Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-15
i. S. SHIP FIRES
: ON NORTH CHINESE
WITH 4-INCH GUNS
British Cruiser Also Shoots
When 0rientaIS Attack
Standard Oil Ship.
NATI0NALISTS' SPLIT
CLOUDS CHEN'S POWER
Reply to Nations Note Expected
From Chang, Who May Be
More Conciliatory.

By the Associated Press.
The destroyer John j. Ford today
fred upon Chinese Northern troops
using her 4.inch guns, loaded with
shrapnel shells and silencins the frc
which the Chinese had directed upon
the Standard OH ship Meian.
Official reports on the incident
reaching the Navy Department said
the Northern troops were entrenchea
abreast the Ford in the Yangtze River
opposite Nanking and had been firing
upon the oil ship and exchanging
shots with Chinese Nationalist troops
on the Nanking side of the river.
The Ford at first returned the fire
with its machine guns, and the Brit
ish cruiser Emerald, anchored along
side, also turned its machine guns
upon the Chinese. The Chinese ceased
firing at the Meian and concentrated
rpon the Ford. which was hit in many
places, but which suffered no casual
ties to it's crew or material damage to
itself.
Emerald Aided Before.
The action. the second in which the
British cruiser Emerald has joined
with American destroyers in lombard
fng Chinese, was reported by Admiral
Williams. commanding American
forces in China. who forwarded dis
match from Rear Admiral Hough, COM
manding the YangtZe patrol.
Admiral Hough said Cantonese
forces on the Nanking side of the
river had been exchanging fire with
the Northern troops, using field guns
and rifles.
An entrenched Chinese outpost
4 ha ct a
ship Loongwa and several Chinese
junks.
Consul Davis return TO Marking
was reported by the patrol comman-
der, who added that the consul was
remaining on board the Ford.
An acute turn in the affairs of the
Chinese NationaIists forces served to-
day to cast a doubt over the authority
which may back the reply of Eugene
Chen, Cantonese foreign minister, to
the demands Of the powers, made after
the outrages committed on foreigners
at Nanking.
The reply reached the state Depart
nent from Consul General Lockhart
early today. but its arrival syn
chronized with press reports of the
drastic anti-radical action taken by
the military elements Of the Cantonese
l party at Marking.
Coincident with the delivery OF the
reply by Chen. proposing formation OF
an international commission to fx re-
ssponsibility for the incidents at Nan
king. the impeachment of the Can
tonege government at Hankow was
ordered by the Kuomintang, or can
tonese Nationalist party.
The protests of the powers Were
handed to Gen. Chang simultaneously
with their delivery to Chen, and II
has been expected that Chang would
make a more conciliatory reply. In
as much as the Hankow government
Of which Chen was member, has
now been repudiated by the Nanklng
conference, the exact status and ef-
4 fectfveness of the exchanges must re-
\ main in doubt.
No Official Comment.
It was noted that the Nanking lead
ers described Chen as a tool Of
Michael Borodin, the Russian Com
4 Snunist adviser of the Hankow gov
ernment, and not as a Communist
himself, but his final position IN the
i Cantonese councils still remains to pc
determined. Likewise, it still must be
a question for the future as to how
Tar the moderate elements in the Can
tonese ranks viii agree with his atti-
tude on the outbreaks involving for
i eigners in China. No official comment
was forthcoming here as to the future
i American policy as it might be af-
fected by the Nanking incident or
the reply Of Chen. In delivering their
demands, the powers reserved to
4 themselves the methods TO be used in
/ case of a refusal by the Cantonense.
Another element has entered unex-
pectedly into the situation with off
cial American advices indicating that
4 sfhe northern military alliance had al
4 ready established control over long
3 stretch of the north bank of the
Yangtze River. and was sending forces
across the river, driving out Can
tonese troops from cities on the south
bank. The report said that Can
4 t6nese flags had been hauled down
i ht various points, including Nanking.
Significance Not Clear.
Whether the conference of Can.
1onese MCderates has already fled
from Marking before the Northern ad-
q vance is not known.
8 In view of these tangled circum-
# stances, significance to be attached to
Chen's answer to American demands
4 for reparations is not clear Chen
4 himself may be already virtually a
4uSlLiNG AIUul lttG A1OuSIdAe bIOup al
his own party. There is no question
that his reply 70 the demands was
somewhat more conciliatory than had
been at first forecast, but the extent
81 to which it may be regarded as salts
factory by the Washington Govern
ment remains to be seen.
On the q .estion of establishing Ma
tionalist responsibility for the out.
RACES, the first impression here was
that because Of the great amount of
first-hand evidence on that point.
which has been assembled by Con.
sui Davis at Marking and Consul
General Gauss at Shanghai, the Wash.
ington Government could have no
doubt Of the outcome If it determined
to submit these facts for examination
by some joint Chinese and foreign
body.
An outstanding part of Chen's re.
ply was held in some quarters to be
the acceptance of complete responsi.
bility for attacks upon the American
a consulate and consular officers.
There was still no indication today
as to when a reply to the demands
might come also from Gen. Chang,
who probably has been too much oc
cupied with his political and military
activities in facing a Northern on
alaught along the YangtZe on the
81 one hand and at the same time bring.
" ing out a complete rupture with rad
icalism in his own party, TO have
time TO formulate his answer. The
American demands, however, call for
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