With the changes and transformations wrought by the new Tuchun, this city hardly knows itself, and, the people still feel the strangeness of this new atmosphere. But the city looks cleaner, very few beggars are in evitlence, traffic is being reguated on the streets, and food and fruit vendors have their wares} covered with netting.
On the other hand the city has lost some 500 of the most wealthy families, who have moved away taking their movable property with them. Possibly they fear the; seizure of themselves or their property, as most of them are sympathizers or connexions of Chao Ti, and so far it has fared badly for anyone of this group who has been unfortunate enough to fall, into the hands of the present! tulers.
From time to time we see in the outside papers that the Chao brothers are at the heald of the brigands of Honan, but this is far from true. The late Tuchun Chao-ti's family moved to Shanghai, where they seem to be living in poverty, while there are rumours that Chao-ti himself is at present in Mukden as the guest of Chang Tso-lin. His brother Chao Chieh, who was the evil genius of the late} Tuchun, has quite disappeared from view, and there is not even a rumour ds ito his whereabouts. Those who knew him well are positive that he is not leading the brigands of Honan, for he is an out-and-out. coward, an opium-smoker, and has not the slightest capacity for leadership.
Brigands in the west of the province are still very active, and the two foreign engineers who were by the famine committee in Honan. This Committee handled nearly four and a half millions of dollars during these two years, and the! foreigners who sat on this Committee with Mr. Sun are loud in their praises of his splendid work.
In the short time he has been, here, General Feng has certainly' made great changes, and many and large schemes are now being planned.
As one of his associates pointed! out recently; General Feng _is starting schemes that will keep kim busy here for years, and he must think he will be staying here for sometime. On the other hand there are strong rumours that General 'Wu Peifuy desires him to be transferred to the post of Inspector-General of Suiyuan, Chahar and Jehol, and in this connexion it is said that the visit General Feng is now making to Loyang has to do' with this suggestion, and with questions concerning the Fergtien situation. General Feng left Kaifeng for Loyang at noon to-day and is expected back in two days time. Recruiting for General Feng's army, which had slackened somewhat, is now getting brisker again.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.