Meanwhile Mr. Chen has sent a very- cloudy Reply to
the Identic Notes of the Powers. This is • regarded as thoroughly unsatisfactory by all the diplomats at Peking, but it is quite conceivable that by the time the .Powers have decided upon their next step Mr. Chen will not be the official to deal with. For instance, now that Chiang Kai-shek is in control at Nanking he may be able to make the necessary amends to the Powers. Unfortunately, in spite of Chiang's moderate professions the state of Nanking has become no better since the outrages. Foreigners who returned there have had to depart again, and the destruction of property continues. The explana- tion is either that he cannot control his men or that he does not want to control them. If the second explanation is the true one his breakaway from Bolshevism is inspired less by principle than by personal ambition.
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