5 May 12.
Two weeks ago Chang Tso-lin might have been deemed omnipotent, and all Peking contended in slavish homage before him. To-day the presidential pencil cannot write mandates fast enough to strip him of his glory and declare him and all his adherents outlaw. Tt is not in Inunan nature not to feel sorry for him. What he would have lone if he and not Wu Pei-fu° had been the victor, we can never tell now. The current belief is that he would have founded a new dynasty. His own repeated assertion was that he meant to turn out President Hsu Shih-chang—which, it seems, would have been extremely popular—- and unify China. Granted that his aims, in this direction, were selfish, it docs not necessarily follow that they would have been" bad for China. Tnideed if only the leader be great enough, the. height of benefit to his countrymen may even depend upon his being supremely selfish, And Chang Tso-lin' was unquestionably a great man, besides being a romantic figure. Those who know him best are usually his champions. For example he is generally described as pro-Japanese. But more than one foreigner who has known him well declares that this is utterly untrue and quotes facts in proof. Situated as he was in a province where Japanese influence is so great, his path must-have been a difficult one and no doubt he would often have to acquiesce in things which would appear to justify the charge mentioned. But the real Chang, we are assured, had no idea of selling his country to any foreigner, and it is a very open question what other wer would, in the actual circumstances of Manchuria, have held his own so well or exercised such sway in the Three Eastern Provinces. The verdict of history cannot be anticipated. We do not yet know whether Chang Tso-lin will meekly submit to all these hollow- presidential thunderings, or whether he will still fight for his throne at Mukden. But we shall be surprised if his eclipse is more than temporary.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.