Flag, Pearl & Peace

Nearly every little Chinese army is normally for sale. But a serviceable, three-ship navy hawking itself up & down the China coast is something novel. Last week slant-eyed millions chuckled as unexpected sales resistance was encountered by mutinous officers and crews dauntlessly resolved to sell two of the best and most historic cruisers under the Chinese flag and to throw in a training ship for good measure.

The cruiser Hai Chi ("Flag of the Sea") earned in 1911 the distinction of being the first Chinese war boat ever to visit the West when she steamed as near as possible to the Coronation of King George V, discharged a cargo of Chinese emissaries in gorgeous silken robes. Built in 1897 the Hai Chi and the equally venerable Hai Shen ("Pearl of the Sea") were still listed last week as the only cruisers in China's Northeastern Squadron. When some weeks ago their commanders, quarreled with sedentary Admiral Shen Hung-lieh, Mayor of Tsingtao, he could do nothing to prevent their steaming out on the high seas of barter with the training ship Chao Ho ("Foundation of Peace"), a splendid modern Chinese craft of 1911.

At first the runaways steamed north, thinking to sell their ships to the Puppet State Manchukuo. but Japan who tweaks the puppet's strings has a real navy, refused to bid. Disgruntled, the mutineers turned south. They remembered that in 1917 the same three ships sold out to the Canton faction of the late, great Dr. Sun Yat-sen for $60,000. Perhaps Canton might be in a buying mood again.

Canton is 1,500 miles south of Tsingtao but the creaking old war boats put on their best speed. They had to pass Shanghai, where the Chinese Government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek keeps its apology for a navy, but that offered no fight, simply ignored the mutineers. Wallowing on toward Canton they stopped at Amoy--in case the heroic 19th Route Army now stationed there should want to buy a navy. It did not.

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.

To Chinese newshawks who swarmed aboard the prosperously mutinous Hai Chi, her captain, still worried about just how big a bribe he would receive, confessed:

"We had a rough time, this trip. Off Formosa we struck heavy weather and the training ship Foundation of Peace almost sank. We had to tow her with a steel cable from my ship, the Flag of the Sea and on the way the Pearl of the Sea almost ran out of coal."

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