Again, War

(See front cover)

Vermonters do not mix well with Virginians. Tall, sturdy, slow-but-sure North Chinamen despise and are despised by South Chinamen, small, nimble, slick. Last week China resumed on a grand scale her civil war between North and South. It has been dragging on, in one form or another, ever since the Dragon Throne was upset by the revolution of 1911. Observers noted that this time the battle is between forces headed by the four best men of North, and South:

North

Marshal Yen Hsi-shan, the "Peace Lord" who has kept order in Shansi province for 18 years, recently summoned a congress to Peking to elect him president of China (TIME, May 12).

Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang maintains the largest private army in the world (150,000 men) on a plane of sobriety, industry (every soldier must know a trade) and Old Testament battling Christianity.

South

President Chiang Kai-shek, the greatest soldier South China has produced in modern times, once conquered all China (TIME, June 25, 1928), but is today president in fact of only an ill-defined area in central China with its capital at Nanking.

Mr. T. V. Soong, head of the great Shanghai banking house of Soong, finance minister in Chiang's government, graduate of Harvard, is unquestionably the ablest, most potent, most public-spirited Chinese financier.

Great Battles. Chinese wars are fought with three weapons: 1) Stupendous bribes, actually running into millions of dollars in cold cash; 2) Grossly exaggerated press communiques that one's own army is sweeping all before it; 3) Men, hundreds of thousands of poor, illiterate fellows, fighting on one side one day, on the other the next, as instructed by their bribe-pocketing officers. All this has gone on until it has become a system, sanctified by custom, employed as a matter of practical necessity by Chinamen otherwise great and good.

Great but vague battles took place last week along an east-west front about midway between Peking and Nanking, the rival capitals. In a general way this front lay along China's Lunghai R. R., with most of the fighting extending from Suchow (where President Chiang established military headquarters last week) 70 miles west towards Chengchow.

From his field headquarters Marshal Yen telegraphed to Peking that his armies were already victorious, had slain 10,000 of their enemies, taken 15,000 prisoners and were advancing rapidly upon Nanking -- an exhilarating exaggeration.

Chiang countered Yen's boast by announcing that his airplanes were wiping out the enemy wholesale, though admitting their superiority in machine gun fire. All this, of course, was merely overture. As a general thing Chinese wars last until stopped by the winter rains or some particularly monumental bribe.

Yen. Because he really is a "Peace Lord," and because this is his first war in more than a decade, interest and sympathy focused last week on great, hairy-chested, basso-profundo-voiced Marshal Yen (see front cover).

As the "Model Governor" of Shansi province, which he has in fact erected into an independent island state (surrounded by China), Yen rightly claims the high distinction of having brought prosperity to 11,000,000 souls, the happiest in China today, despite a food shortage in the southwestern part. His hobbies are not women, whiskey, opium or even gold; but good roads, silkworm culture, soldiers for defense, police to preserve order, and the development of superior cattle, horses, plows, poultry, fertilizers--all things of direct benefit to his rustic people.

Yen is not a Christian but many of his methods are Christocratic. He likes to think that Confucius is his guide, but his attitude toward Christians is benevolent, and he has not hesitated to seal an alliance with Feng, the "Christian Marshal," who is to be war minister in the Peking Government shortly to be organized by Yen as president.

Last week Feng, with his "largest private army," was reported to be making a wide, westward detour around the battle area, intending to capture Hankow, on the River Yangtze, "The Chicago of China," so called because it is the chief commercial city of Central China. If he does capture Hankow, Feng can descend the river and approach Nanking's rear in crushing force.

Japan? Two years ago the Japanese Government intervened in China against President Chiang and his Nankingers. Startling were reports last week that in a desperate pinch Chiang can now count on the aid of Japan.

Over long periods the policy of the Tokyo government is to pick a strong Chinese faction--no matter which--support the said faction by fair means or foul, and exact in return commercial concessions. Japan last supported the Peking regime of the late Marshal Chang Tso-lin, but the government he set up at Peking has now utterly vanished. Tokyo may well be ready for a complete new deal.

President Chiang was rumored in Shanghai banking circles last week to have signed a secret treaty promising repayment to Japan of the $50,000,000 Nishihara loans which his Government previously declared illegal. Thus quiet Mr. Soong, the Shanghai banker who will have to find the $50,000,000, may yet draw the strongest weapon which can be drawn in China-- Japan.

Japan taught both Yen and Chiang to fight. They were students at the Imperial Military College, Tokyo. Both came of prosperous people. Both got their political start in the revolution of 1911. Both are good men, Yen a Chinese Vermonter, Chiang a Chinese Virginian.

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