That Russia was the least dan~ gerous of the Powers with whom chaotic and helpless China had to deal, was undoubtedly the original idea, but it is equally certain that during the past few months all classes of Chinese, except those who have actually been making, something out of the Bolshevik affliation, have come to doubt very seri ously the disinterested good will of the Soviet in China, the ability, of the Bolsheviks to bring order and peace out of confusion as well as their ability to protect China against Japan and the rest of the world if the Powers becom ficiently annoyed to interfere, and finally, China's ability to get) rid of the Red Russians if they once get a sufficient hold upon the coun try. Alarmed by the possibility of being beaten down and enslaved under Red Imperialism, of which the Chinese in Mongolia, Manchuria and Sinkiang can tell a lot, a vast number of thinking Chinese had a revulsion of feeling towai Russia and have reached the conclusion now that all that has been done in the way of bringing Russia into China should be abruptly stop= ed and undone if possible.
'This determination, which is as evident in the ranks of Feng Yue hsiang's Kuominchun as in. the Yangtze Valley, has no ears upon the' innate Chinese feeling towards the rest us which Russian support has iven all classes of the people, cluding the soberest_ merchant' ele ment, the courage to express during the past year nor, though it promises us a breathing spell, does mean that the Chinde have dise covered an alternative cure for their chronic and deep-seated nation= al ailments, And this is why they are so depressog at this season, A Bitter Alternative Peace and order, decent govern+ ment and self-respect are unattainable through the medium of the round-table. Reunification by force has been made impossible by the break-down of discipline and the premiums put upon bad faith. Me dependence and reorganization under Russian patronage now seem. to be out of the question and the whole Soviet flirtation looks a very dangerous and futile ex. periment. So what is there left? Obviously nothing, if there is to, be a China worthy of the name, sort. but international control of some
The situation forces this view of things upon thinking and sincerely, patriotic Chinese, og many of us know, and it is a bitter enough Inst resort for them to contemplate, But the most absurd, as well a the bitterest feature of it is that, thanks +to spineless and inept diplomacy here, thanks to polities and sentimentalism abroad, no Power that could participate in the work of setting China on her fet, the comparatively light task of making: life worth living for a quarter of the world's population while open ug up for a of Asia its legitimate share of the world's trade and prosperity, would dare to move, in the face of misinstructed public opinion, a step towards intervention in China though the Chinese theme selves were to ask for it. And this brings us to a contemplation of the foreigner's part in the history. of the past year in China, (To be continued)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.