I have written of Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley's trip to Yenan shortly after Japanese capitulation in August 1945. to escort Mao Tse-tung to Chungking. Negotiations between Mao and Chiang Kai-shek hit a stalemate. In the meantime, the race for the physical possession of Japanese-occupied territory by Chinese Communist-led forces and Nationalist troops went on at a terrific pace — the Communist-led soldiers and civilians by foot and Chiang's forces on U. S. vehicles, planes and ships.
Toward the middle of September, Colonel Ivan D. Yeaton, commanding officer of the U. S. observer mission in Yenan, sent me to Chungking to report our observations to General Albert Wedemeyer.
At Theater Headquarters, I was surprised to discover that the strength of the Communist-led forces was terribly underestimated. Many U. S. army and some civilian officials in responsible positions felt Yenan was weakened considerably because the Soviet Union had signed a pact with Chungking. It was also said that Mao's trip to Chungking had caused splits among Yenan's top leadership. I was told by many that Chiang's forces would have the Communist-led forces well in hand within three months.
The General Was Very Cordial
One afternoon I walked into General Wedemeyer's office where he was alone. He was most cordial and asked me to relax. He said he had many questions he wanted to ask me and he suggested that I feel free to express my observations in an informal manner.
For a while I gave a thorough analysis of the strength of the Communist-led peasant army. The general interrupted me to remind me that the Nationalists had 19 American-trained and equipped divisions. Twenty more divisions would be brought up to this standard in the near future, he said. He also said Yenan's troops were no match for Nationalist soldiers.
I asked the general: Suppose, under the most favorable conditions, we were able to place Chiang's divisions in the exact positions the Japanese occupied, could his troops do half as well against partisans? I said the war records of both armies gave a good indication of their respective abilities.
A People's Army Versus a Graft-Ridden Force
I discussed Yenan's guerrilla warfare, which did not require extensive supply trains. The guerrillas lived off the land and fought with popular support. I also said the guerrillas would slash communication lines. They would force the Nationalists to contend with their military tactics. And while politics was Yenan force's cutting edge graft and corruption would weaken the Nationalists. Eventually, heavy American equipment would become an encumbrance to the Nationalists. U. S. supplied arms would pass into the hands of the Yenan forces. The struggle would drag on into a bitter war of attrition. Chiang could never crush the guerrillas in three months. His corrupt regime would eventually crumble. "What China needs is not Nationalist domination but good clean government and democracy," I said. "Such a government must be broadly representative."
The General Was Irritated By The Situation I Described
As the reporting continued, the general shot questions at ma and asked me to answer in "a few words." I could see that he was becoming progressively disturbed by the situation I described. Then he switched from military to political issues. I was not surprised when he said the Chinese Communist Party was split wide open. Rumors were prevalent in Nationalist China, obviously fabricated for American consumption, that Mao Tse-tung had been repudiated for capitulating to Chiang's scheming invitation to discuss a phony peace.
I Was Excused, Then Called Back
For about 10 minutes I reported about the national convention of the Chinese Communist Party held in Yenan in the spring of 1945. The convention resulted in unity and strong support for Mao. The leaders had reviewed past policies and practices for many months and formulated a program behind which they stood. We talked for almost an hour and more and more the general's expression became cloudy. Then suddenly he brought himself forward from his reclining position, wheeled his chair around so that he was sitting at his desk. He brusquely picked up a batch of reports and began to read, ignoring me altogether. "Shall I leave, General Wedemeyer?" I asked him, after what seemed to me a whole minute of silence. Without looking up, he said: "Yes." . I stood up and went in front of his desk and saluted him and when I reached the door he called: "Ariyoshi, come back!"
Hurley In Bathrobe Lacked Air of Dignity
Would I see Ambassador Hurley and report to him exactly what I had said to him? the general asked. He said that I should be forthright, without reservation, and not be afraid. I answered that I would report to the ambassador. Would the general make the appointment? He said he would.
Rep. Sabath's Proposal For Peace Still Timely
While observing his 44 years in Congress, Rep. Adolph Sabath of Illinois many months ago made a strong appeal for a peaceful settlement of differences in the world without resorting to arms. His proposal is applicable today.
Said Rep. Sabath: "The President should name a committee of outstanding Americans of unquestioned ability, who are independent, to meet with a similar committee composed of Russians.
"Let them sit down together around a table, discuss the problems that divide us, and see if they cannot work out a plan whereby each of us can live in peace, the Russians with their communism and us with our democracy.
