Foreign News: Strong Policy

(3 of 4)

In effect China was left without a Government, for the more prominent members of General Chiang's cabinet resigned with him. Cantonese suspected a trap, feared that on the arrival of their leaders to take over the Nanking Government, these leaders might be slain by soldiers still loyal to General Chiang who would set himself up again as President. Meanwhile Nanking weltered in a series of patriotic riots by Chinese "students" who have not studied for months, preferring to hurl bricks and assault Chinese statesmen in protest against their "weak policy."

War Lord Abdicates. In Peiping (once Peking), just outside the Great Wall, Japan's "threatened offensive broke down last week the morale of young War Lord Chang Hsueh-liang, whom Japan forced out of Manchuria, his ancestral realm, last September. Despairingly Young Chang abdicated his Manchurian rights in favor of "Old Uncle" Chang Tso-hsiang.

Old Uncle is no relation whatever to the young War Lord, but served right well his late, great father, War Lord Chang Tsolin, who began life as a mere coolie, took up the profession of banditry, and founded in Manchuria a quite illegal but practically effective Rule of the House of Chang.

While the Old Marshal lived he and Japan were friendly, and Manchuria knew such peace and prosperity as never before. The Young Marshal believes that the bombs which killed his father were Japanese (TIME, June 11, 1928). He nurses an implacable hatred for Nippon. Last week Old Uncle, a family retainer who has outgrown and succeeded the House of Chang, loomed as likely to make every effort to meet Japanese half way and try to rule Manchuria in the same manner Old Marshal did.

Japan's $1,000,000,000. In the light of Old Uncle Chang's emergence and the resignation of President Chiang Kai-shek (see above"] the first interview granted to Tokyo correspondents last week by Premier Ki ("Old Fox") Inukai lost much of its quaint, cackling obscurity, became significant and fairly clear. With a bony forefinger the white-bearded Premier traced an imaginary map of Manchuria on the jade-green cover of the table behind which he sat.

"Manchuria!" he chuckled. "Hee, hee. hee—why, we wouldn't take Manchuria as a gift! We'd have to look after all those 30,000,000 Chinese and feed them, heh. heh. Now the Chinese are a peaceful people. They're not warriors by any means and they really hate to fight. I know the Chinese well. Anyone who knows China's long history, the characteristics of the race, the vastness of the country, must realize that for Japan or any other nation to try to wrest from them any part of their territory would be an impossible task. . . . Their greatest weapon is the economic boycott, and they are also masters at passive resistance. . . . One of the difficulties in Manchuria is that many Chinese have the belief—the obsession I might call it—that we covet Manchuria. . . . We do not. . . . Nor does Japan want any part of China proper. No one but a fool would have any such thought! It is the war lords there who have caused all this trouble. The greedy war lords are one of China's greatest drawbacks."