Soochow, Sept. 25.
Yesterday the hot-water ranges of every teashop in the city were closed. When " Chinese city is cut off from its hot-water supply it is a serious sit-nation, These hot-water ranges are supposed to send their water-hosts, which usually are old, rotten, leaky boats, outside the city to the lakes and canals for their water supply; but when the water in the city ca is fairly good, as is the case now, men on the water-boats do not trouble to go outside the city, but usually fil the boats right at their own boat Iand-ings or sometimes about tilty or hundred yards away. The police have taken the matter up and, in order to control the situation, levied a new tax on each range of $1 to $2 per month. The teashop keepers refused to pay this tax and when yesterday several of their number were arrested for using city canal water, all went on a strike and closed up the hot-water ranges. An appeal was made to the Governor last night, and this morning Soochow is again rejoicing in hot water.
The Soochow police hare also established a meat inspector's office and the streets are now kept even cleaner than they were a year ago. Truly Soochow may some day merit the name UN
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.