It would appear that the Chibli party leaders in Peking have summoned up sufficient courage to deny Speaker Wu Ching-lien the Premiership, for which: he has worked.so hard, and to defy him to do his worst in his present position in Parliament. If he gives serious trouble they expect to counter his activities by cur tailing the life of-*the present legislative body and by hastening the election of new members, Wu Pei-fu's determined opposition to Wu Ching-lien's appointment, in which he was strongly seconded by the Tuchun of this province, Chi Hsieh-yuan, undoubtedly accounts for the Speaker's failure to get his post.
With Wu Ching-lien disposed of and with Sun Yat-sen disposing of himself, the next man upon whom the Chihti folk will focuss their distinguished consideration is not Chang Tso-lin, as the majority of observers might guess, but Lu Yung-hsiang, the ruler of Chekiang.
General Lu is an important obstade to Chihli ambitions because he is the last Tuan Chi-jui retainer, the last Anfuite, to hold a high administrative post and to command large bodies of troops in important strategic positions. The permanence of Tsao Kun's position can never be assured until Lu Yung-hsiang is removed from his present office and until he ceases to be a medium for Anfa enterprise in Chekiang and Shanghai. With Lu cut of Chekiang, the Anfu folk would have no base in China outside the Treaty Ports and no organized force that they could call their own.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.