Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-05-29
COMMUNISTS GAIN
IN CHINESE WARS
Army Estimated at 10000
Men, With Control of Large
Inland Area.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The star.
SHANGHAI, May 26.-The Marking
government. during the regime OF
which there have been more and cost
lier civil wars than under any previous
administration has begun another
punitive expedition" against the Chi
nese Communist armies.
Coming in April, following the tenn
porary cessation of Sino-Japanese hos
tilities at Shanghai, this latest expedi-
ton comedies with the fifth anniver-
sary of the establishment Of reaction
airy control over the Kuomintang and
the beginning of the so-called party
purgation" movement. In April, 1927,
cooperation ceased between the Com
munst and bourgeois factions Of the
Kucmintarg and the military, headed
by Chang Kai-Shek, seized control of
the purified" party.
Although millions of dollars and
thousands Of lives have since been sac
rificed IN fighting the "expurgated"
Reds, the Marking governments sue
cess has been negligible. At most it
has served only to retard rather than
to destroy the spread of Communism IN
China. Actually the Reds are in con-
troll Of far more territory and with a
much larger membership than was true
five years ago The little Communist
army, begun by Chen Tushsui and Ho
Lung almost a decade ago, has now
grown to a strength of IS divisions,
comprising about 100000 fighting men,
with loose control over large parts of
four provinces and population Of
some 50000,000.
Organized in 1927.
The Soviet government, organized at
Nanchang after the collapse of the
Leftist Wuhan government in July,
1927, has learned much from its five
years of experience. Real Soviet prac-
tees have been adopted, and the pre-
liminary stages of an agrarian revolu-
ton are said to have been achieved.
Land has been wreSted from landlords
and divided among the workers of the
soil Mass education has been intro
duced common ownership of utilities
Is in effect, the old Chinese family SyS-
tenn has been destroyed. with the sub
stitution of the community as the fun
damental social unit CONSUMPTION for
the Red armies IS in force, imperial
istic" taxes are said to have been abol-
ished, an 8-hour day adopted, cooper
ative storar and banks opened and the
Soviet lkWS Of marriage and divorce
applied.
These changes have taken place
principally in the Province Of Kiangsl,
which at various times has been al
most entirely under Communist con-
troll. Here began the operations OF
such leaders of the Red revolution as
Yeh Ting, once commander OF the
18th Army NOW the famous 10th
Route Army, Chu Teh, Mao Tsch-
tung, Pang Teh-hui. Tang Hsing- ming,
Lin Piao, Ii Yu-hsien, Ho Chien-min,
Liu Hsing-pong and Tsao Tsu-bing, all
formerly high officers in the Kuomin-
tang armies. Their subalterns joined
them in organizing army groups which
have now extended their activities to
Human, Hupeh and Anhwei Provinces.
Little Information Available.
The Marking government announced,
In 1929, that it could not protect lives
and property Of foreigners in Red dis
tricts. and since then virtually all for
eign business and missionary enterprises
have ceased there. Little really accu-
rate information is available from so
Wet China as contacts with the rest OF
the country are necessarily surrounded
with utmost secrecy. Communism, or
even the study Of MARKHAM principles,
are capital offenses under the regime
Of Chang Kai-shek
Oficials now estimate, however, that
approximately 10000 civilians have
lost their lives in areas held by the
RedS. IheSe were mostly merchants,
officials, their wives and families; bour-
geoise, and petty bourgeoisie, or long
gown people," as they are termed by the
Chinese. The government has not an
nounced casualties among its anti-Red
armies, but losses are said by observers
to be enormous, some estimates placing
the figure as high as 100000 men killed
and wounded The last available Off
cial estimate Of property destruction as
q result of the Red operations, and cam
paigns against them by the government
forces, declare losses exceed S215 900 900.
with about 10000 homes and buildings
destroyed
A remarkable feature Of the growth
Of Red armies is the fact that more
than half of their number is said to
have been recruited from government
troops sent to fight them.
The Marking government has now
thrown six divisions into the battle
against Red ascension in Central and
Southern China. They are mostly picked
troops under generals whose loyalty has
been teSted-men who can be counted
upon. it is believed not to 60 over to
the Red side and strengthen them with
more arms and ammunition But pub
lie confidence in the success of their
eompaign is low.
(Copyrisht, 1922