Evening star., 1923-10-14
BY FRANK III. HEDGES.

IN SAC KUN, marshal Of the ma
tional army of China, high
inspector general of the three
provinces Of Chilli. Shantung
and Honan, and now president iof the
republic by the grace Of corrupt and
largely illegal parliament, is the fig
, urehead of the most influential politi-
cal organization in China. He is the
nominal. leader of the Chilli party,
group of politicians and militarists
whose activities and headquarters
center in the METROPOLITAN province
of, Chilli, in which the capital city
Of Peking is located. More important,
he is the nominal head Of the Tsao
brothers clique in that party.
smaller. group of men that has been
able to shove Gen. WI Pei-fu and his
adherents into the background and
wrest control from WI, who little
more than a year ago drove the war
lord Of Manchuria north of the great
wall, and SO gave the Chihlt party
control of the central government.
Tsao Kun and his far more clever
brother, Tsao Jul, have built up
machine that has at last been able to
propel Marshal Tsao into the paradise
for which he has longed, the pink
palace in Peking. 1t Is farcical to
pretend that the new president Is the
choice of the people, or even that he
is the choice of a considerable mi
nority of the people. He Is the choice
of politicians and militaristS who be
lieve that under his regime they will
be better able to line their own pock-
cts with gold than under the regime
Of any other Chinese, else that other
Chinese would have been elected by
docile parliament rather than Tsao
Kun.
Rose without Effort.
Ignorant and born of coolie parents,
Tsao's rise to fame and fortune, un-
doubtedly to fortune. has been large
~ without effort on his own part. In
his early days he must have shown
real ability to obtain his first grip
on affairs, but for many years now
his ability to- pose gracefully as a
fgurehead, to dodge decisions on all
issues until he sees which course viii
be most advantageous to him ana 70
, remain on goodssterms WIN ms az
herents, or at least to bind them with
ties that they dare not break, is the
explanation of his success.
Forty years or so ago a peddIer OF
dry. goods might have been seen 60
ing about the dusty streets of Pek-
ing hawking his wares. A long pole
was across one shoulder, from either
end of which depended a swaying
bale of cloth. AS he went from door
to door. sounding the call peculiar to
the seller of dry goods in north
China a housewife nW,ss would tbasa seep Soss out,
the harsh sounds of bargaining, ac-
companied by laughter, for the Chi
nese of whatever walk of life loves
to bargain for his purchases. The sale
completed, the peddler again bent to
slip his shoulder under the pole,
straightened up and passed on down
the street in search of other GUS.
toners.
PeddIer Turns Soldier.
A few years later and the peddler
had become a. foot soldier in the
armies of the Emperor Of China. His
good conduct on the drill field and off,
and a personality far above that of
the common soldier, attracted the at
tention of HIS commander, and the
young private was detailed by his
chief to attend military school. In
1890 he was graduated with honors.
snd his recd-d in the school had been
SO excellent that ne vas appointed q