Life goes on much the same despite the fierce fighting on the battlefields—the farmers are busy sowing their fields and the city people go about their business as they have done for centuries in the past. Were it not for the news in the Chinese paper and defence works being carried out in certain places one would never know that anything was happening outside the boundary of the province. Large bodies of troops pass through on their way to the scene of conflict, in fact they now come and go with regular monotony and have become part of the daily experience.
The Provincial Government are pressing the sale of Liberty Bonds and reports from all hsien cities received to date show that they are selling well. Periodically large sums of money are transmitted to the Central authorities through the various banks whilst numerous patrlotie agencies are putting forth their best effort to assist the sick and wounded soldiers who are returning for treatment. At present they are conducting a drive to supply winter bedding and clothing for the wounded whilst the women are called upon to do their part. Boy scouts and the members of the numerous schools are active in propaganda and other such work from time to time, Communications are receiving strict attention and every effort is being made to keep roads and highways open but much damage has to be repaired after the severe rainfall of the past months before everything is back to normal again. resistance, the advance of the Japanese armies has, even so, been remarkably rapid. That the Chinese armies in the North, badly equipped as they were, should have been unable io put up eny prolonged resistance against the formidable armaments of the Japanese is perhaps not so very strange. But that on not one of the railway lines should they have made any serious attempt to delay the enemy's advance by tearing up the track, destroying bridges and water towers, and blowing up tunnels, is certainly one of the most striking facts of the whole campaign. The Japanese have been left with the full use of the railways, as if presented to them on a presentation salver. Nor have their railway communications which now stretch for hundreds of miles in their rear been at any time or in any way interfered with. All this is really remarkable. It is probably unique in the whole history of modern warfare. bombed. A report came last week that a refugee boat train at Henli had been [bombed and five of the boats destroyed. It takes no imagitation to know what happened to those on the boats.
Relief work in Soochow is settling to face the stern facts of providing food, shelter and clothing which have to include quilts for the growing refugee population, The refugees are creating somewhat of a problem in that they shift from village to village and town to town too much. This congests travel, adds to the hazard they already face and makes admini: stration of relief a bit trying. Human nature though is prone to go where they hear that treatment is best. Thus in Soochow the organizations here are working to secure uniform treatment for all In addition work programmes are being got under way so that the people may be kept employed. Here again what is done waits on the funds that are available.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.