Yuan Shih Kai Elected President
On October 6 the members of the House of Representatives and Senate of the new Chinese republic elected Yuan Shih Kai as president. The vote was very close. He received only one more than the necessary two thirds. Yuan Shih Kai was the provisional president, and his only prominent rival was Li Yuen Heng, provisional vice-president, who received 179 votes against the 507 received by Yuan Shih Kai. On the following day Li Yuen Heng was elected vice-president by a strong vote. The new president is fifty-four years old, and most of his adult life has been spent in official capacity. As soon as the election was declared, notes from the various powers, recognizing the Chinese republic, were despatched to the Chinese foreign office. It is to be hoped that this election will settle the turbulence that has been distressing China during the last few months. Right at the time the president was elected, a number of American and Norwegian missionaries were in the hands of Chinese bandits, and were in great peril. Regular soldiers from the Chinese army were fighting for their rescue.