From 9 p.m. on July 13 when Marshal Tuan Chi-jui gave the President the choice of dismissing General Wu Pei-fu and depriving General Tsao-kun of his rank, or entry into the capital of the troops of the First Frontier Division, yo be followed by a presidential coup d'état and the arrest of the most prominent. supporters of the President, until Sunday afternoon (July, 18), Marshal Tuan_Chi exercised despotic rule in Peking. Newspapers were closed down: the Marshal's opponents were arreste a military censorate was established: telegraphs and telephones were under close observation, and the general public went in' fear andj trembling lest they should incur suspicion, Between his pipes the Marshal showed flashes of his former brilliancy which had earned him the reputation of being the ablest Chinese of the day. But his mentality has suffered through opium-smoking, forcing him to leave to conscienceless subordinates the carrying out of many important affairs with which he should have dealt himself.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.