Shansi's Long-haired Visionaries:
To Effect a Change of Government From Our Own Correspondent.
Taiku, Shi The native newspapers have reported the growth of a strange "sect". in the acutheast of this province. Its propagandists, several tens in number, came from Shantung ini the spring of [ast year, wearing long hair and garmenis of an ancient pattern. Phey began preaching in Tunfinsion, about 100 miles south of thi They demanded that their converts" sell land and houses and turn the proceeds over to them for the support of "old father and old mother" in Shantung. Many have complied with this suggestion, some even in official and literary civeles, High office was promised to the most liberal contributors, lower offices to those who gave less, these proses to be redeemed when a cor-tain change in the government of China takes place, Up to this time the number of followers gathered is said to be nloout 8,500, Because of its political character, and also because no accounting was given by the sect of the moneys received, offcials in Hsiangywanhsien and in Chinhsien have driven out the preachers and returned stims collected to the contributors The headquarters of the movement are at the village of Yuan-taun in Tuntiu Hsien, The hud man, one Wang Sang-feng, is sai ta be living in rather lordly style in that village and conducting himself generally after the manner of an old-time official, The fact that the meetings of the sect are held in the evening should of self lend to some suspicion.
to be hoped the Shansi government will watch this thing carefully.
'The Cheng Tai Railay has low altered the schedule of, its daily trains 90 that. the expresses connecting with the early afternoon train on the Kin-Han line Shihchinchuang, the eastern' ter:
now: rum' each day instead week as formerly. This will be w great conveniences travellers The scourge of dipatherin in this part of the province continues unchecked and unabated. effort has been made by several mission hospitals, the support of the Police Commissioner of the province, who is. responsible for sanita wes and the mies, to gather the' number of deaths from this dismiss, but, so far the returns have been rather unsatisfactory. Anyone who formed us to what is going on, however, knows that, the total of deaths from this disease in the Inst two years in Shansi would reach a startling figure. Surely the time is approaching when the "model province" shoitld undertake some quarantine measures, stich og were used so effectively in stamping out the epidemic of pheumonic plague in 1918, who Salvation Army has just opened preaching hall in this city. They are now working in four of five of the more import-ut cities of Shansi and are mect-
where, ing with encouragement "overy-
The long drought of two and a half months in this part of Shansi was broken by w light fall of snow last might. While the comment of the man in the street. today is," "Not enough," this pre-capitation at least revives hope Those of your readers who liv in regions where rain and snow are frequent can hardly understand what it means here nob to have had a drop of rain or snow since the end of October. However, this. is unusual even for Tue Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, in Honan has requested the Peking Government to forbid, Foreigners. te travel in thab pro-ince owing to its present cheotia atate,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.