Frou /Ocn Ows ComsroxeNt Hankow, Jan. 16., The little newspapers which are published in Hankow each afternoon are continuing their attacks on missions and foreign firms with unabated zest, though every now and then one of them is snuffed out by the authorities. The "Mirror" gives place to the "Gock-crow", and when the latter abruptly ceases publication the "Clang of the Bell" appears on the streets, Tu one sense there is zno need to attach any value to these screeds," but in another very important way they indicate the attitude of mind of the people towards Christian institutions and foreign commercial houses. -In-a real sense the public gets what it wants, for the editors are quite subservient to the wishes of their clientele and prints what they will pay for.
After attacks which have included almost every Mission Hospital, the Japanese Hospital, the leading French practitioner, and" various other institutions, the "Clang of the Bell" in one number attacks the Boone Middle School and Messrs. Butterfield & Swive. The Chinese mame of Boone means "Literary Culture" and by a play on words it is called the "Cast down Chinese eulture college." It is described as an institution which exists to oppose the plans of the Government to promote Chinese culture and, to withstand the order of the Government {0 exclude religion from the school The article alleges that the Chinese scholarship of the students is 20 poor that they make mistakes writing Chinese letters, and that when they have graduated they are 80 apt at saying "Yes" and "All wight" that they get admitted "to foreign hongs and enter on. their Jife as foreign slaves, And it goes on to claim that the been ordered to cease the propa tion of religion, but the scholars persist in running their Y.M.C.A. and attending Bible Classes and_s0 show that they are forsaking the culture of their fathers. Tt does rot seem to oceuF to the editor that these students are exercising the regious freedom which is guaranteed the Chinese Constitution.
'A Facile Editor Turning from missions to business, the paper prints what purports to be a letter written by the coolies in one of Mestrs. Butterfield Swire's godowns. The coolies must either have engaged the ser-'Vices of a clever penman, or else the close resemblance between the style of the letter-writers and that of the editor of the paper reveals a secret, The letter is a plea from men who have to earn their rice by using the strength of their bodies that they be freed from the oppression the man who pays their wages. This _gentleman is alleged to be a confirmed gambler and on the day after hho has lost money it is his custom to make up for his losses by keeping back the pay-of the hhis Tesses on the 12th called for the sum of $200 he tried to keep: this sum back, and as the felt this was going too, far they The editor's comment is that these allegations are true, Bureau of Public Safety ought to Yook into matters.
Just recently another of these papers, the now defunct "Cock crow", came out with a story about! 'a theft of nine bales of raw cotton from the godown of one of the shipping companies.—Coolios were caught with the cotton and taken to the Police station; that is a fact. 'The arrested men. wore released after they had "suffered not a little in their purses" according to the paper, That, too, may be a fact though the police court returns are not published. But the funny thing' is that the editor does not seem to see anything very extraordinary in all this, but settles down to read the foreigners a lesson on their responsibility for goods entrusted to their care.
'AS has been said one dos not attach much weight to these newspapers, but it must be realized that there is this steady, and almost daily, attempt to discredit the work of the missions and the management of the business houses in the: eyes of the public. And to most! Chinese the fact that somer pears in print gives it credi
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.