Famine Imminent Owing to Lack of Rain: Hupeh Worst Sufferer Peking, Aug. 26.
A famine in the Yangtze Valley provinces is imminent according t> telegraphic reports received by the Peking Office of the China Inter national Famine Relief Commission from central China.
Conditions in Hupeh are described in the following report received from the Hankow office of the Commission.
"Out of the 69 districts of Hupeh Province, 40 are severely aMicted by famine due to drought. The early rice crop is entirely ruined on account of the fact that there was no rain for several months after the planting of the sprouts. Other crops, like cotton, became seed, sorghum, bean, etc fare utterly' hopeless. If ' there should be rain in the near future, it is possible that a harvest rang: ing from 20 to 80 per cent, of the Into joe crop can be expected."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.