It was not words China needed; it was planes. China needed no promises; she needed tanks. China needed no more goodwill ambassadors; she needed guns.
All this was well and bitterly known to Lauchlin Currie when he faced Mme. Chiang Kai-shek and many another Chinese personage last week on Vice President H. H. Kung's lawn in Chungking. President Roosevelt had sent Dr. Currie to Chungking once before, in 1941, when Lend-Lease was a glowing promise. Now he was back, in the sixth and darkest year of China's war.
The Chinese listened for words of action. They were grateful for what Lieut. General Stilwell...