the Editor of the "Norm-Emma Dany News"
Siz,—Sports enthusiasts and womenfolk are not the best students of 3 Although a novice. at game (Economies, not Hai-Alai)
im of the belief that an cncourageent of any method of loosening the igs of the' well-to-do is to "Nortu-Cuma Dary News"
Sm,—On Oct, 21 Mr. T. V. Soong held a long conversation with foreign newspaper correspondents and, on the next day he broadcasted to the United States as reported in your issue of October 23. Usually judicious and composed—Mr. Soong, an alleged disliker of propaganda has now come forth to express an opinion which can only be considered as a bold front and a forlorn appeal. Does not this fact betray that the economic and military distress of China has now reached the worst point?
The four points which follow. will prove that the two speeches made by Mr. Soong were mere bluff and tales of woes.
First of all, Mr. Soong's statement to the effect that it would not be much of a blow for China to abandon North China and Shanghai. What did General Chiang Kai-Shek mean when he made the following statement in July at Lousban: "Peiping and Tientsin cre the last barriers of China?" To say nothing of the abandonment of North China as a conciliatory measure—just what will the abandonment of Shanghai mean to the politics, the military affairs and the economy of China? All those who are acquainted with the economic conditions of China, will readily recognize the fact that, by the abandonment of Shanghai China will lose most of the bridges and brains of her finance, commerce, and industry: Speaking just from the military point of view—if, as Mr. Soong says, Shanghai is but an insignificant spot why has the Nanking Government concentrated in this little path of territory (extremely small when compared with North China) 500,000 troops, of what are frequently called the cream and the pivot of the Central Army, to fight such unfayoureble battles? The words of MZ. Soong are indeed meant to misled the for-eu What is more, they will be words at which both the Chinese officers and soldiers cannot help but feel
in as much as China is capable of Secondly M. Soong has stated that, stending up to a longer fight than Japan, she will. ultimately be victorious, This is, in all probability, an enormous propaganda but, since it deceives the 400,000,000 people of China and misleads the uninformed and credulous foreigners the statement is of an inexcusably false nature. It is a fundamental principle that in modern wars where ' up-to-date weapons play an important role, victory and defeat can be, and must be, decided in a brief period. That Chima has not even a 10 to 3 chance of winning this war hes been most plainly and convincingly proved here and on the northern fronts. To state, then, that China will emerge victorious in a long war is absolutely false. Furthermore, it is nothing more than a trick by which to draw other powers into the fray and to appease the conscience of the Chinese people. It can even be criticized as being a prelude to the consequent continuation of disturbance to the peace of the Far East through China's resumption of a long anti-Japanese policy even after her defeat im the present imbroglio. In hearing such a personality as Mr. Soong utter statements as though he, too, were learning the tactics of the Chinese Red Army, we can only consider it as an act of something like madness. It may simply be due to the fact that both Mr. Soong and Chiang Kai-shek have not only joined hands with the Red Army, but they are also under the subjugation of the Communist troops.
Thirdly, what we are expecting most of all in the foreigner is the careful observation of the question of Chinese military funds, or broadly speaking, the war-time finance. Though the customs duty, the salt tax and the consolidated tax form the most important items in the financial income of China, the receipts from these taxes will hitherto decrease to less than one-third or one-fourth of the amount derived before the commencement of the conflict. Moreover, there remains no way by which China might increase her revenues from taxation since her administration is still in such an infantile stage that it cannot even enforce its direct taxation system to any degree of success. Be that as it may, as long as China is in the midst of a conflict with Japan she cannot expect any loans from a foreign power. Even in the case of interna] loans, one can only look to the future with a pessimistic eye when one considers the extremely poor results shown in their present campaign for selling 500 million yuan bonds, Even in times of peace, China must have 400,000,000 yuan as military funds; in war time she must therefore appropriate at least three times this enormous sum but, as I have stated &bove, there is no means of appro-printing it. The issuing of paper currency for a large amount is a suicidal act and it must be avoided as much as possible. In addition there is for China, the necessity to import the major part of her arms and munitions rom foreign countries. China, which now even bearing the pain of detation in her effort to maintain her exchange rate, cannot touch the fund abroad that spe is keeping as reserve for her currency. After all, the statement to the effect that, financially China is capable of standing up to a long war is absolutely inconceivable.
Fourthly, we come to the speech that was broadcasted to the United States. When Mr. Soong stated, "For you know that to-day it is your neighbour, to-morrow it may be you," he was merely voicing China's 8.0.8 call in that the danger of China's defeat was already imminent. It is necessary to consider at this point, the causes which led, primarily, to the straitening of relations between China and Japan and, eventually, to the outbreak of the present conflict. At the fundamental basis of China's anti-Japanese policy are the reliance upon the support of Soviet Russia and the expectation of friendly help from other powers. Upon this foundation of reliance China has striven to construct her anti-Japanese, economic and military edifice and she has thereby paved the way for the present Sino-Japanese hostilities. Had China's expectation of foreign support been eliminated, trouble could not have arisen between the two countries in the past, nor will there be any obstacles in the road of peace over which China and' Japan might plod hand in hand forever. It can only be considered that appealing to the United States for help at this stage is tantamount to the attempt to disturb the peace of the orient—nay, the peace of the world in a broad sense. The fall of the prices in stocks, cotton and wheat in the, New York market to which Mr. Soong so cleverly alluded, was by no means due to the fact America is taking the role of a silent spectator to the present trouble in the Far East. To the contrary, the fact that the well informed in US.A. saw the danger of America being dragged into the affairs and quarrels of Europe and the Far East, was the most important reason for the fall in prices in New York. Mr. Soong is, so to speak, painting a white thing black and is trying to place on another nation the burden which his country has brought about and must bear herself.
China loves peace it is necessary for The s of the matter is that, if her to change her diplomatic policy from its very root. To advocate a long war or to attempt to draw another power into the fray is not the way towards the recovery of peace. This will only serve to become the cause of the further destruction of China and the disturbance of world peace.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.