The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-19
Republican Army

KepuDl1can Army "Can you tell me the number of troops the republicans would be able to put in the field?'
 eve have a hundred thousand at Can ton." President Sun smiled as he said this. It is known that the republicans have 25,0OO at Wuchang and close to 50,- 900 here and north of here. In the last two weeks 12,o00 of the pick of the Can tonese troops have arrived here by stean- CT They are a crack lot of troops. well equipped, smart looking, and full of fight. They will be bitterly disappointed if they
 are ordered back to Canton without a fight.
 You don't mean that you have 100, 900 trained troops left in Canton?" Not all of them trained. but they are all fighters like the Boers were in South | Africa, and if put in the field they will sweep everything before them" | Dr. Suns attention was called to state ments which have been recently pub lished to the effect that the government of Japan was opposing the formation of l a republic in China because of the fear | that, if it proved successful, 1t would ] lead to a similar movement there We'll | informed foreigners who have studied conditions in Japan are of the opinion l that there will not be revolution In Japan until the present Mikado dies. |
 in the last 15 years and there is much distress in the Mikados kingdom. The | cc untry is poor In natural resources and | simply has overplayed itself pr. Sun did not comment on the Japanese govern | ments position at this time. but little later in the interview he turned the ta-
 bles on the interviewer by asking what he thought the attitude of the foreign | powers would be toward immediate rec | nCpitior of tho rppublic
 "The rumor is,' I said, that England and Japan are the least likely to recog- nize the republic
 Japan Follows England q do not believe that is true" said pr. Sun "I know that England will be | ready to recognize the republic. Time
 was when England followed Japan in questions out here, but that time is past | and now I believe that Japan will follow
 England. However. believe that the
 Japanese government is friendly to us" l pr. Sun said that the permanent cap
 tal of the republic would be Ranking l .'It has been suggested he was told
 that some of the powers who have
 bought high priced legation property ir 1 Peking would object to the removal o1 | the capital"
 pr. Sun laughed at the suggestion. ''Ths expense would be very small item to I the foreign nations he said. but il l they object to it. we would be willing | to reimburse them.'
 "When do you expect to be in posi-
 ton to begin paying the indemnities?"
 eve are doing it now. through the l customs service The fact that the Chi
 nese students in America have been com | pelled to quit school because of>Ack o1 | funds Is not our fault. It is the fault oi | the Peking government"
 pr. Sun refused to go further into his ] plans at this time, except to say that the government of minor officials was proceeding and that in all cases where the present officeholders were worthy l they were being reappointed He shook I hands as we parted and promised that 1 he would issue a passport to me which
 would enable me to go about more freely | in revolutionary territory.