Selective Service

One afternoon Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek left his summer villa for a stroll in the countryside. He rounded a bend in the road, stopped short. Ahead of him, a civilian with a gun was herding three men who were roped together.

The Generalissimo cried: "Stop!"

What was going-on? Who gave a civilian permission to carry a gun? The man explained that he was an official of the local hsien (county government). He was bringing three army conscripts to fill the hsien's quota.

The Generalissimo had heard before about the evils of China's conscription system. Only last spring he had forbidden the roping of conscripts. Now he questioned the roped men. One man said he was a peddler. He had been doing business along the road. An armed gang had pounced on him. Now he was conscripted.

The Generalissimo flew into a rage. The official quailed before one of Chiang's famed tongue-lashings. Finally Chiang ordered the conscripts unroped. Then he stalked home and issued another order--for an investigation.

A few days later Chungking newspapers carried a brief announcement: flaws and defects had been uncovered in the conscription system; until they were corrected, conscription would be suspended in Chungking and vicinity.

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