Peking, Aug. 22.
It is strongly rumoured in Chinese banking circles that with the failure of the prospective loan of $25,000,000 on the Customs surplus, the Ministry of Finance has now turned its attention to salt, proposing a big increase in the salt tax throughout the country to bring in revenue essential as security for the Chinese experts say that the scheme is not economical ly sound since salt is already carrying the maximum possible burden in the way of taxation, so that an increased tax must mean heavily decreased consumption, and, therefore, decreased revenues.
Foreign bankers interested in loans secured on the si revenue also profess alarm,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.