Peking, Aug. 15.
The conservative advisers of Marshal Tsao Kun yesterday confessed that the Tientsin party (ie. the extremist wing of Tsao Kun's followers) were.completely victorious. The Presidential campaign, therefore, is entirely in the hands of the Tsao Jui clique. (Tsao Jui is the brother of Tsao Kun and reputedly his evil genius).
The report circulating locally that the Tientsin party are negotiating with Chang Tso-lin of Manchuria is confirmed by Tsao Kun's closest conservative associates. The terms of the negotiation, as hitherto published by the Chinese press, are also practically confirmed by the same people.
These informants state that the projected agreement between Tientsin and Fengtien (i.e. Tsao Kun and Chang Tso-lin) calls for the elimination of Wu_Pei-fu and Chang Fu-lai from Honan. They say that the scheme is to make Tsao Kun_ President and Chang Tso-lin Vice-President.
Tsao's conservative friends add that the union of these parties (Tientsin and Fengtien) means united opposition to the new agitation among the adherents of Tuan Chi-jui (the old Anfu Premier). Therefore it means the united opposition of Tsao. Kun and Chang Tao-lin to the drawing together—of—WuPei-fa and 3
Tuan Chi-jui, which must inevitably follow.
If Wu Pei-fu' yields to the terms of the Tientsin party and withdraws to Wuchang, any support he has from the public is finished. If he does not yield, he must fight the Tsao Kun-Chang Tso-lin combination.
If Wu Pei-fu yields, he is done for in the sight of the nation. Of he resists, then the Tientsin party's threat to promote war between Chang Tso-lin. and Wu Pei-fu this year will be made good. And in that case Wu Pei-fu will be in a dangerous position, because, according to the terms of the whole project as published by the Chinese press, Feng Vu-hsiang (the well-known Christian general) is to be made Tuchun of Honaf and will therefore be implicitly opposed to Wu Pei-fu in any trial of strength; while Wang Cheng-pin_ is the destined successor of Tsao Kun as Inspector-General of Chihli, Shantung and Honan when Tsao becomes President and will therefore also be opposed to Wu Pei-spectacular an is accordingly This report is deamescalty subject to doubt. But the tonservative advisers of Tsao Kun vouch for its authenticity and the desperate position of the Tientsin clique warrants the_possibility. Hence the above interpretation-of the whole situation is probably accurate.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.