CHINA: Two and Two

The movement of a troop-train in Kiangsu, the statement of a General in Anhiwei, an editorial in Honan—news of this and that came down from the teeming provinces to Shanghai. In Shanghai, a theory developed, to wit:

Feng Yu-hsiang, Chinese Christian soldier, now in control of the territory around Peking and of several provinces just north of the Yangtze River, would start a war by invading Shansi Province. His motives would be: 1) to embarrass the existing official government at the time of the Customs Conference; 2) to capture Shansi, a rich province which has never been completely controlled by any of the leading rival warlords.

The other end of the war would at once be undertaken by Chang Tso-lin, Manchurian dynast, who could not afford to let Shansi fall into Feng’s clutch.

At this point, Wu Pei-fu* would attack Feng from the rear in an attempt to regain the commanding position from which Feng (treacherously?) hurled him last year.

Then the pot being again in full bubble, there would be no chance for the official government to pacify the country with foreign assistance, and the warlords would be free to fight for several years tc come.

A likely theory, it was transmitted to the U. S. by the Shanghai office of the Associated Press. But the following day a Chinese in Boston received the following cable from Dr. C. T. Wang, a high Peking official, a sincere Christian, a most reliable gentleman:

“No civil war is impending. It is insidious propaganda coming through sources unfriendly to China. Never before has there been such strong unification in China between the north and south and such sympathetic understanding between generals as is evident today.”

There was another flaw in the theory. It is autumn. Civil wars are more economically conducted if begun in the spring.

Nevertheless, official notice was given to the theory because, in China as elsewhere, the rumor of today may be the fact of tomorrow.

*Not the least notable item in this theorv is the mention of Wu Pei-fu, for IHt.U or nothing has been heard of him in mf»”<-moons. Yet there was a time when mar-expected that he would succeed wh<“— Yuan-Shi Kai failed—unify China h. military force and constitutional principles.