Aug. 18.
The news of the recapture of Tsinan is the best received from the war zone for many days. This not entirely on account of the natural satisfaction with which Nanking will view the success gained by General Chiang Kaishek but because it presents an opportunity to which both contending parties might direct careful attention, The Northern troops have been compelled by the superior forces at the disposal of the South—forces equipped with bombing aeroplanes and tanks—to evacuate a city which they have held for some weeks. Their grip on Shantung. has thereby been sensibly weakened and, "uni the messages from Peking are more grievously at fault than usual, there is some degree of dismay at this revival of Nan-King's power offensive. It should not, however, be forgotten that General Feng Vu-hsiang has been planning a blow at Kueiteh and, if it were to be developed to the point of complete success, the victory at Tsinan would be not merely barren but probably the prelude of greater danger to the lines of communication of General Chiang Kai-shek's army. These considerations are no doubt well in the mind of the High Command for they must considerably effect the disposition of troops detailed to hold Tsinan and will certainly induce caution in attempting any extended pursuit of the Northera troops beyond that city.
Gratifying though this victory must be to Nanking, it is exceedingly unlikely that, when the first enthusiasm has died down, will be regarded as in any wi decisive, Four months of d sultry warfare may.not have resulted in much loss of effectives or territory on other side, They have, however, frittered away resources of which China stands in urgent need. They have nearly paralysed the recognized govern-mont of China in the face of an ever-growing and more audi acious communist advance. 'They have heavily depleted the treasury and, combined with general world' conditions, they have greatly contributed to the calamitous depreciation of Chinese currency. When it considered that, during April and May, China imported from India alone Rs.360 lakhs worth of rice, as against about Rs.35 lakhs for the corresponding period of each of the two preceding years, the drain of the present grave economic situation on the welfare of the people as a whole can be dimly appre' ed. If there be any reality in the professions of patriotism made either in the North or la the South there must be a coni-mon desire to strive for the tet~ mination of hostilities which inevitably sessist in widening the circle of blighting depression.
It was understandable a few days ago that the Nanking Government might feel reluctance to move in the direction of negotiations with the North. They had {litle to show for the main since of the view that such a tnove was born of conscious strength. Similarly the North could feel no confidence that en offer to come to terms, would not be misunderstood. To-day, on both sides, prestige would in no way be endangered by a move for reconciliation. The North still hold a powerful threat to the further advance of Nanking. Nanking has regained important round which it lost. Neither side can seea speedy termination of hostilities by the mere operation of its respective fighting forces. The stalemate, which has been staring both in the fa For the last four months, still persists. In such circumstances honour and material interest cry aloud with remarkable and, pechaps, unusual unanimity. On the one side there is the Government which is, at present recognized by the world as the proper government of China; truncated in its authority, bled white by economic forces within and without its control, grievously hampered in the performance of many of its ordinary civil functions but still—the Government. On the other is a viril dissenting faction the power to keep its component parts in coherent alliance in e1- forcement of its will—a faction which is able to assume some of the authority of a government and successfully, within given territorial limits, to defy to the bitter end the administration, of which it should be a part. If these facts are frankly recognized and the good of China placed in the forefront of consideration there surely now should be some attempt made. reconcile the aspirations of Nanking and the North. The opportunity stands out clear. It may not recur. If only the two combatants would perceive it and act on its implications, the victory of Tsinan might easily become a turning point China's present tribulation, For ff peace ensued between South and North, could there then be some hope of an organized an!
effort being made to copy with the task of liberating China from the nightmare of communist oppression and economic chaos, Will the opportunity be taken?
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.