Chenchow, April 23.
Our inland city has been so peace-~ ful for several months that some of our merchants and a few others characterize it as the peace of death. It is true that business is very poor and many merchants are facing great losses this year. The soldiers leaving us make it.bad for the small merchant class, but for general prosperity we are much better without them. Another reason for poor business is the outlook of the farmers. The spring rains have not come and there are in this hilly country more than half of the fields that have not yet been touched. The rice" plants in some places are nearly ready to be set out and rice is going up in prive because of these conditions. The farmers do not spend their money for other things when rice and the real necessities of life are high and still going higher.
Mr. R. L. Gregory on the Standard Oil Ca. is spending some weeks in this vicinity in the interests of his company.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.