Peking, July.30.
In Chinese banking circles, outside the Bank of China, it is now. asserted that there is still some chance of Mr. Wang K'o-miff assuming office as Minister of Finance, if he can arrange with the militarists to let him come in on terms' suitable to the Bank of China.
Local gossip now implies that the Bank of China was not s0 much concerned, in forcing Mr. Wang to-resign, about the "gold franc issue' and the possibility of being uncomfortably mixed up in a settlement with the French, as in the prospective settlement of its own account with the Chinese Government.
'An influential member of the Bankers' Association to-day made the astounding statement to the writer that the Chinese Government owed the Bank of China approximately $90,000,000. In view of the settlement that was made a few years ago when the depreciated bank notes were redeemed and destroyed, this seems an incredible figure, but it has no bearing on the story at any rate. The point is, according to current report, that the Government has consistently refused to recognize as legitimate debt a certain large fraction of the total to the bank and that the bank wants someone in the Ministry of Finance who will recognize this big fraction of the total obligation and who is pledged, at the same time to make no more excessive demands upon the bank. The outside bankers say that the Bank of China would therefore forget the "gold franc issue" cheerfully and let Mr. Wang go in if they could pledge him to serve their interests and that this he cannot do until he is absolutely certain that Tsao Kun and the other militarists will endorse and support the Bank of China's programme. Hence his second visit to Paotingfu. If Tsao Kun agrees to the
exchange problem, say the other Honk of Chines terms, the French Chinese bankers, will not stand in the way of either the Bank of China or of Mr. Wang K'o-min. He will go into office with the bank's blessing if with no other recommendation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.