Externally the two towns present a, fery modern and well-kept "ap-Pearance that compares favourably. with other towns in North China of the same size. A network of broad, well-paved motor roads, lined with trees, runs in every direction. 'The government buildings mostly of Fecent construction, are clean and tidy." An efficient' police force smart new uniforms—as smart anything Peiping or Shanghai can show—controls the small volume of tragic.
Altogether the place does great credit to General Fu Tso-yi, the chairman of Suiyuan Province, specially having regard to the ' comparative smallness of his dominions, Jand the slender resources at his disposal. Of him one heard nothing but praise from both foreign residents and Chinese, at least as regards the administration of the purely Chinese portion of his territory.
seems as if the title Model Governor which his chief Gen, Yen-Shi-shan, has, in the opinion of many people, jong' since forfeited, should now be transferred to General Fu.
"Who Will Stop Japanese"
He was spoken of with admiration for another reason: "He is a strong man, the man who is going to stop the Japanese advance: he will Aight, Int they try to enter his province." 'This was quite exciting and seemed, for the moment, a first-class piece of news. But my interest promptly flagged when, in reply to closer ques-joning, my' informants invariably ided the somewhat lame proviso? "Yes, that is, of course, if he receives instructions from Nanking to resist."
As a close observer of events in North" China since September 18, 1831, 1 think it a fairly safe prophecy, thatthe province of Suiyuan will not be the scene of any warlike operations in the near future.
Nevertheless, it cannot be gain said that Suiyuan these days, Is the scene of intense military activity. A low parapet with ditch has been throwa round the hitherto unenclosed trading town, whether as a protection against a Japanese or against a Mongol invasion, T could not find out Someone even suggested that it was against those convenient stalking horses, the Communists, T have never seen so mi in the streets, as I saw here, Re~ cruising is going on all-over the province on an unheard-of scale and out of all proportion to tie size of its population. In addition to Gen. Fu Tso-y!'s own division, the 35th, some kind of reserve militia is apparently being trained, Figures for this recruiting varied considerably, from thirty to as much as 100,000, The recruits are brought in to the large barracks in the city in batches of 3,000, drilled for four months and then sent home again, What particularly interesting is that they fare drawn from respectable families and not from the riff-raff and unemployed, as hitherto in Chinese armies. Tt ig said that the: money for this militia is being furnished by Nanking.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.