At one time the focus point of China's hopes, Dr. C. T. Wang today seems to have fallen on evil Gilbert alluded to the inoreasin! times. The other day Mr. Rodney unpopularity in Peking of the "St. John's Clique," of which Dr. Wang is a member, and now the Chinese papers have daily telegrams and messages from so-called publio bodies throughout the country denouncing his actions in Shantung. Almost the first of these was in the nature of a calculation of the expenses of the Rehabilitation Bureau,. those responsible for its compilation finding that by the time the railway would revert to' China, Dr. Wang's entourage would have absorbed 20 million dollars in salaries and other outgoings. Next comes a report that a virile propaganda against Dr. Wang is proceeding in the province itself, leaflets being issued broadcast describing him ds a "false and self-appointed Director-General," while a further message gives the news of an agitation on the part of Shantung residents in Peking with the object of demanding his attendance before them to explain why he is carrying on secret dipplomatic negotiations. Perhaps we should take no notice at all of what these semi-public bodies think, for if they are at all on a par with some of our Shanghai organizations they had best be ignored. For one thing we should_never join them in concluding that~ Dr. Wang is spending money needlessly or engaged in anything approaching dis honourable negotiations. But public favour is always a fickle thing, and the growing fashion of using Dr. Wang as a subject for attack suggests that his star is temporarily, at least, setting.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.