Alarmed at the tragedy, and fearful of the ible retribution, most of the villagers fled during! the night to relatives near at hand and, on the followin day, a much' larger body of troops had' no ficaity in breaking. through the de-ieees—- coon the village.
The military authorities at first] A, "Um, of over $100,000 was te announced that they were out for] ™manded as compensation for the Teerults to. supplement their of, their, comrade, together minished numbers and also to oFieee en in tu a Tunjahed numbers and also to or-I pons, supposed to be in the possess. jon of the habitants, When the villages for lethal -weapons, sup-nancy was not forthcoming, all pored to have been unlawfully pur-he property belonging to the' prin-chased by farmers from retreating cipal families was declared to be. soldiers, But both these reason: confixeated by the military auth-for their presence were soon di orities! The village has been covered to be flimsy pretexts for thoroughly looted and is. now com extracting dollars from inoffensi pletely occupied by the troops. The countrymen, who had either to buy colonel in charge of the men directly, off th persecutors with a consider-responsible for this _unwarranted able sum or submit to the spoliati ion attack upon the lives and liberties of their homes. of the people in this so-called Re-In such circumstances there ai wre public, is one of Chang Chung-always seallywags in any com-|ch'ang's officers, ind willing for a) Wang Hsi-k'uel, and it is lo information that he hax quite recently, been to the military regarding the disordered back to Tsangchow for} tribute n of wealth and the promilitary duties in that region. spects of plunder among the vill-Other instances of heartless ages. No time was lost in the cruelty and oppression in the Shu-ind the work of lo-cheng district might be given, but, cating victims has been done wit th enough has been said to show' that) a thoroughness, worthy of _a|the horde of Shantung ruffians, now. better cause.
It is still going scattered over Chibli between' Pao-be imagined. fon with results which may easily) ting-fu and sea-coast, are a disgrace] to their commander. While such A Typical Case on unchecked and the people every-refaced pillage is allowed to go'
This is a sample of the out- where are obliged to yield without rageous conduct of Shantung troops! in the metropolitan province 'a hundred miles of Tients From hope of redress, to the extortions of indisciplined soldiery, what hop> there of permanent peace or a their headquarters to the south Shueeh'éng, a troop of soldi: stable government in this distracted country?
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.