Sept The statement of the expen ture of Government loans which appears elsewhere in our columns to-day is as interesting as it is important, Mr. T. Soong has borrowed $138,729,056 during his present incumbency, that is, since January, 1927, which has been used for military and political purposes. Other loans, which are enumerate were' employed for specific constructive tasks of a nonpolitical and non-military nature, In any study of this statement, the period during which the loans were issued has to be considered. The entire cost of financing the Northern Expedition, the additional expenditure entailed by the Tsinan affair, the fight against the Kuangsi militarists and the struggle with General Fong Vu-hsiang were financed out of these loa which do not appear to be excessive considering the accomplishments. We may not believe, many do not believe, that "all these wars were necessary or to the best interests of China, but apparently the Nanking Government regarded them as unavoi able and in some respects defensive. If, as General Chiang Kai-shek so often insists, China was unified for $138,000,000, then there can be no criticism of the expenditure.
There are, among the Chi many who admit that the unificais more apparent than actual, but who contend that even an apparent unification la an improvement on the chaos ami wastefulness of tuchunism. These are contentious subjects with regard to which one may argue on either side with sincerity. In fact, the entire question of unification is so fundamental that one finds it difficult to express a final and irrevocable opinion as to which is the best method. Thus far, no plan, from Yuan Shih-kai to the present day, seems to have achieved an undeniable success, But what is not controversial in Mx. Soong's statement is: the advisability of his having made it. Government by secrecy is bound to end in failure. The constant suppression of facts, the censorship, the persecution of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.