McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, August 19, 1937, Image 3
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