May 4.
Ir would be more than interesting were it possible to discover the process by which Chinese in a centre such as Shanghai have come to form their opinion upon the struggle in the north. They have, apparently, very definite views upon the matter, but neither are they illuminating nor are the grounds for them at all clear. Briefly, in spite of telegrams of admonition from the more frothy of the Street Unions to Chang Tso-lin, dislike of Wu Pei-fu is the paramount feature of opinion in Shanghai, but it receives very little public express sion because of the expectation—fear might be a better word—that Wu is to win. Once more explanation of the mental process by which this conclusion is arrived at is lacking, and the only discoverable basis for it is the striking victory which Wu's troops secured over Tuan Chi-jui's Japanese-trained soldiery at the time of the overthrow of Anfu. The fact that Chang Tso-lin has a greater force at his command and a better equipped one does not count, nor do these people argue after the manner of military critics on such subjects as morale and tactical and strategical genins. That one victory has stuck in their minds, and as it was not discounted, but probably rather reinforced, by what happened in the Hupeh fighting of a year ago, it exercises a kind of hypnotism which no consideration of merely military affairs can neutralize. Accordingly, the Chinese here regard the campaign with a considerable amount of awe, they would prefer Chang Tso-lin to be victorious, but they have almost a mortal fear that Wu is the man.
Without question there is, in all this, far more that is unreasening than-anything else, for the aims of the two rivals are well enough known, and, as matters go in China, neither has done any act so much out of the ordinary type of conduct as known to those in high places, to cause any considerable doubt as to his bond fides (again as matters in China go). Take Wu Pei-fu, for instance. He is definitely committed, which may mean much or little, to the cleaning up of Peking and the unification of China, and should the present struggle end in a complete victory for his arms, he is expected to carry through some-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.