Chinese Checkers

Ever since General Marshall left Shanghai, American policy regarding the Chinese has stayed in the doldrums, The State Department, unable to work itself in or out of the impasse which the Chinese civil war forced upon it, has bumbled along with a minimum of aid and a maximum of delay. Policy makers insisted all along that they were prepared to help China; but their plans included little beside conjecture.

As Washington is well aware, the civil war is a clear-cut picture of right versus wrong. The Kuomintang, fighting a war of survival with a well organized stubborn foe, has increasingly relied on the corrupt bureaucracy, inefficient military, and the reactionary elements represented by them. The Communists rushed in with an ably led, hit-and-run army to take advantage of the increasing paralysis striking at China's economic life. By hitting at weakly held lines of communication they have immobilized most of the government troops and starved industry of raw materials.

The real sufferers of the civil war, the peasants and small townsmen find themselves powerless toward off despoilment by both sides. Where the Kuomintang rules, the farmers see produce taxed or confiscated out of their hands; the Communist ruled portions face a "militia" which drafts men wholesale before each campaign. Wrecked railroad lines have made everything but small industry impossible in the cities which are largely dependent upon them for raw materials. Meanwhile the Kuomintang armies have slowly given way to the more mobile Communist columns, which are more able to live off the land than their opponents.

The State Department is at last preparing to make the excruciating choice. Secretary Marshall promised Congress on Monday that he would submit recommendations on China "in the near future." Nothing but more misery can come from an economically sinking China. At the same time, helping the Kuominatang involves aiding groups who are at best inefficient. But refusing to help or merely delaying the decision, could, however, aid only two elements: the extreme reactionaries and the Communists. Washington has already delayed making the delicate choice far too long; any further delay in the decision to help the Chinese will only add to the difficulties.