Numerous Business Failures:
Cost of Living Up 25 Per Cent. for Poor row Ous OWN Consesronoext.
Wuchang, Oct. 1.
Many business failures are reported in Hankow as a result of the disturbances' in the market due to the war "between Chekiang and Kiangsu. 'The businesses most seriously affected are those' which deal in rice, oil and cotton. The two factors which are causing heavy. losses, are the growing scarcity of commodities, and the great rise in the price of silver. In order to meet, the latter difficulty, some of the rice ships are beginning to fix their Prices in silver instead of copper. 'Thus, the price of a picul of rice is $10 instead of 20,000 cash. But this hits the people very hard. A. poor man in order to purchase a song of rice at 10 cents, has to Produce 250 cash instead' of 200, Thus his food budget is increased at once by 25 per cent, 'A new organization has just been started, with the object of trying] to assist the poorer classes who are feeling most severely the increase in the cost of living. It is called. the Common People's Life Protection Association. LAR SE IR 4: 15 HES GP) Its leaders are' several of the wealthier citizens of Hankow, One of its earliest plans is to send a deputation to the yamen, to petition the Governor to institute control of, ood prices, in order that the commas people may not suffer too severely.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.