One of our local firms is much' intrigued upon receiving from! Chicago a communication which' demands a certain amount of thought. It is an important firm; according to local lights, and it issues circulars upon certain' trade conditions here, with explanatory notes which may enable its constituents in other countries to understand more fully. the difficulties under which business is at times carried on here. Thd first interesting point about thd case is that at length Chicago seems to have heard of the existence of this firm, and Chicago has been very greatly impressed' with the following statement General conditions in China, og we write, are in none too happy state. The political situation, in addition to causing great uneasiness,' has created a lack of confidence in' the Central Government throughout! the country, It is sincerely to be hoped that in the interests of the trade of the country, and the wel-! fare of the people of China, a better state of affairs may soon prevail.
On the strength of this a gentleman in Chicago writes to say' how interested he hag been in' reading of these matters and lid is convinced that we in 'Shanghai' would be interested to know that in 1914, at the outbreak of the war, the following prediction' was. posted in the Press Club of Chicago and in various newspapers and cafes. It was smiled at as a freak then, but is excit/ ing @ bit less amusement and a bit more respectful attention now. Tt runs:—
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.