VETERAN WON'T SELL CHINESE-MADE FLAGS

World War II veteran and small-business man Herb Nance has been thinking about the troubles in China for some time.

He knew about the communist giant's human rights violations and suppression of religion, but the U.S. spy plane incident was the last straw. Nance struck a blow for democracy.

He won't sell any more Chinese-made flags from his home-based Ourco Flag Sales, as his daily newspaper advertisements make clear.

"I thought now is as good a time as any," said Nance, 74, of Cape Girardeau. "The U.S. deficit is in the millions, and it will stay there as long as we keep patronizing China. And our plane is still over there. Why should I accommodate them?"

The Navy spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter collided April 1, forcing an emergency landing in Hainan. China held 24 U.S. crew members captive for 11 days and is refusing to let the plane fly out.

Nance, who sells more than 1,000 flags of all kinds per year, said his new policy won't hurt his business too badly -- he never carried many flags with the "made in China" label. He prefers Annin & Co. in Roseland, N.J., as a supplier but will consider those in other democratic nations.

John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president, said Thursday that Nance apparently is the only local businessman giving up Chinese goods.

But the U.S. Army decided this week that 600,000 Chinese-made black berets will sit on surplus store shelves instead of soldiers' heads.

Nance's decision also echoed one made by Carp Co. management on Dec. 12, 1941, five days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The downtown Cape Girardeau store gave away $200 worth of Japanese-made merchandise rather than sell it.