The condition of the countryside west of Shanghai is still a matter for grave concern, for it is clear, from what persons who have visited the area report, that there is still very grave danger from the large amount of war material which has not even yet been removed. Some districts, like that between Warren and Robison Roads, are littered with live hand grenades, cartridges and shells, especially in the fields, forming a dangerous hazard not so much to pedestrians but to cross-country riders, though now that the country has been declared closed to them that danger may be minimized. It is an unfortunate fact that, though this material has been exposed to the elements for some months past, it has not deteriorated to a sufficient extent to make it harmless, and with the presence of live shells and hand grenades easily capable of exploding at any moment, if disturbed, the wisest course would be for everybody to let such well alone. It is reported, however, that foreign schoolboys have been seen hunting the roads for souvenirs. This is a practice which parents should strongly discountenance, and probably the best way would be to declare the area out of bounds. Boys will be boys, however, and it is quite possible that parental prohibitions will be at times ignored, for to the young male nothing is more fascinating than that which is forbidden him. If that should prove to be the case a careful watch should be kept on what they bring home from their rambles. On the general question of the state of the western outlying areas, it is apparent that much will have to be done before it will be possible to move about with the old-time freedom, and that, at any rate for the present, those frequenting the district should "proceed with the greatest circumspection. It is a matter of reproach that those responsible for the clearing up of the district have not moved with the celerity which they displayed in other areas, and the hope is expressed that the work of preparing it for rehabitation will proceed quicker in the future than it has done in the past.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.