Word: cantons
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Between the Nanking Government of North & Central China and its loosely subservient ally, the Canton Government in South China, is an area of great lakes, marshes and mountains pullulating with bandit Communist armies. Harassed from all sides last week, the tattered, hungry Communists saw to the east the fat fields of Fukien Province just before the harvest, beyond that the sea whence come their smuggled guns. Some 40,000 of them boiled down from the mountains, swept a small local army out of their way. Up to meet them swaggered Canton's 19th Route Army, famed for its defense...
Probably War Lord Feng was bluffing but his words produced the effect sure to follow when Chinese hear a leader of their race actually grow bold enough to threaten Japan. The Canton Government of South China headed by General Chen Chi-tang promptly pitched into the Nanking Government "of all China" headed by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek who has made a truce with Japan (TIME, June 5). In view of this truce. Generalissimo Chiang had dispatched 60,000 troops to quell War Lord Feng, only to receive demands from General Chen that he call them back. "Canton," wired Canton...
Righteously the Canton Association for Relief and Assistance to Volunteers [against Japan] shipped 50,000 Canton dollars to "encourage" War Lord Feng. This was too much for the Nankingers who promptly charged Feng with being at the same time 1) an agent provocateur for Japan and 2) an agent of Soviet Russia which was supposed to be sending him munitions...
Just before the mutineers reached Canton, where General Chen Chi-tang heads a Government loosely subservient to that of Chiang Kaishek, the Generalissimo acted decisively to save his face, Chinese-fashion, and give an appearance of squelching the mutineers. To General Chen, who was about to buy the three war boats anyway, Chiang telegraphed "orders to incorporate them temporarily into the Southwest Navy" at Canton...
Next day news that the mutiny was apparently successful-i. e. that the mutineers would receive suitable bribes from General Chen to turn over their ships- caused three more Chinese war boats, all midgets, to break away from the Northeastern squadron and streak for Canton. This was too much for Generalissimo Chiang. Since the newly mutinous ships were so very small, he ordered the three-year-old cruiser Yat-sen (China's newest) to leave Shanghai on a "mystery cruise," presumably to intercept the midgets...