Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1958-04-02
Free
Wheeling
BY-BILL CROWELL

SullpuSlN SilNuSll IL GIL SNShA
med largely fron what we
preach so evcrlastingly hard in
this column - motoring court
cSy and consideration.
Chang Kai-Shek'S forces
were still i'll charge of North
China when the territory was
occupied by tn First Marine
Division. an 1u.:,t | called
for three weary years. Anyhow
enroutc to China the powers
that-bC promulgated orders
that to conform Nth the Gus
toms of the country all military
traffic would drive To the left,
u most commCrOablc gesture
we all agreed.
suppose AT tn. time Old one
had on hand Sc, vial thousand
assorted wheeled and tracked
vehicles ranging from motor
cycles To tcn-whcelCd tank re-
tricvCrS. To have this traffic,
once diScmbarkcd. flowing
smoothly Along The ancient
streets Of Pcipins was indeed
= stroke Of planning genius Or
so il would seem.
The kicker came though a
the first string CT JecpS timid-
ly crCpt into the main thor
oughfarc. bearing ODcdicntly TO
the left side of the street. All
went well for awhile, then a
blast from a police whistle
brought the column up short.
In a torrent g pidgin Eng
liSh. the Chinese cop demanded
TO know what the dickens we
were doing
Patiently we started to eX-
plain, Selling on ilt opportun-
ity TO show the Chinese we all
were obliging jucS We werr
guests; we would drive as the
Chinese drive. So we thought.
Meanwhile an uninterrupted
stream OF cars, trucks ana
tanks had begun TO pour in
from the anchored ships off
Taku Bar. At the gates to the
city, drivers began swinging
their vehicles 10 the left as
ordered. Traffic Utgan to thick
en- up. Still we were stalled by
the outraged policeman who by
now had been joined by
number of EiS Countrymcn.
Then several more carloads
of Chinese LigShotS pulled up
on the RIGHT side Of the
avenue, mind you, entirely con-
trary 10 the Chinese traffic
code
\ couple of Chinese lumber
trucks appeared on the confuS-
cd sccnc-a!so on the right.
Then hundred, OF curious
coolies, tuggIng 81 rlckShas,
Joined our growing number.
They packed the tight side Of
the now rhukcd thoroughfare
even tighter.
Finally, like Zorro to the res
cue. a Marine colonel made an
entrance, busting with auth
ority.
Whats all the Iap?" he de-
manded. An ear shatterin5
horn down the Inc somewhere
answered him. He looked a.
round daZed.
The Chin sSc cops, meanwhile.
had gone into a huddle With
our division interpreter VINO
at first, was as confused as the
rest of us. Suddenly a light
dawned on his fac, he smiled
and a moment later laughed
aloud.
ihS NoIOIlCl was lHCenScO.
And what's so confounded
funny, Captain" ne shot out.
The coloncl's patience was
showing signs of wear.
Well" began our language
man, It seems tnat before our
arrival the Chinese govern
ment published al order re-
garding traffic which :"
You don't mean -" ex-I
ploded the colonel.
Yes sir, that's it. The Chin
csc decided in honor of the A.
merican troops to direct all
traffic temporarily 10 the right
to conform with our way of
driving"
SUDDEN THAWT It's
better to drive so that your
license will expire before you.
dol
lD1OCY Cali me a fuss
budget il you will, I'm still
saying baby shoes belong in
the nursery - not dangling
from rear view mirror. A
western state police command
er found the problem of motor
lists addicted to hanging baby
shoes, dice and other trivia
from their mirrors serious
enough to git out a press re-
lease condemning the practice.
Not to be outdOne, our own
highway patrol chief, Col.
James X. Smith claims the fad