Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-10
CANTONESE LEADER IS NOTED
FOR SIMPLICITY AND LOYALTY
Chang Kai-Shek Surrounded
by Little of the Pomp
Found in North.
Chief of Military Forces
Strict Follower of Party
Program.
BY JOHN Nice. ROOFS.

There are at least two qualities
which distinguish Chang Kai.Shek,
commander-in-chief of the Cantonese
revolutionary army, from his rivals in
north China.
The first is a personal characteristic
one, however. which is common to
most Of the young Nationalist officials
simplicity. Not even in Soviet Bus.
STA can one find a high public func-
tionary surrounded with less pomp
and circumstance than the head Of
China's Nationalist forces.
| was accustomed to the generals of
Mukden, Peling and Marking, where
interview arrangements in time of
war are virtually impossible, and
even in the off season must be made
days ahead. where bands blare as one
enters the presence and files of
braided soldiery stiffen to attention.
So it was a very definite surprise.
after casually calling up on the phone
in Canton one afternoon, only two
days before tho Cantonese first army
left for its northern drive, to be told
that their general would be glad to
see me if l came right over. I jumped
into q rickshaw outside the headQuar-
ters of the Russian advisory staff,
and with one of the party secretaries
as interpreter dashed off to the home
Of Chang Kai-Shek.
Headquarters Plain.
young officer met me on the steps
of a small gray-brick house, glanced
at my card, and smilingly beckoned
me upstairs. We entered a small
room, bare except for the table in the
center, two pictures of Sun Yet-Sen
over the mantel and a military map
across the back wall, showing by little
red flags the location of the Cantonese
outposts in their northern advance.
Chang Kai-Shek was standing at
the window, looking out, and turned
with quiet smile TO shake hands. He
was dressed in plain khaki, without
distinguishing marks of any kind.
He is somewhat taller than the aver
age Canton type, being himself a ma
tive of Chekiang Province. His hair
is cropped short. He has frank,
open face, black eyes and an easy
manner.
He motioned me to seat. and we
exchanged greetings in Chinese while
lemonade and sliced watermelon were
placed before us. Then, through the
interpreter, we chatted briefly about
his date of departure, already post.
poned several days; the purposes of
the expedition and his hopes of vic
tory. Not least among the latter, he
said, was his faith in the devotion OF
the Christian general, Feng Yu-
Hsiang, who was still in Moscow, and
in the strength of his northwestern
peoples army.
Man of Few Words.
Chang is a man of few words. and
in the short time available we did not
go very deep. But what impressed
me most was the modest yet direct
way he had of stating his ideas. He
seemed to personify, sitting there, the
best in the attitude of the new China
toward the world az large. He had a
certain quiet positiveness-no aggres-
sion, but not hint of deference-so
far removed alike from the naughty
bigotry of the old Manchus emperors
as from the subservient tendency
which followed China's several defeats
by the armies of the powers.
Gone was the ancient contempt for
the foreign barbarian" Gone, too,
was the more recent fear of the for
eign devil" And in their place was
a cool self-respect which looked
neither up nor down, but straight
ahead.
One of the members of the Political
Bureau, chief government organ, had
arrived for a short conference, and
he was bowed in as [ was bowed out.
Before leaving i asked Gen. Chang
when he expected to be- in my home
town of Hankow, on the Yangtze
River. He smiled and shook his head.
How could he tell, he said
AS events turned out, it took trifie