Imperial Valley press., 1944-12-05
NUBBINS
BY
BURRIS JENKINS


To understand China's politica
and economical affairs reuires tn
same kind of peculiar mind that
requires to understand a Chimes
puzzle. Most Americans have neve
been accustomed TO grapple will
either one.
Upton Close. regarded as one o
the most expert of Americans OF
Oriental affairs. has been swift,
dethroned and pitched out on what
ever cushions he can find.
Close is good friend of the pres.
ent writer and in 1880 they went
round the Orient together. Close
an old timer i'm the Far East, had
gone native, first as Japanese and
then as Chinese. He picked up his
pen name while very close to the
Japanese front, for his press ass0-
ciation back home queried him as
10 where ne was; and so he signed
his next cable up Close. Those
back in the home office, not grasp
ing the subtlety of his secret COM
munication took the phrase as a
new nom de plume which he had
adopted, and they signed his dis
patches for some time, Upton
Close. Now he is far better known
| by that name than by his real name,
/ Joseph Washington Hall.
/ He got i'm so bad with the JapS
that they put reward on his head
and even commissioned him himself
to go out and capture himself and
earn tire reward. He resisted the
temptation. He never has liked the
Japs as we'll as he does the Chinese;
and yet il was funny-he started
right out after Pearl Harbor trying
10 scare lis stiff about all the weap-
ons which the Japanese had.
Amongst others. it is clearly to be
remembered that he told us the
Japanese Zero could Outfly, out
maneuver and Outright any fighting
plane that America could bring
against them. Now look at the rec
ord.
Now the current news is that
Madame Chang Kai-shek and the
GeneralissimO are completely at
outs. that the GeneralissimO is go
ing to get him another wife and
rub out the soong dynasty COM
pletely from Chinese rulership. Now.
here's part of the Chinese puzzle:
can he do it? Can anybody do it:'
Is the SoOng family the most pow
erful outfit in China or is it not?
The weight of the well-informed
opinion in America would go for
the continuance of the Soongs.
My wife, being a Wellesley wom-
an, had no difficulty in wangling an
invitation out of the First Lady Of
China to tea; SO we went, just the
two of us, in what seemed to be
the only taxicab in Shanghai. The
driver didn't know where the White
house of China was, and had to look
it up in the directory; then he took
us to the back door. Maybe that
vas where we belonged.
Anyway we formed the unanimous
opinion in our household, which has
remained unanimous ever since, as
nearly all opinions in our house.
hold are; if they are not its ali the
worse for this writer; that little
Madame Chang Kai-shek is one
of the greatest women of the world
In every particular. 1t would seem
tc us inadvisable for even the COM
mander in chief to tackle her.
1t would seem that Mr.. Wendell
Willkie held, perhaps, as clear an
understanding of the Chinese peO-
pie and their minds as any Ameri-
can today. 1t was an irreparable
loss to Us when he died. There are
those who believe that he died of
2 broken heart. Certainly he made
the biggest political gamble of his
time, and possibly of all time, when
he published his book, Zone World"
He bet his whole political future on
his view of a united world. He be-
lieved that America would unani-
mousiy swing I'm behind him. It did
not: it turned him down; it defeat
ed him in his gamble; and his heart
broke. Maybe that is so. We caniiot
see as clearly as the gods; but 4
good many of us are willing to bet
that his heart did break. Great ma
tiOns and great politics can smash
hearts mighty easily and one can
not always follow the process.
Willkie understood Madame Chi
ang Kai-shek. They got on famous
ly together. When she was convai-
escing in New York he called on her
and they had an afternoon game
of two handed bridge. They say
there is such game and you gen.
orally put up half 4 cent a point,
whatever that means. Anyway, she
couldn't win hand. Finally in
impatience she accused him of
stacking the cards against her, and
threw the whole deck in his face.
The game broke up i'm laughter and
he went home; but he promptly
wrote her a note which she got the
next morning telling her that in
M q r.i inn