
Kellogg Pacts and all other pacts and
resolutions have been impotent be-
cause of the lack of teeth in their
makeups. While we were sympathiz-
ing with China, even to giving her
financial credit, we still continued to
sell scrap iron and oil to Japan and
anything else she was willing to pay
for perfectly well aware of what it
was being used for, this more than
counterbalanced the good we did
China. Even when we concluded to
give her our full hearted aid, it was
a case of too little and too late; cash
credit is meaningless unless we can
translate it into substantial goods on
Chinese soil which now, under her
present isolation, we are practically
unable to do. Barring air-support, we
have only two routes open by which
we can send civilian goods or war ma
terial to China, both routes highly
and costly. One route !
would be across the Pacific ocean |
from San Francisco to Vladivostok in |
Russian boats, from there about 1000 |
miles on the Siberia railroad to Novo |
another thousand on a branch |
line to Alma Alta, then another 1000 |
miles through Sinkiang province on I
a caravan route crossing a desert and |
q mountain range before reaching
the capital of free China.
The other route would be to cross
the Atlantic ocean from New York to
from there through the
sea, Red sea and the
Persian gulf and from there overland
about 1890 miles before reaching AL
ma Alta, the head of the long caravan
route to Chungking. Of the two
'outes, the Atlantic would be a little
he shortest but also more dangerous
IN account of German submarines.
Evidently it will be several Monsoons
o open the Burma road unless the {