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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1937 WHAT’S BEHIND THE WAR IN CHINA Japanese Seek New Wealth They Failed to Find in Manchukuo; Chinese Are Not Yet Ready for Unified Resistance. flan kin o Q Circled on the map above are the five North China provinces which may be the next step in Japanese expansion. By WILLIAM C. UTLEY J APAN is an ambitious nation and a needy one. Her ambition is the governmental and economic leadership of Asia, or at least eastern Asia. Her needs are territory for an ever-ex panding population, raw materials that her own islands can not produce in sufficient quantity, markets for her manufactured goods and adequate defense against her enemies. This is why you read every few<^ years—or even every few months— of a new war scare in North China. Sometimes it is not merely a scare, but an actual war, even as today, whether war has been officially “declared” or not. Always upon the Chinese who op pose her gradual expansion, Japan wreaks a vengeance which to us across the Pacific often seems all out of proportion to the “aggres sion” committed by opposing her. But after each of these retributions she is found, when the smoke and flames clear away, to have as sumed domination or even actual control over one more piece of ter ritory. ^ Just how much more her influ ence will be extended after the present conflict has died out it is impossible to say. Indeed, that may depend upon the degree of oppo sition she meets. If the Chinese national government at Nanking, under the dictatorship of Gen. Chi- ang Kai-shek, decides to let the twenty-ninth army carry the main burden of defense, Japan will prob ably emerge with nothing more than an extension of control to cov er the Peiping-Tientsin area and part x>f the province of Chahar. If, however, a China now more united than at any time since the down fall of the Manchu dynasty decides to come en masse to the aid of the twenty-ninth army, Japan may at tempt to punish China to terrible degree. Successful in this, Japan would probably extend her domi nance throughout all the five north ern provinces and virtually all of China south of the Yellow river valley. Japan's Westward March. If Chiang Kai-shek does throw the full strength of China at Japan, it will be a fight to the death. For the Japanese are full of that strange oriental pride which per mits no loss of prestige. They will fight China to the bitter end be fore they will submit to a compro mise on their demands. “Death be fore dishonor!” is more than a slo gan with them. It is a law of na ture as inexorable as the law of gravity. The fighting in North China to day is but another step in Japan’s westward march. Earlier steps were those which resulted in con trol, tantamount to annexation, over the Chinese provinces of Man churia and Jehol. For a short time after those steps were taken Japan marked time, strengthening her hold upon these provinces, and fortifying her front against Russia, the eternal enemy. Manchukuo was supposed to open up vast, new and desirable hori zons. Japan’s population of 70,000,- 000 was growing at the rate of 1,000,000 a year; her people needed more room and more 'raw mate rials. Since 1931 She has poured in vestments totaling 1,400,000,000 yen into the puppet state. Some re sults were forthcoming—soy beans and kaolaiang, chemicals, slight in creases in iron ore and coal, and a good increase in oil shale—but these fell far short of Nippon’s hopes. Manchukuo was supposed to open up a great new market for Japa nese manufactured goods; but the increase in exports to the United States for 1935 over 1934 was equal to one-third of the total exports to Manchukuo. As a new home for Japanese colonists Manchukuo was pretty much of a flop; less than 250,000 Japanese live there today. It was apparent that Japan could not, in pursuing her hegemonic pol icy, continue marking time for very long. In North China were larger fields for her exports; in addition, the area was that much closer to the great market of China proper. So the Japanese began to cast cov etous eyes upon Hopei, which in cludes the cities of Peiping and Tientsin; Chahar, which lies be tween Mongolia and Manchukuo; Suiyuan, Shansi and Shantung. They penetrated (peacefully, to be sure) through Hopei and Chahar, until these two became practically self-governing states. Anti-Japanese Spirit Grows. In Hopei’s eastern countries, Jap anese influence blossomed into a virtual protectorate. But when it reached a certain point Japan’s peaceful invasion was halted. With the rise of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese were developing a new unity, although they were not near ly so unified as our states are, for instance. Yet the anti-Japanese spirit was becoming more wide spread and more open. It prob ably culminated in the skirmish be tween Chinese and Japanese at Marco Polo bridge, the incident which gave rise to the present grave crisis. It is assumed by many observers in the Far East that the incident was seized upon by Nippon as an excuse for further Japanese inva sion on the pretext of retaliation, which would extend Japanese con trol over the five North China states and even to the south, even