Mr. Souter's eyebrows went up, a smile spread over his face and he replied: '"'But there is no famine It was just the reply that bad been expected. Undeniably there was a very serious famine, but it was promptly and vigorously tackled, the conditions gradually improved and eventually the famine relief committees suspended their Yet the Government is still +n-forcing the collection of ''relief"" funds, a fact which serves to draw attention not only to a scandal of the present, but also one of the past—altogether a colossal piece of "squeeze"? which must come close to beating all records even in China.
Chinese merchants have for several weeks past been heaping bitter recriminations on the heads of the grafters, but little was seen in the way of a real attempt to check the imposition until quite recently. Now, it is understood, there is something like a ce-ordinated effort to bring pressure to bear upon Peking, with foreign Chambers of Commerce and other organizations joining in and, this being so, the presentation of a few facts will not be out of place.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.