General Chiang Kal-shek is handle capped by an inability to be in more than one place at a time. His per sonal ascendancy and professional capacity have abundantly proved themselves in the arduous' campaign against the Reds. His own troops have borne the brut of the opera-ons. He has unhappily found. that local' material has not been able to face the enemy with the resolution for success. Measures have been taken to remedy this state of affairs and the ce-operation afforded by the Kwangsi forces is a distinct asset, In Kweichow the Generalissimo "has once again proved the sureness of his grasp of a tactical situation, The threat to Kweiyang, for the' time being, has been averted, but the enormously diffeult character of the hilly country of the province greatly hampers the Government troops in their task of pursuit, This experience is comparable with that of' trained country and are well-acquainted with the terrain. "But the serious feature of his campaign is the apparent helplessness of local forces when one the Generalissimo's personal presence has been removed." Hie preocet tion in Kweichow has ed to the advance of the Reds once more in North-East Szechuen with the result that Chengtu is in danger, although not: thought that the Reds will be able to press their succeed to. the point of capturing that city, It noteworthy, however, that they have crossed the Kinling Rivera feat which even the mildest opposition [could have made impossible, "General Chiang Kai-shek has thus three dlstinct "groups of Red Annlea tackle, 'There are the former Red troops from Kianesi which he is now engaging in Kweichow. 'They are Jestimated to number about 10,000 in he central part of the province and from 6000 to 8,000 in' the 'North-Bast. There are the Reds of North-Bast' Srechuen now. advancing the west of the Kialing River toward Chenglu—about 000 in all, including 18,000 wifes. There remains the third group of Fed>—about 6,000 men—concentrated on the border where the provinces of Szechuen, Hunan and Kw chow meet, under the orders of the notorious Ho Lung. Thus the total Communist forces may be put roughly at 50,000, Tt may be that they will not attempt to form a general concentration, for by preserving, their separate identities In. thres groups they undoubtedly present the Government with a more difficult tak, Moreover, it ie reasonable to believe that thereby they avoid delicate personal issues which are liable embarrass even the thorough-paced Communist. Apart from his evident military ascendancy, General Chiang Kai-shek has one supreme advantage over his opponents and over any other commander who has hitherto attempted to take the feld. "He has created a marked impression of leadership among the people of unhappy. Suechuen, They have had grim reasons to be distrustful of some of those set in authority over them 'They know by experience and the first-hand impressions of fugitives from the North-East what the rule of the Reeds means. 'They look, therefore, to the Generalissimo, not merely a5 the commander who' can defeat the Reds in battle but also og the national leeder who ein bring hope once more to places where it had been sadly abandoned. Tt is dim cult not to be anxious for General Chiang Kai-shek in this situation. The trust Placed in him will, no doubt, receive from thun a full and sincere response. But he lo faced with a task of such magnitude that it is reasonable to wonder whether expectations will be sufficiently allied with patience and perception to give him the necessary scope for action. That ho is addressing himself to the problem with unreserved energy and enthusiasm is apparent. His already recorded achievements give ground for con: Adence, but the ebb and flow of the tide of success will require much forlituide and sympathetic appreciation before it is possible to discern definite elimination of the Communist scourge.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.