THE NOME NUGGET
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_ • •
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at he postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, November 17, 1948
DISASTER IN CHINA
(By Barnet Nover)
Repeatedly in the course of his campaign. Gov. Tho
mas E. Dewey emphasized the need of greater Ameri
can aid to China so as to strengthen the capacity of that
strife-torn and inflation-plagued nation to survive. He
indicated that, if elected, he would urge such an aid
program on Congress.
In view of what has happened in China during thn
past month, it is now very much of an open ciuestion
whether anything the next Congress can do in the way
of appropriating funds for Chinese relief and military
aid could arrive in time or be on a sufficiently large
scale to arrest the now rapid decay in the prestige and
authority of the Nanking government.
During this nast month one maior disaster after an
other has befallen Nationalist China.
Its armies have been routed in Manchuria. The whole
of that vast region which is as large as all of France and
Germany combined is now in Chinese Reds’ hand*.
In the course of the fighting a huge government force
was beaten or simply evaporated through mutiny, de
sertion or surrender.
Furthermore, the Reds have added a large stretch of
eastern Inner Mongolia and a sizable area in North
China, including key points in Shantung, to their hold
ings. They have also captured vast quantities of war ma
teriel, much of it former U. S. army war surplus.
It would be easv to blame Chiang Kai-Shek and the
men surrounding him as alone responsible for the ter
rible debacle that is now in progress.
Certainly a good deal of the responsibility for what
has happened must be placed on their shoulders, but bv
no means all of it. To no small extent the present Chi
nese tragedy is a product of the war and the mistakes
madp bv the Untied States during and immediately af
ter the war in its dealings with Soviet Russia.
The China story during these last three vears mi^ht
tod^v be enormously different if Russia had not been
invited, indeed begged on bended knee, to join in the
war on Japan which, as it turned ouf, we won without
her assistance.
The hone was that in satisfying Russian demands with
respect to Dairen, Port Arthur, Sakhalin jyid the Kur
iles, Russia would live un to the commitment mado in
the Sino-Soviet treaty of August, 1945, and he a good
neighbor to China.
The Russian pledge to that effect was clear and pre
cise. It proved not to be worth the paper it was written
on. From the very beginning, Russia did all in her
power to weaken the Nanking government and strength
en the hands of the Chinese Communists. In the first
place, Russia delayed her evacuation of Manchuria as
long as possible.
Secondly, before carrying out that evacuation the
Russians stripped Manchuria of every movable installa
tion and deliberately destroyed installations that could
not be moved. The purpose was clearlv to prevent China
from inheriting, in operating form, the industrial plant
which the Japanese had built up in Manchuria during
their long years of occupation and control of that region.
' In the third place, the Russian evacuation was so car
ried out as to permit the Chinese Communists to move
in first and to come into possession of a large part of
Manchuria and also vast quantities of Japanese arms.
Lacking Manchuria’s agricultural, mineral and indus
trial resources, plagued by the aftermath of decades of
civil and international war, the Nanking government
found it difficult to cope with inflation and other grave
problems that confronted it after Japan’s surrender.
I DEEPLY ENTRENCHED
The handicaps were tremendous. To make a bad situ
ation worse, Chiang Kai-Shek never su&eeded in clean
ing house at Nanking. He never carried out an effective
system of reforms that would have won the people to the
regime.
Now comes the hour of disaster. It is a disaster for the
Chinese. It is also a disaster for us. Communist control
of all of Manchuria means Russian control.
We cannot close our eyes to the latest developments
in China. It is not altogether clear just what, at this
juncture, we can do about it.
PRICE OF STATESMANSHIP
(New World News Service)
Burma is an open battleground of ideologies. Ever
since last year when Prime Minister Aung San and eight
of his cabinet were assassinated, the country has been
plunged into a reign of terror. There have been count
less murders by extremists of both right and left.
Many observers feel Russia considers Burma the
“Czechslovakia” of the Far East. The Communist war
now raging against the Government is only part of a
master strategy for the Far East being directed from the
Asiatic Cominform headquarters in Bangok, Siam. Chief
of the divisions on which Communists ride to power are
those among minority groups.
