Evening star., 1924-09-16
EX-0FF|CIAL OF j. S.
PUSHING CHINA WAR
(. c. Baker, Formerly of
State Department, Is
chang's Right-Hand Man.
BIZ FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Edward Carleton Baker. former as
sistant chief of the Far Eastern divi-
sion of the State Department, is the
man behind Gen. Chang-Tso s
;-reat military movement against
licking. He is a native of Alameda,
'alif,. and three years ago was Amer
Jean consul general at Mukden. 1t
was in that city, the seat of Chang
TSo-Lin's autocratic power in Man
churia. that Baker attracted the at
7"nuon of the North China war lord
and was induced to enter his serv-
i've. Ever since Changs defeat by
Wu-Pel-F'u in 1922 Baker has been
the Manchurian generals chief of
military preparations. with carte
blanche to develop them for the day
ct reckoning with Peking, on which
'hang for two years has had his
heart set. Authorities like DIR. Schur-
man, United States minister to China,
Who rs now in Washington, assert
fhat Chang today is well-nigh invin-
Glble. Everybody who knows the
1actS comedies that he has been made
so mainly through the thoroughgoing
Organization for victory" which has
been carried on by the young Califor-
ulan.
Kong in T.. :. Service.
Baker IS AZ years old. He has been
IN the Far East since 1906, when he
was appointed vice and deputy consul
OF the United States at Foochow Pre-
viouS to entering the foreign service.
Baker was graduated from the Uni
versity of California and later was an
assistant professor in the economics
department of its college of COM
merce. Between 1906 and 1914, Baker
was American consul at Annoy,
chungking. and Antung in China and
:tt Nagasaki, in Japan. He became
consul general at Mukden in 1916
and was on duty there when Gen.
Chang-Tso-Lin engaged him.
One of Bakers first activities on be-
half of the Manchurian Tu-chun was
u trip to the United States in search
of American capital This venture did
not prove successul, but when en-
trusted by Chang with the task of
building up a great military machine.
especially in the way of modern
equipment. the American acquitted
himself brilliantly. 1t is due solely
to his organizing talent that Chang
has made himself the most powerful
war lord in China.
Bought War Supplies.
Baker went both to Europe and the
United States to purchase supplies OF
every conceivable sort, especially air.
craft, with which ChangS army is
understood to be well supplied.
Bakers program had Chang'S future
attack on PekinG directly in mind. 1t
called for. and subsequently provided d
Il commssariat supply that took every
contingency into consideration. Eu-
ropean military stocks left over from
the World War were bought in large
quantities. Chang had such a surplus
nf necessities like Red Cross ma
terials, bedding, blankets and other
non -combatant supplies that Baker
went to Toxic during the earthquake
crisis in September. 1928, to try to
sell job lots of them to Japan.
ChanG's American helpmate is not
only chief of military supplies. but
is his principal adviser on foreign
affairs. If the Manchurian bandit
king takes Peking and makes him
self the ruler of the central China
government the powers will undoubt-
edly have to reckon with Baker. He
is accounted by men in Washington
who have known him in the Far East
as an exceptionally able man. one
who knows him well and has seen
him at work at ChangTsoL Lin s
elbow is Col Charles Burnett, until