South of Tientsin, and to the east of the T. P. Railway, lie the counties of Tsanghsien, Nanpi, Yenshan, and Chingyun. These unfortunate districts are now almost entirely overrun with bandits, whose leaders, well known Mohammedans, have their fairs in Tsangbsien. By one of those sudden turns in the wheel of fortune, through which in China notable robber chiefs are transformed by official recognition. and the donning of a uniform into respectable guardians of the public weal, the local situation is no doubt now regarded with complacency in high official circles, but in effect things are much worse than before.
This amazing transformation of a set of unscrupulous rascals, who should long ago have paid the extreme penalty for their long catalogue of crimes, was due to the demand of the provincial military authority for the enlistment of stout fellows to serve in the recent campaign against Chang Tso-lin's Invading hordes. In theory the project was a sound one for the temporary release of certain districts. from the relent-lasa attentions of local banditti, but, with the customary shortsightedness of Chinese officialdom, those responsible for the scheme failed to look beyond the requirements of the moment, and for the long suffering peasant folk, it is now a case of out of the frying-pan into the fire.
The bandit chiefs having secured military rank and the accompanying prestige, after a brief campaign in the service of the State, are now free to follow their predatory instincts with renewed zeal, and with far less chance of being called to account.
So it has come about that the following quartette of notorious brigands, who hold commissions in Tsao Kun's army, appear to-day in the dual role of protectors and plunderers of their fellow citizens. Their names are household words all over this region, and they deserve wider publicity—Wang Hung-sheng of Yangsanmu, Chang Shu-ching ofo Tungchaohuo, Liu Tsu-chi of Niuchintsuangtzu, and Teng Pao-cheng of Tingtsuangtzu. All these leaders, supported by their. numerous Mohammedan adherents, have been responsible for a campaign of lawlessness over a wide area, in which peaceable farmers have been blackmailed and robbed to. the tune of several hundred thousand dollars. Their ill-gotten gains have been invested in arable land, substantial "brick residences, and herds of cattle; in fact their wealth and influence, according to common report, "equals that of former Princes of the blood."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.