"The republican form of government," he vowed, "is now eternally secure in China." I could not but remember his previous monarchist leanings. The Acting President spoke of General Tuan. "I have a very cordial understanding with the Premier," he assured me.
I went to the Premier on the 21st of August. In this discussion the Chinese iron industry came up. The Premier asked: "Why not go ahead with the development of mining and iron manufacture? Create a national Chinese iron industry, and it will form the basis of a general loan for industrial purposes." He thought, at first, that the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce should summon experts and start the enterprise. I told him about the enormous technical difficulties of such a project. Then he seemed to recognize that a contract with an experienced and powerful organization, which could be held responsible, would be more effective in establishing a national iron industry for China. "I am not sure about the ore deposits near Nanking," he added; "they may not be included in such coöperative enterprises."
I suspected that he was trying to get financial support from another source, and was leaving his hands free to make them a grant there. I put in a _caveat_ against any grant of iron ores to foreign nationals. Americans had in the past been invariably informed that iron deposits could not be leased or granted to individuals because they had been reserved for national uses.
I visited General Tuan on August 22nd and found him more talkative, more anxious to discuss the general aspects of policies than ever before. "We must first of all establish the authority of the Central Government," he said; "this can be done only through a defeat of the opposition. My purpose is that military organization in China be made national and unified, in order that the peace of the country shall not at all times be upset by local military commanders. The military power thus unified I intend to take entirely out of politics and confine it to its specific military purposes. At present the military is used in factional and political disputes. When this is no longer possible, then we shall leave the public mind in civil life entirely free to settle all questions of the Constitution and of the public policy."
