Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-11-12
Chinese Internal Situation
Critical Over Poor Supplies
Ability of Chang to Hold Forces Together Faces
Severe Test as Japs Lure His Generals
With Hard to Get Necessities
By Constantine Broom.

me BrOtCn.
for the Imperial Army, but enough is
left to the peasants to keep body and
soul together and to plant their next
crops of rice or wheat.
Order is kept in the towns by the
Japanees and the Chinese gendarmerie
under their control There are no roam
Ing war lords as in the past. The peo-
pie In the towns no longer run the
risk of having the military hordes of
some picayunish war lord descend on
them and rob them of everything.
Chang Kai-shek is in a much more
unfavorable position than his rivals be-
cause he has nothing to offer his people
except hope. In his compressed area he
has armies which have to be fed poorly,
it is true-at the expense of the dense
population, which must starve. And the
word starvation in Chiang's dominion is
not being used fguratively, either.
Thousands are dying because there Is
nothing for them to eat
Supplies Are Small.
Many of Chiang's generals, COM
manders and governors have a COM
plete disregard for their wards and are
thinking only in terms of comfort for
themselves and their many relatives
and hangers on. There is only dribble
of supplies coming by air from India. OF
the 10000 tons said to be going across
the hump every month, at least $4,000
TONS S11rY,1iaS fnr tho xito11yy iyv1-
portant air force of Maj. Gen. Claire L.
Chennault. The balance belongs to
Chang.
There have been violent rows between
the Generalissimo and Gen. Stilwell be-
cause the latter insisted on having com.
plete control over this balance of goods
sent from the United States. Gen. Still
we'll, who knew that even medicine for
the soldiers was an object of profit
for the generals who sold the supplies to
their men instead of giving them free,
wanted to have them distributed by his
own trusted American officers.
Chang objected principally because
he was afraid that under the stern
supervision of the American officers his
generals might have their feelings
hurt" and desert him. So long as there
were some consumer goods available in
Chunking, Chang could buy the loyalty
Of his heutenants with gold. But since
these disappeared altogether, gold lost
its value. The japanese, aware of this
situation, made bid for the assistance
of Chiang's generals by sending them
luxuries and other things which ap-
| pealed to them. Jap emissaries added
that more would be forthcoming If the
! generals only decided to change horses.
And some of them did.
Situation Grows Desperate.
As the dearth of goods became more
acute there was increasing danger that
many more generals and marshals would
90 over to the enemy, bag and bag
gage, unless some little concessions"
were made to them. Hence Chiang's in
sistence that he should have complete
control Of the lease-lend goods coming
into China. A few thousand tons
| month do not mean much, but he con-
sidered that in these consignments
there were enough tempting morsels to
keep the generals in line until such
time as the road to the outside world
was opened
| The situation of the generalissimo is
becoming more desperate, according to
his friends who have recently returned
| to China. He is being accused by many
| OF fighting the enemy only half-heart-
| edly. The truth is that he has nothing to
tight with. He could greatly increase
the number of his men and they could
be well trained by American officers.
But there is no equipment or food even
| for the army he now has. The support
he receives from the United States used
to give him great prestige with his
leutenants. But since the American
support now Is 80 per cent moral his
generals are looking to other avenues
for assistance and comfort.
There was good deal of exaggeration
on the part of Chiang's well-wishers
when they spoke about the ardent ma
tionalism of the Chinese people. This
exists, 1t Is true, among number of
MISUNDERSTANDING or four million peo-
| ple-out of a total population of 49,.
100000. China Is a conglomeration Of
| people speaking various languages or
dialects. The peasantry, which forms
the bulk of the population, is interested
in its patch of land and immediate
surroundings. A Chinese from Canton,
say, feels that he is in a totally different
land when he goes to Marking or to
Shensi The idea that the rank and
file of the Chinese think in terms of
China one and undivided" Is a myth.
The country is too large, the people too
divided and the communications too
poor to have individuals think other
wise than locally.
Under these circumstances, the men
who can provide local security and a
handful of rice are those most likely to
have the backing of section of the
country. This is best illustrated In the
area known as Communist China The
Chinese are no more Communists than
they are Nationalist. But the handful
OF people who have adopted Commune
ism as their new political philosophy
have managed to keep order in their
areas and provide their people with a
minimum of comforts. Hence they are
firmly in the saddle. Moreover, they are
not actively fighting the japanese and
the result is that they kept semblance
of peace in their provinces.
Chang has been fighting the jap
| anese for seven wears At first his can