Evening star., 1925-11-15

OF activity Of French aviators and
bombardment by them of enemy con.
centrations and enemy villages; OF
destruction of communications by in.
surgents, the railroad from Damas.
Gus to Haifa being out of business.
On the other hand, the head of the
Hauran Druses is reported as defying
cooperation, or community of inter
est with the republicans, and 1t is said
that Gen. Gamelin. directing French
military operations, his strength re.
cruited up to 10000, has begun opera
ttons on a comprehensive scale and
believes that he will soon end active
insurgency
Apparently Senator Henri De Jou-
venel has been appointed civilian high
commissioner for Syria. On his rec
ord the appointment would seem an
ideal one. On balance of reports, it
seems fair conclusion that the sit
uation Is framing itself toward a rea
sonable and fairly satisfactory ad-
Justment. 1t may even appear from
the thorough investigation now in
train that Sarai'S miSmana cement
was considerably less than the dis
patches have caused us to think. He
himself talks Of 'the romantic ver-
sions" of certain journalists, and Gen.
Gamelin reports as follows: THE mill
tary command is conscious of having
obtained in the minimum time at a
minimum cost the results sought.
preventing extension of a movement
which might easily have developed
Into a Damascus Vespera."
X
Chfna.-We get little news of the
conference on Chinese customs at
Peking. The Chinese people seem
to be calmly waiting for it's final
decisions and not to be making any
Of those demonstrations of hostility
that SO many predicted. 1t is
thought that the at once sensible
and conciliatory' attitude of our
gates to the conference, has greatly
placated and reassured national SEN
timent.
The politico- military situation as
reported by the dispatches defies con-
f1dent analysis. Out of the tangle of
dispatches I detach the following
(subject to correction later): After
some fighting the troops of Chang
Tso Lin (super tuchun of the three
Manchurian provinces), in the
Shanghai region retreated northward,
pursued by forces of the tuchuns of
Che Kiang and Hu Peh understood
to be subordinated to WI Pei Flu.
These dropping the pursuit, it was
taken up by the tuchun of Ho
Nan. Now some dispatches say that
the tuchun of Ho Nan is an adher-
ent of Wu Pei Flu. others that he is
an adherent of Feng Yu-Hsiang.
If the latter the question naturally
asks itself: Is there an understand
ing for common action against
Chang Tso Lin. between WI Pei Flu
and Feng Yu Hsiang? Such an
understanding would not be too pre-
posterous for China.
Chang Is reported to have made
strong concentration at Jehol,
Withdrawing thither the bulk of his
electives in Manchuria. Apparently
Feng, whose main strength for many
months past was. I believe. at Kali
gan. has strongly occupied the
metropolitan Peking) area. There
is a rather staggering report that
the tuchun of Che Kiang has en-
barked 10000 troops at or near
Shanghai and intends with them to
invade Manchuria and descending
take Chang Tso Lin in rear How
would Toxic view such an invasion
Now please recall that there are
three grand groups of tuchuns. The
group headed by Chang Tso Lin, that
headed by FenS 7 u HS1ang and the
Yangtse group headed by WI Pei
Flu. We have nothing trustworthy to
go upon as to the plans of the three
grand leaders. but the above touches
may furnish material for amusing
speculation.
We are informed that Gen. Chen
Kwang Ming. the anti-red leader in
Kwang Tung Province. has been
badly beaten by the reds, and that
the latter have re-established more
vigorously than before the anti
British boycott in Swatow, Chen's
headquarters.