Nov. 15.
Probably very few leaders in the world have addressed such strong remarks publicly to their followers as are contained in the message which President Chiang Kai-shek addressed to the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Executive Council. Few would have dared to havi done 80, but Generalissimo Chiang fresh from his victories in the North, and in a sounder position than he has been for some time before, has been abl to draw the attention of the leaders of the Kuomintang to the sad state of affairs which he alleges prevails in the party. Without undue flattery it might be said that there is a soldierlike quality in the forthright manner in which Gen, Chiang makes his charges and a complete absence of that circumlocution which is so often a characteristic of Chinese courtesy. After expressing his confidence in the imminence of reunifi tion, and touching "upon the difficulties which still beset the nation internally and externally, the Generalissimo attributes the main shortcomings of the party to lethargy and incompetence of the lower Party headquarters, It is by no means a non sequitur that the corruption in Party affairs and the loss of respect and confidence, which he says amount to general dislike and hatred in the country, should be the result. Indeed it would be difficult to believe that anything else could happen in circumstances which seem to imply that all are for themselves and none for the Party—and Party in conditions found in China must necessarily mean the star It is not too much of an exaggeration to contend probably the first step tow the correction of abuses withia the Kuomintang. That there the preoccupation of leaders with the prosecution the revolution to its end, it but reasonable to believe that while they were aware of situation which was being creat-od they were more or less power: less 12 Geal with it at the tine. With the advent' of the Young Marshal to Nanking, and hi very apparent readiness to assist in working towards unification, an opportunity has been created whereby something may be done. It will be remembered that, October, Chiang Kai-shek drew attention to the manner in which certain elements of the Party were abusing their privileges and alienating. the support of many who have suffered thereby. In the North, while the Tangpu may exist, its insolent tyranny is not tolera!- ed, "in the South political fledglings have done much to. destroy the harmony that should Prevail within the perty, and divide the one great factor making towards national unity the good of the whole has been subordinated to the caprices of the individual.
Those are the facts to which Gen. Chiang Kai-shek draws attention in such a forceful manner. But having done 80, he comes forward with really' constructive suggestions. He demands a rigid enforcement: of law, the elimination of undesirables, the enlistment rf men of talent for the purposes of reconstruction, and continual vigilance on the part of the higher officers of the Party. The document is an important one in the sense that it shows where the Party is heading, the cause for its unpopularity among certain classes in the country, and puts the necessity for remedy very straightly to the leaders and the rank and file, Even the bitterest critics of the Kuomintang would hesitate to aver that. it has nothing but bad qualities those of an evener judgment find much that is good in it, especially in view of all the circumstances; the enthusiast, of course, sees no fault at all. Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, who by reason of his special position, must be accepted as an authority, warns leaders and followers alike, that the Kuomintang cannot do its best by the country and itself, unless there is that discipline within the Party which will give the leaders a fuller hand to secure a complete expression of the ideals which animate them. The message is the best augury for the success of the deliberations of the Party at its Fourth Plenary Session. The realiza-of all it asks for may take long in securing. There may even be a tendency to delay action until other more pressing governmental questions have been dealt with, but the Generalissimo has shown the way in a manner which cannot be mistaken, and it is for the Party to act as it wishes upon his advice. In view of all that menaces the country there is ana little reason to that not only the fortunes of the Party are involved in the matter, but the very future of China as a whole.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.