Super-Tuchuns, Tourists

Confused despatches from China last week centred about the startling report that the great Manchurian Super-Tuchun Chang had suddenly been confronted with a most serious mutiny in his ranks, which was supposed to have reduced the forces still loyal to him from 150,000 to less than a third of that number.

General Kiio Sung-lien, commander of Chang's Tenth Division, was apparently the moving spirit behind this military coup; and despatches early in the week pictured him as "imprisoning" Chang at Mukden, his capital. Later it appeared that Chang's fortunes were not at quite so low an ebb, but that his power has certainly been badly shaken.

Throughout the week, Tuan Chi-Jui, head of the impotent Peking Government of China, remained ready to flee from his capital at any moment should Super-Tuchun Feng avail himself of the upset to Chang's power and decide to take personal control of Peking instead of merely dominating it. Feng, however, contented himself with adding a few divisions to the garrison which he maintains at Peking; and called upon Chang to retire to private life, threatening to wipe out his remaining forces if he did not.

At Peking no one molested the delegates of the Powers, who are trying to come to an agreement with "the Government of China" concerning the Chinese customs dues (TIME, Nov. 2 et seq.). The U. S. Minister to China and delegate to the Customs Conference, John Van Antwerp MacMurray, reported that the various conference committees were functioning smoothly, but declined to hazard a guess as to the ultimate significance of military developments of the past week.

An interesting commentary upon the uncertainty of all news from China came to light when the seemingly definite fact was reported that the railway between Chinwangtao and Peking had been "completely cut by insurgent soldiery." Next day 200 U. S. tourists were landed at Chinwangtao from the globe-circling SS. Carinthia. Their indomitable conductor chartered a train and started out over the supposedly obliterated railway. By the aid of a little palm oil he persuaded the detachments of soldiery along the way to replace such segments of the track as they had torn up and carried into the woods. Triumphantly the tourists rumbled into Peking, none the worse for their adventure.