tually. Others contend that Japan’s immediate objective is the strength ening of her grip on Hopei and Chahar. Yet it cannot be overlooked that the other three provinces hold rich prizes for Toyyo. Shansi contains more than half of all the coal in China; the other northern provinces are capable of great cotton produc tion for Japanese industries and for the manufacture of gunpowder, so essential to a militant nation. Japan once imported the bulk of the cotton crop of China, which is third in the world’s production; but Chi na began to restrict her cotton exports to Japan and left the latter in a bad way. Suiyan and Chahar are extremely important to Japan’s military strategy, for they would act as an efficient buffer along the left flank of her Asiatic front, greatly strengthening her position on the mainland. On the other side of these prov inces lies Sovietized Mongolia. The terrain of Suiyuan and Chahar, partly included in the Gobi desert, is wild and difficult, and without satisfactory transportation facili ties. It would take only a small, well-trained Japanese army to pre vent penetration by the Russians and to prevent the spread of com munism. Further, the Japanese, in possession of these two provinces, could then put an end to their use as a base for communist guerilla warfare against Manchukuo and Je hol. Railroads Key to Control. On the peninsula of Shantung are the rich Yellow river valley and the ports of Chefoo, Weihaiwei and Tsingtao. With Hopei and Shansi, Shantung forms the transportation center of North China. In posses sion of the peninsula Japan would be in a position to control the Gulf of Chihli and the Yellow sea. Key to domination of China is its railroad system. Who controls the Tailroads can control the territory they serve. It may be seen upon the accompanying map how the railroads of North China radiate from the area about Peiping and Tientsin. Once Japan is in com plete control of this area her influ ence could follow the rails to the important city of Kalgan in Chahar, and from there to Paotow in Sui yuan; into the southwest over the Peiping-Hankow railway to Shih- kiachiang and southern Hopei, and to Taiyuan in Shansi; southward from Tientsin to Tsangchow and across the Yellow river to Tsinan, thence southward again to Nan king itself and eastward to the port of Tsingtao. These railroads, in ad dition to one across Hopei from Tsangchow to Shihkiachiang which the Japanese wish to build if they can get the permission of China, are of tremendous military impor tance. From the latest dispatches it ap pears Japan is in control of the all- important line between Tientsin and Peiping, although it is a pre carious sort of control, with the Chinese twenty-ninth army con stantly threatening to attack. Ac tually, during the early days of the present crisis, the Chinese did press a drive along this railroad, cap turing three key stations, only to lose them again after a brief ten ure. Liukouchiao, the railroad junc tion south of Peiping which controls the Peiping-Hankow railroad route, is also vital to Japanese hegem ony; it was the scene of one of the early battles. As this is being written Gen. Chiang Kai-shek is faced with a de cision that China has had to make again and again since the Japa nese awakened to the necessity for expansion. Shall he declare open warfare against Japan, or shall his national government continue to make feeble protests while the lo cal troops of the North defend their country—ineffectively, as they are wont to do? Japanese Better Equipped. China is more united today than it has been for many years in the past; indeed the very bond of unity has been the common feeling of indignation over the encroachment of the Land of the Rising Sun. There are many demands for war pouring into Nanking from the prov inces. But the feeling is generally that the time has not yet come for general and unified effort to throw out the invaders. Local Chinese forces in Hopei and Chahar are not equal to the task of repulsing the Japanese, even though every last man ^ ready to lay down his life. The twenty- ninth army is fairly well equipped, but hordes of the provincial troops have only long swords with which to battle airplane bombers, artil lery, tanks and machine guns. The Japanese are ready to make war with the finest modern parapher nalia, and there are plenty of troops ready for replacements. Chiang’s only hope, if he should declare war, would be to dispatch the national government’s best troops to the North China front and defeat the Japanese with sheer power of num bers—for he could outnumber them two to one, and better. Probably he will decide to let the Japanese have what they want, just as they took what they wanted in Manchuria and Jehol. © Western Newspaper Union. AROUND the HOUSE Cooking Salt Meat—Salt meat, to be tender, requires longer boil ing than fresh meat. • e • Keeping Cut Flowers—To help prolong the life of cut flowers, wash the vases thoroughly with soap and water, and scald them. * * • When Using Soda—To prevent the soda taste in foods in which soda is used as a leavening agent, dissolve the soda in a small Dish-Drying Is a Picnic With These Pattern 5858 More fun than a picnic . . . dry ing dishes with these cross-stitched