"They should not include the brass hats or representatives of Wall Street or war profiteers. They should be honest-to-God Americans who want peace and seek no reward or honors in achieving it."
Sixty per cent of the farms in Tonkin, Indo-China, in 1938 were smaller than nine-tenths of an acre in area.
In Tonkin, Indo-China, peasants pay from 60-100 per cent interest per year on loans to landlords.
When I went to the U. S. Embassy in the morning a few days later, I was asked by one of the staff employes to go to the ambassador's bedroom upstairs. The ambassador told me he had been sick. He was freshening up for the day in his knee-length robe and stocking feet. I could not keep from smiling for he lacked the color and air of dignity he had carried with him when I first saw him in Yenan. The ambassador had me sit on a chair by his bed. He instructed me to tell him what I had on my mind and walked to his dresser in the far corner of the room and carefully touched up his moustache in front of a mirror. I told him about General Wedemeyer's instructions and proceeded to give my report the gist of which I felt the general must have conveyed to the ambassador in arranging my appointment. After I had said a few sentences, he interrupted me. "What kind of radio equipment does Chu Teh have?" he asked me I was about to answer him when he told me: "Young man, Chu Teh got his radio sets from the Japanese. The Japanese gave them to him so that he wouldn't fight. Chu Teh was bought! I am the man who knows!"
I Explain the War Contributions of Michael Lindsay
I said this was not correct, realizing how he felt about the whole China situation. I explained to him that I knew from personal knowledge that Michael Lindsay, a British economics professor who had escaped from Peking after Pearl Harbor, had repaired and rebuilt radios the guerrillas captured from the Japanese. Lindsay, son of a British baron, built sets from parts the Communists bought or captured in Japanese-occupied territory. I have had considerable discussion with Lindsay and his Chinese wife, Hsiao Li. After his father died last year, Lindsay inherited his father's title. The ambassador came toward me. Still in his robe, he towered above me. Leaning forward, he shook his finger in my face. "Young man," he scolded, "you have been fooled by Communist propaganda! I am the only American who has not been fooled by Communist propaganda! The Communists did not fight the Japanese. They are not as strong as their propaganda says!"
Hurley Said He Follows Orders
He seemed extremely bitter at Yenan's press which attacked him as an "American imperialist" and warmonger. He said he had done nothing more than carry out Washington's directive to "save" China when General Joseph Stilwell and Vice President Henry Wallace had reported the Nationalist government was tottering.
He told me a story to illustrate how closely he. followed instructions. In World War I, he said, he was ordered to cross a river in France with his battalion over a bridge. He said he did not ford the river where the enemy had not concentrated its forces, but crossed the river over the bridge in face of heavy enemy fire. He said he would not tolerate sabotage of American policy in China and emphasized that he had removed Ambassador Gauss, General Stilwell, George Atcheson and others from the embassy.
"My Knife Cuts Deeper Than That of Anyone . . ."
The ambassador said he had agents in Yenan who reported to him directly. All private conversations held between Americans and Chinese Communists were reported to him by Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai, he said. This was ridiculous, even from the point that a few moments before he was bitterly blasting Yenan. for criticizing him in its press. "There might be others who might be knifing me in the back in Yenan," the ambassador said. He said he would remove them. "Don't forget, young man," he said, "my knife cuts deeper than that of anyone in the War and State Departments." To further clarify his point, he told me another story, this one about an Oklahoma cowboy. This cowboy was getting a shave in a barber shop when he heard shots outside. The barber became nervous and she cowboy quieted him down. A man then rushed into the barber shop and warned the cowboy that a young cowboy with a new pistol was gunning for him. The old cowboy did not hurry the barber. After the barber was through, he paid him and leisurely walked out into the deserted street. The younger cowboy shot until he emptied his pistol. Then the old cowboy drew out his pistol and fired one shot. "The upstart fell in his tracks. Young man, the moral is, I can take a lot of sniping, but I shoot last!"
The Ambassador Did All the Talking
He complained that the OWI sent the Daily Worker to Yenan and the Communists used its articles to attack him. I said this wasn't true, that the OWI did not send the Daily Worker, although Yenan had once requested it. But conservative and liberal publications were sent there and some clippings from the American press complimented him. I added that Yenan studied them carefully. Ambassador Hurley beamed unexpectedly all of a sudden. had not meant that the Communists agreed with the articles which were laudatory of Hurley's work in China, but merely meant that they read them carefully. The ambassador was in good spirits and the interview ended. He had done all the talking.