'The Government's policy, as expounded by Mr. Wang Ching-wel and executed by General "Chiang Kalshek, was to recognize, actually ties, among. them the futility of brandishing' a defiance which could not be effective and the paramount Importance of stamping but the Com. munist scourge. "With his—head quarters "at Nanchang, General Chiang' Kai-shek" formidsbly per~ fected his blockade "against "the Kiangsi Reds. Blockhouses were built. The troops were trained with the object of Imbuing offices and men with a will 49 win. In addition the economic aspect of the problem was taken into account. Plane were made so. that the moment. an area was cleared of the Reds its recon struction could be immediately taken in band. An elaborate net~ Work of roads was "planned and carried to completion. Nanchang {teelf was improved out of know= ledge. Moreover, the Generalissimo's use of Kuling as a summer head-{quarters fed to the proposal to adopt that nul-station asa hot-weather On March $1 Nenfeng was retaken ondon Noveriber 10, following a series. of successful drives the Gov-ferment {oops entered Juikin which Yutu fell on November 17. prevented ernment from completely cutting off the Reds who, as already noted poured into Kweichow and made good their escape Into Szechuan by way of Hunan, after seriously disturbing Kuangsi and Kuangtung by daring raids iimto those Provinces. Other bands of dispersed Reds entered Chekiang, Anhwei, and Fukie but were gradually being "mopped up" They were, however, still "a. source of anxiety as the year ended.
In Fukien, on November 1, Chi ting, whichhed been in Red hands for about five years, surrendered te the Government troops. As a set off against these successes the terrible massacre of 400 villagers by a Communist band in Kiangsi was reportes at the end of December. The dead Included the entire population of small village of Yungfeng' near the—Kuangtung border. "One band captured Tsingteh in "An-Jhwei and kidnapped the Rev. and Mrs. J. C. Stam and their infant girl, Helen, early in December The Government troops followed and gave battle dispersing the Reds. Unhappily Mr. and Mrs. Stam were brutally murdered, Their bodies wer: later found and taken to Wuhu for burial, Helen Stam was rescued by devoted Chinese and survived.
Early in October Mr. A. Hayman, Mr. R. A. Bosshardt and Miss G. Emlem, all of the China Inland Mission, were' captured by Reds in Kweichow. Miss Emblem was released but the two men are still in captivity, having been taken to Szechuan.
Sortle into Fukien The Kiangsi Communists found the blockade fatal to their plans and in the summer the shortage of salt led them to make a desperate sortie into Fukien with the result that Foochow was again in danger. The Reds advanced along the Ming River but the prompt action of the Govern ment's military and alr forces drove them back after severe Aghting. By the end of August the Government's rome effort against the whole of the Kiangsi Reds slarted, with the satisfactory result already recorded.
General Chiang Kalnshek's mili. tary prestige was reinforced by his. Jeadership in the social reform of the people's life. In this he received whole-hearted assistance and inspira-lon from Madame Chiang Kai-shek who accompanied him on his aeroplane tour of the North. His experi-fence in training his troops to attain better standards of morale and dis cipline led tim to the belief that some moral impetus was wanted to secere popular support for reform of the national life. It is said that 1 chance encounter with a small boy smoking a cigarette gave rise 10 3 definite ides
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.