Hankow, Feb. 15.
The alliance between the Chinese Red Army (now the 8th Route Army) and the Kuomintang is by no means firmly riveted.
"Many Chinese Government leaders here express the view that the Chinese Communists should not be relied upon very far. This, of course, is due partly to the bitter social cleavage between the respective groups on which the Kuomintang and Communist power 1s based: but it is also a reflection of the Chinese Government's disillusionment over the prospect of effective assistance from Soviet Russia.
The well-known Red leaders, Chow En-lai and Wang Wing, who are both in Hankow at present, are openly stating that direct participation by Soviet Russia in Sino-Japanese hostilities would at this juncture "do more harm than good to China."
Participation by Russia, they argue, would cause Germany and Italy to intervene on Japan's side under the Anti-Comintern Pact. It would also. they assert, alienate the sympathy at present shown to China by the United States and Great Britain.
The attitude of the Chinese Communist leaders is viewed with considerable misgivings here. A few months ago there was a good deal of talk about "a movement to the Left" on the part of the Chinese Government. Much less of this is heard today.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.