Evening star., 1935-12-01

as the official residence Of the Pres
ident.
But the President performs his most
important functions in the reception
of foreign ENJOYS and in presiding
at state ceremonies. The Official
residence is as yet unoccupied-dis-
cretion being the better part of valor
in deciding how conspicuous to make
ones self in taking advantage of the
sometimes snowy prerequisites of high
Office in these troubled times.
And one soon discovers that the
government at Marking IS not so much
the government of the people of
China or even of the astute officials
who wear the titles and discharge the
obligations of their various important
offices as it is the government of one
man, GeneraliSsimo Chang Kali
Shek. on whose rather slender shoul-
ders rests much of the future. If not
of China, then certainly of the present
government structure at Marking.
This taciturn soldier has become the
leading figure in molding the form
Of today's new China. and even those
who question many of mis- motives and
his methods grant him the credit for
most of the tangible progress gained
toward the goal of united China.
But in his dictatorship, as benevo-
lent as it may be, the hidden penalty
Of relationships is clearly discernable
in the anxiety with which his per-
sonal destiny Is regarded. Should
he topple or should he be suddenly re-
moved, the Nanking government
might fall with him. For the time
being. at least, Chang Kai-Shek's
destiny is the destiny of the Nanking
government. Upon his ability to ne
gotiate the narrow path which lies
between the devil and the deep blue
sea-internal troubles on the one hand
and external troubles on the other
largely depends the ability of the
Marking government to survive
New Threats From Japan.
1t has already survived in the face
Of troubles that in their severity have
beset no other nation in the world
The past year for China. the twenty
fourth year of the republic. has wit
messed new threats from China's noisy
little neighbor across the Yellow Sea
Japan. 1t has brought raging floods
down the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers
that destroyed thousands of lives and
hundreds Of millions Of dollars in
property. 1t has brought to China
the worst year of the depression from
which the rest of the world is slowly
emerging and the economic ravageS
have been made more acute by the
ilver-buying policy of the great silver
statesmen on the other side of the
Pacific, whose rosy pictures of helping
China" by marking up the price OF
silver apparently did not take into
account or particularly care about the
resulting flight of silver from China,
the boarding and speculation and the
beating down of prices and the uncer-
tainty on one day of what the next
would bring, which has certainly been
factor in China's steadily diminished
domestic and foreign trade
In spite of these tribulations the
Marking government rests on rather
solid ground-as long as Generals
simo Chang Kai-Shek is able to pay
his army, deliver discreet honorariums
to other generals in return for their
inactivity, and avoid the entangie-
ments at home which might arise
through failure to challenge Japan
and the even more serious entangle-
ments abroad which would certainly
arise through his willingness to chal-
lenge Japan.
No government can exist without
force. although the necessity for US
Continued on Ninth Page)