Nanking, Dec. 19.
The Foreign office Into last night! issued 'q statement declaring that! Government circles in Nanking are much surprised by Japunese reports from Mukden to the effect that the Managing Buredu of the Chinese Eastern Railway is considering the purchase of the southeastern line lof the Chinese Eastern Railway by {the South Manchurian Railway.
The Chinese Eastern Railway is jointly owned and operated by China and Soviet Russia while the South Manchuria Railway is owned alleg-|by the Japanese. Government.
'While nothing' is known here of the background of the report Govlerameht authorities - emphatically
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.