towels. Here’s pick-up work that fairly flies for each motif’s in 8-to- the-inch crosses. In pattern 5858 you will find a transfer pattern of six motifs averaging 5 by 7 inches; material requirements; color sug gestions ; illustrations of all stitches used. Send 15 cents in stamps or coins (coins preferred) for this pattern to The Sewing Circle Household Arts Dept., 259 W. Fourteenth St., New York, N. Y. Please write your name, ad dress and pattern number plainly. Items of Interest to the Housewife amount of liquid called for in the recipe before mixing it with the other ingredients. * * • For a Delightful Odor—Add a drop of perfume to starch as it cools and children’s dresses, which require starch, will have a delightful fresh odor. * * * Keeping Apples—Apples will keep longer if rubbed over with a little glycerin, which can be washed off before the apples are used. • • • Testing Fish—If fish is fresh and has been properly refrigerated from the time it was caught, it will have a little odor. If it has a strong odor do not serve it. Let your nose and eyes tell you wheth er or not it is usable. # • • Avoid Tarnish—Silver that is put away is apt to tarnish quick ly. But if you put a few pieces of camphor in with it it will keep bright. • • • Scalloped Apples—Three apples (chopped), one-half cup sugar, one-quarter teaspoon cinnamon, two tablespoons lemon juice, grat ed lemon rind, two cups buttered crumbs, one-quarter cup water, one-quarter teaspoon nutmeg. Melt the butter and add the crumbs. Mix the sugar, spice and lemon rind. Put one-quarter of the crumbs in the bottom of a buttered baking dish; then one- half of the apples; sprinkle with one-half of the sugar and spice. Repeat, sprinkle the lemon juice over this and put the remaining crumbs on top. Bake 35 to 45 minutes. Cover during the first part of baking. WNU Service. Beating Expectations Is a Rule of Living A man who had to carry through an important and difficult under taking one night, knew that his co- workers would, naturally and prop erly, expect him to be absent from his usual place at the customary early hour the following morning. Therefore he determined not to meet their expectations—and he was on hand as usual. He gained in his influence with them, by do» ing the unexpected difficult thing £ and he gained also in will-power and self-discipline. When people expect less of us than we can do, it is pretty import tant to decline to meet their expec tations. QUICK! STOP CHILLS AND FEVER! Tahm This Good Old Medicine for Malaria! When you’ve got chills and fever,' you want real and ready reliet You don’t want to go through the usual old misery. Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic is what you want to take for Malaria. This is no new-fangled or untried preparation, but a medicine of proven merit. Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic con tains tasteless quinidine and iron. It quickly relieves the chills and fever and also tends to build you up. That’s the double effect you want The very next time you have an attack of chills and fever, get Grove’s Tasteless Chin Tonic and start taking it fft once. All drug stores sell Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic, 50c and $1. The latter size is the more economical. CHEW LONG BILL NAVY TOBACCO OUR TOUm-lJOUR STORES Our community includes the farm homes surrounding the town. The town stores are there for the accommodation and to serve the people of onr farm homes. The merchants who advertise “specials” are mer chants who are sure they can meet all competition in both quality and prices. C 0ici GEE, HONEY, 1 THOUGHT YOU’D BE GLAD/ I WAS GOING TO SURPRISE YOU AND BUY THAT NEV/ SWEEPER.. .A ^4 You would!ALL You THINK ABOUT IS HOW Tb GET MORE WORK OUT OF ME l NEVER Think about my HEADACHES AND INDIGESTION, DO VOUl f life* YOU YE BEEN AN AWFUL KILLJOY LATELY. MARY — WHY DON'T You GET RID OF YouR INDIGESTION ? Ybu KNOW THE DOCTOR TOLD YOU COFFEE-NERVES WAS WHY DON'T YOU ^\)j TAKE THE DOCTOR’S ADVICE— QUIT COFFEE AND SWITCH TO POSTUM FOR 30 DAYS! \/oH,ALL RIGHT! } I'LL TRY IT—IF YoU'LL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! ^' RUN. V GLOOMS—* WE'RE .. > LICKED!# WWk Your money back— IF SWITCHING TO POSTUM DOESN'T HELP YOU / rANT people can safely drink coffee. But [many others —and all children —should never drink it. If you suspect that the caffein in coffee dis agrees with you... try Postum's 30-day test. Buy a can of Postum and drink it instead of coffee for a full month. If...after 30 days...you do not feel better, return the Postum container top with your name and address to General Foods, Battle Creek, Mich., and we will refund purchase price, plus postage! (If you live in Canada, ad dress General Foods, Ltd., Cobourg, Ont.) Postum contains no caffein. It is simply whole wheat and bran, roasted and slightly sweetened. It comes in two forms...Postum Cereal, Hie kind you boil or percolate... and Instant Postum, made instantly in the cup. Econom ical, easy to make, delicious, hot or iced. You may miss cof fee at first, but you’ll ^ 1M7 K|n> rMtana Syndicate, O. F. Corp., 1 ,lcn«.a DONT BE a GLOOM?, drink Postum! soon love Postum for its own rich flavor. A product of General Foods. (Offer expires Dec. 31,1937J