The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-07

| angsu and Chekyan are the two richest
provinces in the country, having AM
enormous commerce, and providing
large revenues not only for the i'm
perialist but also for the Chinese
merchants. The most important com
mercial towns in modern China are
also included in these provinces, such
as Shanghai, Marking, Chang-Chow
and Hank-Chow. Consequently the
outbreak of civil war in these prov
inces would mean the severance OF one
of the most important nerves of the
commerce and industry of the country,
To the extent that the fight between.
the Chinese generals depended upon
the influence of the various imperial
list groups, and to the extent also that
the Chinese commercial bourgeoisie
could bring financial pressure on these
generals, they strove to remove the
field of conflict from these provinces.
Sufficiently strong causes must be.
in operation, from the point of view
of the imperialists, for them to permit
the fight to open directly on these
territories.
1t should be observed that the idea
that it is as easy for the imperialists
at the present day to set the various
Chinese generals against each other,
as it was soon after the revolution in
1911, is an erroneous one. Undoubted-
ly, the partition of China into spheres
of economic influence by the imperial
/ lists facilitates the wars between the
Chinese military governors. But on
| the other hand, the imperialists back
one or other of the warlords of China
in accordance with the real strength
he commands, and that is not always
determined by the amount of support
given by the imperialists.
Civil war in China depends now not
only on imperialist Intervention but
also on internal economic processes.
Thus for instance, Sun-Yat-Sen's base
in southern China is consolidating
more and more, while the base of the
militarist Chan Tso-Ling in the three
northern corn provinces, is also be-
coming more firmly established, thus
establishing him as military factor
in the Chinese civil war.
From the viewpoint of the national
factors of China, the conflict between
the two military governors of the prov
inces of Yyangsu and Chekyan may be
looked upon as a conflict between the
militarist Chill clique on the one
hand, and the Fyntiang clique to-
gether with the adherents of the
Anhui club on the other hand. Marshal
Wu-Pei-Fu is at the head of the former
He was formerly its military COM
mander and is at present the official
president of the Chinese republic of
Tsao-Kung The latter is headed b,
Marshal Chang-Tso-Ling and by the
oldest politician of China-the react
ionary Tuan-Tsi-Chui. Both these
cliques have their supporters, the gov
ernors of the provinces of central and
southern China. In the present con-
/ flict the Ksiang-Si, Anhui and Fukiang
will evidently support the Chilli party,
while Chan-Tso-Ling has already had
negotiations with the representative of
1
some parts of the Yunang, Gutchz-
housk and Ruah provinces. Thus, there
is every prospect that the conflict will
develop into general civil national
war. The reasons which might draw
Sun-Yat-Sen into this conflict consist
in the fact that the Chilli clique is
direct menace to him, while the sphere
of influence of the Fyntiang groups
and of the adherents of the former
Anhui club is geographically remote
from the Kwantung province. Both
Sun-Yat-Sen and Chang-Tso-Ling are
fully aware that in the event of their
victory over the Chilli party, a conflict
between them is inevitable.
/ Sun-Yat-Sen and the Fight Of the
Generals
The question arises what caused this
fight between the militarist cliques
| and n. houy for fha Iooda,. % fbo ~