Locally, suspicion was first cen-fred upon Chang Tsolin. It was thought that through his agents he was trying to show Wu Pei-fu that he could disable him by cutting off his transport. There are reasons for believing, however, that this theory is groundless. There is a growing conviction here now that the strike was a Kuomintang demonstration. The organizer aad patron of the Hongkong seamen's strike, Hsieh Yin-po, is known to have been here if he is not actually here now. It is known to the authorities that he had relations a year ago, while he "1s still in Canton, with the Kin-Haa werkimen's union through delegates from Changhsintien. The Miggstry of Communications asserts with conviction that the students of the University who have been demonstrating in sympathy with tha strikers are all of the socialist persuasion, from the same group as those who gave Mr. Joffe such a hearty welcome, Mr. Hsieh is admittedly a socialist and has expressed ambitions to unionize China's railways. Hence the belief that he with the backing of the Kuomintang inspired the strike.
There is an obvious reason for such a move at this time, if one has to search further than the desire to make trouble as a reason. The Kuangsi forces in Kuangtung are supposed to be operating in collusion with Wu Pei-tu if not under his orders. Sun Chuan-fang threatens to control Kiangsi, and possibly Fukien and Chekiang, and seriously to_ cramp the style of the Kiangsw Tuchun. It is to the advantage of the Kuomintang and of the whole anti-Wa coalition to get the railway men in the habit of striking and of de moralizing railway service so that they can be prompted to cripple Wu in this way and to cut him off from the Yangtze in the event of serious trouble.
JAPANESE papers report the arrival of 50,000 bottles of German beer in Kobe—the first since the war. Of late also, one of the Japanese breweries has engaged some German experts, and its product now tastes quite like beer. there] According to the Japamese Press, the 50,000 bottles in Kobe came la at mark prices, and will consequently be sold very cheap. Japanese breweries are reducing prices to meet the competition, but even if they gave away their product, comments the "Japan Chronicle," it would hardly lessen the demand for the imported beer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.