British Flyer

A strange tale was told in a Pall Mall club last week. A dashing, irate, monocled colonel, brushing discipline aside, tapped a silent, quizzical, white-haired general on the back.

"Have you heard, sir, have you heard?" he gasped impatiently, "an impudent Chinaman had the temerity to land in an airplane on my parade ground this morning. The scoundrel! What are we coming to, sir? And, when I informed him that he had no business to fly over the British army, that it was contrary to international law, that I should keep his jolly old flying ricksha, and that I was really awfully cross and perturbed and should report him to the authorities--after I had thus unburdened myself, sir, the rascally fellow insulted us."

"Tut, tut," said the general, "dear, dear. What did he say to you?"

"God bless my soul, sir, what did the scoundrel say to me? He said: 'Me no care what you say, Blitishman. Chinaman get back plane plenty quick or whippy Blitish army. How you like that? Chinaman wanty only protect his "interests," as you say in China.' "

But in Far Cathay-- an incident occurred which gave rise to the "joke" in the London club. A British plane made a forced landing on Chinese territory--on a golf course just outside Shanghai, and a Royal Air Force detachment was sent to salvage the machine. Chinese authorities protested, kept the wings.

Said Dr. C. C. Wu, Foreign Minister of the Nanking Nationalist Government:

"The British are criminals in the eyes of the Chinese and international law as regards their aviation policy in China.

"We intend to use this incident to force a showdown in the matter of flights in China. We intend to hold the wings. We have not the force to meet British imperialism, but we intend to let the world know what they are doing."

The British, long deaf to Nationalist complaints against their joyriding over Chinese territory, forthwith cut the railroad line between Shanghai, Hangchow and Ningpo, thus halting the Nationalist retreat from the oncoming Northern army.

Dr. Wu capitulated, returned the wings; the British repaired the railroad.

* Ancient name of China, in the Occident.