jovernment officials acknowledge the situation in Honan is not only beyond their grasp, but to them ax it is to -the I observer. A very" high oficial told me to-day' that probably: hot even the chiefs of staff of the two combatant generals could tell the fighting is, und how it is essing. He estimated that dred thousand troops were cuya ide, pillaging and rioting ikes them, The mena mostly Chihli levies, who are fighting. simply for the satisfaction of ime mediate wants In Chengchow. it is no uncommon experience to se 4 nesh eoulie shot down in the street by some rascally soldier, foreign informant gave me an example of this state of things. He himself saw a riesha-puller shot cond because he dared to ask two coppers for pulling a woldier. TI would have been bait enough in ite '<Uf, but the incident was followed by the shooting of w fellow voldicr who ventured to remonstrate.
Railways in Utter The condition of both railways in the wone, the Lunghai and the Peking Hunkow, is deplorable. Even minor officers have their own private ears, and my informant told me of one ense of a major "who equally ordered the daily train on the Peking-Hankow to stop at Shihchinchuang until, he had taken a bath, The military satraps have found a profitable occupation in hiring out railway curs in eas to the merchants. ear, to quote one instal released to a peanut merchant for '$120, guard being supplied for the Length of line in that particular The interest in the Honan conflict concerned more with the men behind the combatants than with the combatants themselves, Yen Hai shan, the Governor of Shans, is suated to have sent a consi of ammunition to his neighbouring. Tuchun, Liv Chen-hua, for employ: ment against General Hu, Foreign ers who have been in the war-zone fare inclined tw believe these but in Government circles stated that the "model governor" simply policing his border, and not Interfere in the war.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.