Here is: a rather charming story lof the old Chinese- traditions hold-jing good'as ever. Several years Jago when Dr. V."K. Ting—formerly. Mayor of Greater Shanghai and now living'in retirement at a town in Manchuria working at geological specimens—was in the Ministry of Agriculture, he got a certain peasant appointed to do some drilling for the Ministry, the man in ques tion being the author of a very clever drilling invention. The work brought' the peasant a profit of '$20,000 and forthwith he hurried to Dr. Ting to offer him $5,000 in proof of his gratitude. Greatly te his surprise Dr. Ting entirely refused the gift, thanking the inven-for but emphasizing that in his Position he could not " possibly. accept. So the peasant went avi wondering. In the course of years his. $20,000 became $100,000; and now the news reaches him that Dr.
Ting is living at Dairen in not too fluent circantstances. This time trol military affairs in Tsining and the Tientsin-Pakow Railway zone. And the telegram went on: "It is expected that. Mr. Sun Ching. former Chief of the Civil Administrative Department in Honan, will be appointed Civil' Governor of Shantung." It looks, superficially, as if this meant more power for Marshal Chang. Actually it means less. In Chihli, residing at Tientsin, and with Marshal Chang Tso-lin close by in Peking, he cannot be much more than a figurehead, Meanwhile in Shantung all the military command, which is the important thing now of course, passes to Marshal Sun Chuan-fang, the commander on whom the North most leans. He is further reinforced by having one of his closest adherents, Sun Ching-yi, as Civil Governor of the province. The double Tupanship of Chibli and Shantung is promotion, lof a sort, for Marshal Chang Chung-chang, but one just wonders whether is the sort of promotion he will are about, the former peasant' resolves that there shall be no mistake. writes to Dr. Ting to tell him of his good fortune, which he attributes entirely to him, and, enclosing another cheque, urges' that as Dr. Ting is no longer in an official position, she may at last be able to "One rather hopes that Dr.
was able to do s0, for surd gratitude so persistent ought to recognized.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.