July 18.
The Kuo Min News Agency] informed the world on the, 2th. instant that "in order]
meet the enormous military expenditure incidental to) the rapid progress of the) northern punitive expedition a financial conference was cal ed-at Nanking" at which it was decided: that $20,000,000 per month was the sum necessary to finance the operations of General Chiang Kai-shek's army and that it would be necessary raise a loan of $60,000,000 to) meet the expenditure necessary] for the latter.half of this The "rapid progress" of the expedition is not visible to our civilian eyesight, but the rapid increase of taxation under the Nationalist regime is apparent) enough. We seem to recollect] that we were told, while the] National Army was yet far in the South, that wi its success was assured: there would be told benefits accruing to people. Taxation would be reduced to a minimum because the vast sums then being squandered by the militar' and the equally large sums appropriated by corrupt officials would all find: their way into the National) exchequer and be used for constructive purpose 'This may still be the hope of the people' party, and we are not disposes to cavil over-much because this) war to end war has been no} more successful than another of which we have had knowledge. But during the present lull in field operations it seems to us leaders might pause to} whether all has not) been gained that can be, gained at the point of the bayonet. Chang Tso-lin has proclaimed hia adherence to the Three Principles. If there be any of the) other war lords who have not} already followed suit it probably would not be difficult to secure) a like confession of faith from} them, It would seem as though) it. were possible, under—the circumstances, to tran: the debate: from the field of war to the floor of an elected House of Representatives and there work out a policy of peace, retrenchment and reform for the good of the people, Twenty million dollars _per month is a large sum of money. And when it is remembered that this is the cost of but one of seven main armies, with sporadic bands that do not count as armies thrown in, it is evident that China is paying heavily for her} indulgence in jingoism. used to be said that it took a ton of lead to kill one soldier; we dos not remember to have seen it stated how much money has been found necessary" to accomplish the same purpose; at a rough guess we would say a thousand pounds more or less. Anyway, we ave sure that killing men is a very expensive operation. We would suggest to the Nationalist Minister of Finance at Nanking that should sit down with a pencil and calculate how many men his army haa killed in the course of its campaign and what has been the total expenditure needed to put an end to so many lives. A sitable calculation: will then [show him what the death of a single: soldier-costs. He might leven go a step further and consider whether, if the said sum were given: to the man instead of being used to kill him; it would Met enable him to live as a usefal member of society. A certain-wise king once asserted that a living dog was better than jo dead lion and it is beyond dis-[pute that a living, industrious worker is more valuable to hid country than a mangled: corpse|}) lon a battlefield:
Alternatively, another line of investigation might be equally fruitful of results.
This great Nand of China development, The ways are in a disrepair. Millions of dollars could be profitably spent in put-_ [ting them into a condition of efficiency. Many more millions could be spent on the conserv-Jancy of China's wonderful riverine system. Billions that, }would bring a handsome return, Hin increased crops could be won, from reclaimed land and the [prevention of floods due to faulty' dykes. The money that now goes to Siam for rice and to lather countries for flour would saved to the benefit of the nation and the increased prosperity of the population. The Grand Canal still excites the wonder of those who consider its great length and the fact, that, with the rudest mechanical help, junks traversing it eross two of the largest and most unmanageable rivers in the world. But it would seem that since the days of Kublai Khan nothing' has been done to keep this! triumph of man's workmanship, not in repair, but in existence. its banks are crumbling away! lyeer by year and when the w: is high launches may not ni gate it lest their wash should destroy all that remains of its former utility. Here, too, money, could be spent, and well spent, for the people's good and national benefit. And so we might go on indicating ways land means of lifting China to a higher plane of civilization and paving the way for her advance greatness, But, can this thing be done? Is it not all vanity and vexation of spirit leven to speak of it? Let us take an illustration from the past. Two thousand three hundred years ago Mencius visited ithe king of the state of Liang. The king asked "How can the Empire be settled?" The sage replied, "It must be unified." "Who can unify it"? asked the king, and Mencius answered He who dislikes killing men; he jean unify it."
To dislike killing people does Met seem a very exalted state of virtue, but a ruler with even so much elementary compassion for this subjects could not be found in Mencius' day; it is problemjatical whether he can be found now.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.