April 18, 'The report which appears in another column, of the progress made by the Red armies in Anhui, serves to' draw attention getierally to the grave state of disorder which prevails in many parts of China, and the failure of the Government to take effective steps to suppress it. Cognate with this is the prevalence of banditry which, though it may not be Red in its political complexion, is just about as widespread and" presents just serious a problem for the Nanking authorities any a definitely weakening facto) in, the case which they are presenting before public opinion throughout the world, It must appear as an astonishing fact to observers abroad, un calloused by close association as are foreigners who live in China, that a government which claims to control and represent this great country is in fact unable to maintain even a semblance of order in large areas almost at the very doors of its seat, But those who live within the borders of China realise such conditions as these to be endemic, The capture and holding to yang om of foreigners in the interior ome to be looked upon as a almost every-day affair, or at] the most, something to be talked about for a day or two and then forgotten, Thus the captivity of the Rev. Bert Nelson for mo than. a year in bandit hands, the more recent capture of Captain Baker and the swindling of those who paid ransom for his release come to be looked -upon with a certain cynical regard by those who see at close quarters the failure of a government to impose its will upon the people they purport to govern, But they are all very real facts, considered from a very different standpoint abroad, and lending some colour to the Japanese contention, at Geneva that China 4s little more than a geographic expression, a remark all the moi Keen because of its approximation to the truth, The excellent showing made by the 19th Route Army against the infinitely better-equipped troops of Japan, and the stern resistance they offered until ove! whelmed with heavier, materia ads to the opinion that there are troops in China which could be used with effect against the Reds, and the bandits whether they are to be found south, or north of the Yangtze. There is even some: ground for believing that much-heralded campaigns against these rebels in the past have not been prosecuted with that whole-hearted devotion to the vindication, of government. which the situation would appear demand. If that supposition is not entirely correct, then it would seem that the best ability has not been employed against these enemies of peace and good order, but if either is accepted then the natural deduction must be that the government, wheth it be national or provincial, h: failed in its primary duty. It may be argued that the Government is preoccupied with the Manchurian and Shanghai questions: but the argument is weak, for it is inconceivable that a modern government should cease to function in all its departments because one or some of them are confronted with a situation. of international proportions, and dificult to believe that with all the men under arms which China is said to possess, sufficient forces could not be detached for the purpose of restoring order in districts which have suffered under these disabilities for years past.
The correspondent of, the "North-China Daily News," who describes the conditions proval ling at present in that. pro nee, with the possible cap-{ture and rapine of Liuanchow for the second time within a few years, speaks of the area involyed as accessible by automobile roads and, apparently, presenting, Inone of the difficulties met with jin the campaigns against the Reds south of the Yangtze. But the Reds in Anhui, surrounded by government troops, control a large district. There are reports that more government) troops are being rushed into the province from Honan and Hupeh jin an eleventh-hour attempt to relieve the threatened city. "Phot is very proper, as far as it goes, but it is incontestable that the situation which now exists [should never have been allowed to Jeome into being, It must be em phasized that the conditions pre~ vailing in Anhui and the other provinces involved similarly, are not the results of this unfortunate misunderstanding with Japan, They are. conditions Which it is. not unreasonable to assert are daily becoming worse. The matter is not purely a do-Imestic one concerning only Nanking, or Loyang. The ultimate [success of China before the bar of world opinion depends not only jupon the merits of the case she is presenting against Japan, bat false upon the picture of her internal affairs which she is able to produce for inspection. Foreign-Jers are able to say that it is impossible to trade in large areas lof China because of the disorder' which exists and has existed for Jan unconscionable time past. And China with forees_running into the millions, using only 'a few tens of thousands in the vicinity of Shanghai, embarked upon no expedition against Manchoukuo is apparently unable or reluctant to put sufficient forces into the field to crush once and I this canker which is eating at her vitals and threatens her very existence. The. seriousness of the matter cannot be over estimated and it is greatly to be hoped that the Chinese Govern ment will take the steps neces: sary to clean up the area north lof the Yangtze, at least, not only to vindicate, its authority but to remove the' menace which has been threatening the people of the province all too long.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.