The question is raised whether the authorities consider the actions of the committees and their pickets legal. The merchants point out that the Three People's Principles contain mention of the will of the people, but do not state that soltappointed leaders of this or that movement may. impose taxation upon traders. As a matter of fact the real will of.the people: into. be allowed to fill their requirements by buying whatever goods they. choose without.the interference of agitators, Meanwhile, the agents of the boycott committees are redoubling their campaign against Japanese goods and are even travelling about in coastwise ships and river vessels for the purpose of lecturing the patsongers upon the necessity of fostering native industries by retraining from purchasing inferior goods. The merchants, ironically remark in this connection that it must be very nice to be able to travel about at the expense of one's victims."
The Merchants Retaliate There are hints of the merchants employing their own orators to ut into the open spaces with eare~ fully prepared orations, calculated to cause a general loss of "face" on the part of the agitators as well as their own pickets, to protect goods in transit from seller to buy All this may be bluff, to awaken the authorities toa sense: of, respondibitity, and again it may not, bat, in any case feeling la, very tense between the merchants fed the boycott' committee', with opinion mostly in' favour of former.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.