Because of the condition of the roads after renewed rainfall and the destruction of the railway bridge, the Japanese troops are using the Grand Canal to transport their heavier supplies to Tsangchow.
A fleet of fast Japanese motorboats is operating at present in the Grand Canal, helping to protect the flank and supplies which are being conveyed by junks, All villages in the vicinity of recent operations are deserted with signs of hurried flight and looting.
The Japanese forces on the Tientsin-Pukow Railway, it is believed, are at least equal to the Chinese troops, for which reason it is probable that they will divide after the capture of Tsangchow and strong units will proceed westward, by the highways, to Paotingfu and Shihchiachuang.
An explosion on the railway and the derailment of a Japanese military train between Machang and Tientsin last night indicates that men in mufti are active in the countryside west of the canal and the railway; The ejection of these men is at present impracticable because of the height of the crops, which have not been cut—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.