In Burma the Karens* and Burmans have never trust
ed each other. There have been incidents on both sides
that have been hard to forget, let alone forgive. The Ka
rens, largest minority group in Burma, have long dream
ed of forming a seoarate state—by force of arms if
necessary. In this situation it is of vital importance to
the future of democracy when the head of the 1,200,000
Karens publiclv takes responsibility for the lawlessness
[ of his own people toward the Burmans.
‘Saw Ba U Gyi (the Karen leader) offers own land to
Government to make amends for looting of Treasury at
Maubin,” said the leading headline of “The Burman,”
Rangoon newspaper.
The translation of the Karen leader’s speech before
the Premier of Burma, his cabinet ministers, and repre
sentatives of the other minorities, is even more revolu
tionary than the headline. It reflects an entire right
about-face in the attitude of the Karens toward the gov
ment. As restitution to the nation for the looting of fire
arms and a large sum of money from the government bv
Karen bandits, the Saw Ba said, “I have no cash to pay
but I own one thousand acres of paddy lands. I have de
cided to hand over these acres to the Union Govern
ment.” Referring to the looting of firearms, the Saw Ba
continued, “I appeal to the Karens to surrender all illeg
al firearms to the Government within two months. You
can take it from me that my appeal will be implemented
by action.”
These are the words of a statesmen. One wonders
what might happen in th^ Western world if its states
men were willing to take personal responsibility, risk
ing ever their power and prestige, to heal the divisions
among their people.
Internation 1 News
(Continued from Page One*
seek to end the blockade and
make Russian marks the sole Ber
currency simultaneously on
Dec. 20.
Princess Elizabeth and the
princeling for whom the whole
British Commonwealth rejoiced,
oo.h are doing well. The princess,
who is destined to become Bri
ain’s next ruling queen, had a
good night and “is making excel
lent progress.”
The French parliament had high
oa its agenda government charges
that Russia gave orders for the
costly strikes in France. The coal
walkout was the worst, but its ef
fects spread to many other indus
tries. Premier Henri Queuille and
interior minister Jules Moch ac
cused Russia of acting through the
Cominform in an attempt to wreck
the European recovery plan.
inland socialized all its banks
except one dealing with foreign
trade.
U. S. intelligence sources said
Soviet occupation troops in Ger
many had gone into winter billets
after finishing fall maneuvers. The
itassian newspaper Pravda printed
i .omplaint from the deputy Sov
iet commandant in Berlin that
“c iminal elements” caused sabo
tage in the American sector of the
cny.
Wednesday, November 17, 1948 <
The Chinese government told a
skeptical world today its armies
had routed the communists east of
Suchow and imposed 90,000 cas
ualties.
The gove’nment made the same
kind of claims shot ly before Tain
an, Chinhsien and Mukden fell to
the Reds.
It appeared the Chinese air
force actually had blunted the Red
attacks some 200 miles from Nan
king, but that the communists
were regrouping for another as
sault, rather than retreating.
The United States, Britain and
France declined a plea of two lead
ing U. N. officials to negotiate di
rectly a four-power settlement of
.he Berlin crisis. They told secre
tary general Trygve Lie and as-,
j.embly presidenl II. V. Evatt, who
made the appeal Saturday, that
l' e issue should remain before the
security council.
President Truman said yester
d y there would be no four power
meeting while the Russians con- |
tinue the Berlin blockade. The
American rejection repeated this.
Russia in her reply yesterday said
any discussion of Berlin must
come during a complete airing
the whole German problem.
Secretary of state Marshal], and
Warren Austin, chief U. S. Rele
gate to the United Nations, are tq
leave Paris shortly. Austin is go
ing to a U. S. hospital. Marshall is *
to report to President Truman
Monda yand is not expected to go
back to Paris .
The China problem may be. high
on the Truman-Marshall agenda.
Ambassador Wellington Koo asked
for a U. S. expression of “sym
pathy, solidarity and support” of*
Chiang Kai-Shek's nationalist gov
ernment to bolster Chinesetnorale.
The Chinese also appeared to
want about $1,000,000,000 worth of
free arms and the same k:nd of
guarantee the U. S. gave Greece—
a virtual pledge that the commun
ists will not be permitted to take
over.
It seemed pretty late for that.
Despite the Chinese victory
claims, it appeared that Gen. Hu*
ang Po-Tao’s seventh army group,
which was isolated east of Su- ^
(Continued on Page Seven)