Soochow, March 17.
Since the rise in the price of matches came about, flint rocks and steel are being sold in wholesale quantity There are scores of the smaller shops selling these substitutes for matches, and num-beries pedlars are finding a living by this trade. With many there seems to be the hope that flint and steel may entirely displace the matches, which are a product of a certain neighbouring people, for whom the Chinese as a whole have the greatest hatred and distrust.
The high price of kerosene is causing many people to instal electric lights, and these electric. instellations mean a permanent loss to the two great oil companies that are now trading in Chi The high price of kerosene also means a great opening for the manufacturers of electric power plants. If these companies should now push their trade, it would seem quite probable that they could make contracts with scores of the smaller towns and cities for electric lighting plants.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.