Peking, July 24.
In reporting Dr. Wellington Keo's assumption of office as Minister of Foreign Affairs, most of the local papers and news agencies, last night and this morning took occasion to remark that the Chihli party folk were delighted and much encouraged because, from their point of view, the addition of a reputable Minister to their Cabinet made the Government look just that much more like a Government and would serve as encouragement for other timid candidates to accept portfolios.
Actually this is not the case. If the Tientsin loaders yesterday expressed any elation over Dr. Koo's assumption of office, the writer has every reason to believe that it is feigned. To the Chinese politician, Dr, Kioo's assumption of office is not half so significant as the pains he took, before going to the Ministry, to disassociate himself from: his colleagues, to let the world know that their Politics were not his and to make it plain that he was not coming in to please Tsao Kun or the Tientsin clique, but because in his opinion no matter how bad conditions in China might be there ought to be someone in the Foreign Office to tell the Powers from day te day that they are not as bad as they look.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.