This is the first day of the Chinese New Year. The morning!
{is moist owing to the plentiful rain and snow of the last _two months. Already the wheat fields fare looking hopeful, bat in spite fof prospects of a coming harvest the po" are poor and everywhere severely" oppressed. They cay, "What" docs a coming harvest mean? Nothing to us, only more Tete Matton, Wek tine hovel we paid taxes during the past. year instead of vice, and the warning bell for another' tax levy has just been ringing."
Tu Tsiyuan the people could) stand it no longer, the worm turned, the Red Spears are defy the military. Of six wealthy gentry who ad to do with collecting levies the soldiers, two have committed suicide, the other four have fled. The Hsien off disappeared, two of his family have been killed. The people refuse to pay more taxes, and the "Red Spears" say, "We will defend our cause." A large number of soldiers are now billeted Tsiyuan, in a few days we shall sce what action they will take, The Red Spear and bandits have interrupted traffic on the Peking-Hankow Railway north of Changte Tu the south of oppose further military tax The Sth of the first month to be the day for a general effort defend their rights, the merchant class are joining [with the masses. They can ud] longer do business wuder the oppress sion of so many special taxes and Jocns. These taxes vary anywhere} rom 10 to 80 per cent, For example 'a fows ago another specied tax of 83 cents per tin of elf was put on locally, over and above others. Military taxes along the railway at different stages have now be-[come so exorbitant that the mer-Jchants can no longer ship goods by the railway. Some merchants are now trying to got goods in by curt overland. "Ore. local carter made lover $200 hauling from Shantung to Iicnan in one trip, but next ti 7 call flaunting Lery; most ussuradly it is not Tao"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.