Peking, Feb. 23.
It was reported yesterday from foreign sources that the right column of Marshal Wu Pei-fu's army is in the vicinity of Kaifeng, that the fall of the city is im. minent and that the Honan go-Yernment has withdrawn to Chengchow, while other foreign sources report that strong Shantung forces are approaching Tsangchow and Tamingfu, advancing into Honan from Kueiteh.
All the available strength of the Ast Kuominchun Army is now dic-tributed on the Chaoyang, Shanhaikuan, Kin-han and Tsin-pu fronts so that decisive fighting expected to be imminent.
News from Chinese sources is hopelessly vague, but the whole city's impression is that the Kuominchun position is _untenable and sd is again fearing the eects of a defeat upon the com munity.
High conservative officials have indirectly approached a certain Legation advising the occupation and neutralization of the Peking-Tientsin Railway in the interests of the Chinese community.
Peking, Feb. 23.
Later messages from Hankow state that Bir. Chapin, the Amer: ican vice-consul, has released all Americans at Hsinyangehow the exception of two, Skinsness, who has voluntat mained to attend the wounded, and Dr. Nesse, who was too ill to remove. Som2 of the released missionaries are remaining, at Chikungshan. Others went. on to Hankow. The latter tell a tale of horror, and state that Hsinyang was the scene of pillage and looting, rapine and murder. They state that civilians slaughtered number thousands. The troops have confiscated all the remaining food and the civilian population is dying of starvation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.