Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-23
CHANG TAKES OVER
LAST CAPITAL CITY
Of SUNCHUAN-FA ANC
Manchurians Enter Marking,
Presaging Battle With Can
tonese for Shanghai.
FORMER DEFENDER SEEN
ELIMINATED AS FACTOR
Near Panic Prevails as Deserters
From His Army Straggle Into
Native Section.

SHANGHAI. February 23.-Neat
panic prevailed.in the native quai 'e,
of Shanghai today as deserters anu
stra agglers from the broken army OF
Marshal Sun Chuan-Fang continued
to arrive in increasing numbers and
rurnors were that they were planning
a wholesale looting of the prize city.
French authorities strengthened the
defenses about their concession, Whic"
Yesterday was bombarded by Chiilese
warship which had deserted Marshsti
Suns cause and gone over TO lhe
Cantonese. The French quarter was
struck by five shells and the native
section bv five more because or oeiee'
tive guns and poor craftsmanship.
The intention was to shell Marsnai
SUMS arsenal by firing over the city
and the shells fell short.
Refugees Pouring In.
In spite of the incident IN tne
French quarter, thousands OF reiusees
noured into it from the native sectlon
as the situation outside became more
tense.
The French consul general lodged
protest with the commissioner OF 1or-
eign affairs as q result or the Dom-
bardment, but he did not doubt that
the arsenal was the only target and
believed that the sailors were not try
ing to hit the French concession.
Meanwhile the strike abated appre.
ciably. It was estimated that 10000
of the 100, 900 which We're on strike
yesterday had returned to work. The
majority of the inside force at the
most office went back and transporta-
ton services were nearing normal
operations again.
Executions Are Stopped.
Probably as a result of protests by
Chinese public bodies. public execu-
ton in the Chinese city have been
several beheadings had taken place
inside, the military headquarters,
adding to the execution list which
previously numbered some 30 strike
~. Local anthorisiss Of ,Marshal sun
resumed control of the warships
Kiangwei and Kiangkang. which were
I'm the river at the time the other
Chinese warcraft opened fire. Crews
of the two warships were reported to
have Joined the Cantonese cause also,
but did not figure in the lombard
ment. Guns from French vessels had
DGGu upOI LI1C xAtai6 WEI dh0
Kiangkang during the trouble, but
did not open fire. The rebellious
crews of the two ships recovered by
SUMS forces fled shoreward as the
military authorities approached the
craft.
Marshal Sun was reported to have
reached Shanghai today from Nam
king, capital of the province, which
he surrendered to Shantung military
forces earlier In the day. The
Shantungese took over the city as a
part of their plan to bring troops
from the north TO aid Suns tottering
army in the defense of Shanghai
against the approaching Cantonese
who are lining uD south of here.
Report Not Confirmed.
The reports of Marshal Suns ar
rival here could not be confirmed, as
his whereabouts are supposedly a
secret
Marshal Sun, once overload of Ave
of the richest provinces in China, sur
rendered his last capital in desperate
effort to prevent Shanghai and the
surrounding important territory in
Kiangsu Province from falling into
the hands of the Cantonese.
The series of events in and around
ture of Hangchow south of here by
the Cantonese. the general strike of
workmen in Shanghai and the bonn
harding incident, all woven into the
Cantonese plan to capture this city,
has caused Marshal Suns power to
crumble.
Gen. Chang Tsung Chang, military
governor of Shantung Province. nom-
inally Suns ally. but once his enemy,
entered Marking this morning and as
suned control of the city preparatory
to sending 10000 Northern troops to
the defense of Shanghai. The move
was taken as an indication that Sun
has practically been eliminated as a
factor in the military situation, the
general belief being that Chang, while
defending Shanghai, will oust Sun
and take over his last remaining
province kiangsu, of which Shanghai
is the principal city.
Chang Controls Railroad.
Nanking is 2l0 miles north and
west of Shanghai. 1t is the capital OF
the province. On entering the city,
Chang was given control of the rail.
road leading southwark. thus enabling
him to rapidly thrown his Northern
army into Shanghai's defense.
While the Nanchurians pour in
from the north in an effort to prevent
the prize city from falling into Ma
tionalist hands, defections continue tc
occur in Suns ranks.
Sun in addressing n gathering OF
notables in Nanking prior to Chang
entry, wept, declaring that disloyalty
CONTINUED on Page 3. Column g.
-------s s-----------