Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-13
WASHINGTON c.. 27-PAR


, uncertainty respecting WI Pei Flu.
| That warrior, after his defeat by the
| Nationalist before Wuchang, retired
into northeast Honan with the rem
nant of his army and set up his head
| quarters at Chen Chau, in a position
| to contest the eastward advance Of
the kuominchun or the southern adj
vances of troops of the Chang Tso Lin
alliance. To be sure, WI Pei Flu has
co-operated with Yen Hsi Shan (the
model governor" of Shansi Province
and a member of the Chang Tso Lin
alliance) in blocking the advance OF
the Kuominchun beyond the north
! west corner of Honan Province.
| At last definite reports. troops OF
WI Pei Flu held the western terminus
of the Lunghai railroad, a little east
| of Wen Hang, and the Kuominchun
(headed by Feng Yu Hsiang, the
| Christian general) was effectively
halted at Wen Hang. But. as /
Pei Flu and Yen Hsi Shan. was to be
expected. They are in common, dis
| tinguished from most of the other
prominent figures on the Chinese
| scene, being of the true Confucian
breed, gentlemen of the old school,
enlightened Conservatives. 1t was
natural, too, that WI Pei Flu should
act against Feng Yu Hsiang, who be-
trayed him and China in 1924
| On the other hand, WI Pei Flu is
fully justified in profound distrust
| of Chang Tso Lin and he has no rea-
| son to love Sun Chuan Feng. Lord
| of Shanghai, his one-time pupil and
| lieutenant, who selfishly, and. as it
| has turned out, fatuously, failed to
| send him succor at Wuchang.
| AS I said. WI Pei Flu profoundly
| distrusts Chang Tso Lin, and he has
refused formal adhesion to the Chang
| Tso Lin alliance; not selfishly or fac
| tiously. l am inclined to say. but be-
cause he is a genuine patriot.
Remembering the past, he would
Chang Tso Lin alliance conditions
| aimed to clip the wings of Chang Tso
Lin's personal ambition. to safeguard
| China against domination by that in
| teresting ex-bandit.
| Well, 1t seems that the Manchuran
| legions. moving south, are approach
| ing Chang TIE. in Honan, just over the
border from Chill: that Chang ESQ
Lin has not assented to WI Pei Fu's
| conditions, and that WI Pei Flu
objects to further advance of the
Manchurians. Wherefore Chang Tso
Lin sends a long telegram to his
| allies and to WI Pei Flu. He is on
| his way south. says he, to liquidate
Chang Kai Shek and nothing will
stop him. He hopes WI Pei Flu will
| cooperate, and bitterly chides him
for his uncordial attitude. Should he
try to block the way, the worse for
him, that's all. WI replied, sternly
demanding that the Manchurians ad-
| vance no farther than Chang TIE pend
ing a precise agreement between him
and Chang Tso Lin. So there you
are.
1t is not quite clear whether the
kuominchun is still held at Wen
Hang or has forced it's way forward
toward junction with Nationalist
forces moving northward through
Honan.
Chang Tso Lin's declared imme-
date aim is to recover Hankow. We
require light also on the doings and
intentions of that celestial Don Juan.
Chang Tsung Chang, Tuchun of
Shantung.
X X X *
ChiIe.-For many years 40 per cent
of the government revenue of Chile
had been derived from the nitrate
export tax. But increased production
of synthetic nitrates has ended this