Chenchow, the southern capital of Hunan, is astir in these days
theft, renewed défforts to push the with daily new of robbery, and boycott, and with many rumours of unsettled conditions in different parts of the Province. Declaring independence seems to be in the air) and even a county official has courage, or brass enough, to declare dependence of the central government. Liberty and licence are not kept at all distinct even in official circles, The woman who poisoned some} ing robbery only a mile or so from the city. 'Y ich family house was entered by armed soldiers, with torches, and the man and women of the house were all-wounded, the women quite badly, though not seriously, because they insisted on giving alarm. Over $1,000 in money is said to have been taken and other valuables. Three of the men were caught and shot, others are still at The conditions here are gettin worse rather than better. The most daily shooting of robbers is no deterrent. The country people seem to be the worst sufferers. Soldiers scour the country for chickens and eggs, presumably to buy; but it is usually buying without money, or with only a nominal amount. The writer saw soldiers - enter a country village and, without asking for chickens, they began to run them down on the common outside, Some women protested and were knocked down for doing so, Coat Coories' Demanps.
Coal shortage and strikes of coal miners seem to be universal. Even here some of the mine-owners say that the demands for payment for carrying coal from the mines to the river are so exorbitant that many of the mines are ready to stop operation. This has been an exceptional year for coal-mining. There has been little rain and the mines have had no trouble with water. But this also means no water in the river and coal boats unable to come up, so that there are thousands of tons of coal on the surface ready for shipment when the spring rains begin.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.