6 brat pays a pivipi Population of millions of miserse and literate people swept up inallsorts ofmmajor and minor war, ptty quarrels and disputes, and massacred, pillaged and savaged by Toeal and natio tyrants for more than twenty yeas, ¥or this length oftime, armed boxid, rome large enough to be called armies, were rorming about the land of China, extort faxes and tribute rom the people wherever they weat, massecing And robbing where they ound resistance, and fighting with one nother for local suptemacy. ‘hair armies were equbed with Esmpan weapons, ond their repesnaies and ofcers cans to Furspe to ils ret armament jms Crews, Vicks, Krappiand to fac cords fer the latest types of weapons. Aa their conquests grew, Use Financial commitments increased correspondingly, and. the inftions they were obliged to buy for their protection had to be Did for with ever-increasing taxation of the peasants whee lands they had overrun ‘The attitode of the leaders ofthe various large combines wl svete arming the diferent facibos ia China ca be seen hom th interrogation of Sir Harry McGowan (now Lord MeGowan) by the Royal Commission in 1935. Here are one or two questions and answers extracted from the report — M2866, Sir Philip Gibb: May Trend it [a Nye exhibit) again? GL, are trying to solve the Far Eastern question to the bet of their ability” Does that mean you were trying to create peace in the Far Bast? “Sir Harry McGawan: Surely not. 1 hot out job to create Se de Pil th May Vayu ys ei ad BY se ie ie sey eatin etl titan pocien rien anes eect a pnts Sie oar Tee ny ln: No, tae nal) tenting Beil. Pi Ci Note slghie? rOKYS CUSTOMER 9” Generally one can say that these emperors of the Bloody Internation: had one policy: to xl quite indiscriminately to all tomers atthe best prices they could obtai fr their deadly wares Teivas immaterial to them which side was generally agreed to be the aggresior in a particular conflict; they had arms enough t9 pellto the condesned as well sto the pitied, and they were well onteht, And of coure thelr sales to one party could only fan the fame and incresse the anxiety of the others, The remlts are WWeltten in the blood of the peasants of the Chinese provinoes ‘whom the various warlords starved or whipped into thelr armies daring the cbb and flow of constant internecine warfare, from the tise of the Great War until the final terror of Japanese agaresion in Manchusia, Here is Hallett Abend's pleuure of those years in Trlued China f rabble of ignorant armed men about 500,000 sicongy any unit of which wil ght for any faction or any ease a the bidding of any commander who, by hook or emo, can Faise enough money to feed and clothe thera and occasionally tie them a fee silver coins "Dredge most of ese commanders from the depth ofsociety, put info the hands of these ignorant but eralty, rapacious Ambitions and snserupulons commanders the power of life and Seath over the populations ofthe regions they contol, iawine the unarmed populotions helpless and cowed to the point of Ineekly enduting the eonfieations, duplicated taxey eomupt i> one must further imagine easly one-tenth of the populaiin living perpetually belor the Hine of proper nour nent; one must envision annual droughts and oods affecting Tange arens, and vast inaccessible districts in which millions of human beings have killed and enten all dhe livestock and even the dogs, and novr subsist Ingely wpon roots and grass, leaves fd the bark of ees ‘ "oes at Nanking, on the Yangtaze, a body of men trying to govern this enormous are ofafliction. Picture this Govern rent being contioually forced to wage one war after another fn onder evento continue a precarious existence. Vision about