Detachments ofthe 83rd Army, which retreated from this section about the middle of August, in sympathy with the Southern retreat down the railway, have now returned from Luchowfu, and have taken over this important customs barrier from the 11th Army, which has been in occupation for some. time, This seems to indicate that further Northern victories are not expected, The man in the street persists in saying that Gen, Feng's troops, small detachment, are occupying Talhohsien, 70 1k beyond Yingchow= fu and 60 Li short of the Honan and aleo that Chin Yun-driven out of Honan by Gen, Feng, are in Yingshanghsien. nditry of course abounds, Ten days ago the large market town of '¥inghokih, 60 1i from this city, was ooted and largely burned. And three nights ago the very. little market village of Changkehtu, 121i from Yingshanghsien, was looted. It is a very small poor place, the bandits must have been very hard up. Perhaps all the. better places have been already looted, Kidnapping Also a Profession Kidnapipings and holding for rane are of course rife, Last we one of our country friends wi taken with his whole family—si persons—and held for $2,000 rai som. But they talked price with such good effect that they got off by paying $340, that being all they had available. ' Bandits base their charges on what the traffic will beat, and they are usually position to know.
A Tangpu, or Soviet, that had been "organized in Yingchowfu a couple of months ago has dissolved, having been -unable to function. 'The Soviet ambition is to gather all power into its own hands; yet its members are not elected' by the people, are not responsible to the people neither do they represent the people. But all power is in military hands, and the Soviet cannot function -unless it can control the military; and military dictators are not likely to hand over thei power to an irresponsible committee, Alli crops in these parts are cellent this year, but prices remain high, although there are no facilities for export. Imported articles such as salt, oil, and sugar are excessively dear, being brought up by boat, and doats have to compound with bandits all along the way to ba permitted to travel at all.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.