Dec. 6.
'THE two communications that We publish to-day on the subject ut the outlaws of Honan present, in interesting contrast, two different points of view regarding the disgraceful anarchy in that province. he open letter to the Chinese press and additional notes from the secretary of the Hankow Foreign Residents' Committee deal in unstinted denunciation of everyone connected with the government of Honan. The letter addressed to ourselves and signed 'T'ai-kang pins down a number of inaccurate statements published in Hankow, of a sort, it must be confessed, which suggest some relationship to those set out in the other communication. People who live in Honan may well be excused for feeling more strongly about the anarchy which surrounds them, than they who have distance and secure environment to help them in viewing the situation with philosophic detachment. But if only on grounds of practical wisdom, it is as well to be chary of giving publicity to slanderous reports about the only authorities who can be looked to for help. As China is now, if the military leaders of Honan do not put down the bandits, nobody else will; and though it may be perfectly correct to describe them as opium sots and promoters of licensed immorality Gwe have not the least idea whether it is), it is not calculated to increase their anxiety to do anything for those who fling about these epithets. As for General Wu Pei-fu's palace, his harem and his wondrous gardens, the, plain facts. as we have them on very excellent authority, appear to be that he has one wife and no more, that his house is of the sort that might easily-be rented for thirty or forty dollars a month and that his garden, though he is unquestionably fond of flowers, does not exceed two or three mow in extent.
We hold no brief for General Wu Pei-fu. Considering the undoubted strength of his military resources, it appears strange, to say the least, that he did not nip the outlaws in the bud, before their depredations grew to the size that they have now attained. And by the showing of our correspondent T'ai-kang,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.