In view of the many disastrous fires which have occurred in Canton lately, the Municipality 18 considering the improvement of its fire-service. Tt has been decided to 1 tax of one dollar on exch hous hold or establishment in the city for the the purpose, and it is expected several hundred thousand dollars will be raised in this way. Tenants paying a rent of less than $5 a month, or property-owners whose possessions are below $500, are exempt from the contribution.
To ease the discontentment among the Yunnanese, Hunanese, and Kuangsi mercenaries in the "Red" army in Canton over the gambling and opium traffic receipts, an issue threatening an internal conflict within the Bolshevist camp, the acting Generalissimo of the "Red" General Headquarters, Mr. Hu Han-min, is reported, on December 5, to have decided to' organize a joint military funding "commission with Gen. Fan Shek-shang, of the Yunnanese army, and Gen. Wei Chunws, of the Kuangsi army, a vice-chairmen, Whatever funds a1 collected from the gambling and the opium traffic will be divided equally among the three military units. According to earlier arrangements, the Hunanese were to have all the opium funds and the Yunnanese all th gambling—protection fees, Th opium traffic in Canton yields a minimum of $300,000 a month, gambling $240,000 to $860,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.