Peking, May 31.
The following is the continuation of the' report of the Chinese Official Observer, dated Chita, May 18:
For not having kept a proper look-out among the troops that he commanded, General Eiche, Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the Far Eastern Republic, has been removed. He at first refused to accept dismissal, saying that he had been appointed by Trotsky, and it was not until a telegram had been received from the latter that Eiche left Chita. He then returned to Soviet Russia by special train, taking his staff with him.
Three weeks ago a strike occurred among the railway workers at Chita, owing to their not having received the usual food allowance. As trouble was expected, machineguns were mounted at places of vantage in the workmen's quarters. The attitude of the workmen was very defiant. The authorities, however, managed to scrape together a quantity of food which was given to the men, and the trouble was thus averted, as the men then returned to work. No secret is made here of the shortage of flour and of the fact that the population is half-starved. The Government hopes to improve the situation, now that riverine communications have been restored. It is plain that if an improvement does not take place trouble among the workmen may be expected; for the men, although willing to wait a little longer for their wages, cannot carry on without having their hunger appeased.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.