Peiping, Mar. 8.
With the Japanese troops in Shansi pushing further inland every day, Chinese guerilla bands have inten-sifed their activity in Hopei and Honan in an effort to binder the despatch of supplies and reinforcements to the advancing Japanese forces. They are paying special attention to the Peiping-Hankow Railway, the service on which has again been disrupted.
The last train from Peiping two days ago was attacked north of Paotingfu, resulting in two Japanese passengers being killed. Some of the travellers who returned here subsequently by road declared that large sections of the railway south of Shihchiachwang, at the junction of the Peiping-Hankow and Chentai Railways, had been destroyed by guerillas. A large force of these guerilla troops is now said to be fighting the Japanese north of Chochow, steamer Yolande off the Shantung Promontory on Monday. Judging by the last reports to be received, which covered the situation up to late on Monday night, the 56 survivors had been safely embarked in the Capetown, which was making for Weihaiwei. Seven members of the crew were not accounted for. reach the islands next week, The Department of Interior, which is in charge of colonization -plans, announced details of the programme for taking over the islands here today.
The White House meanwhile issued a statement declaring that America's claims to the islands were from motives of national commercial aviation needs and not-of American preparations for war, Claim to the islánds was made by President Roosevelt in an executive order which. said the islands had been discovered" by American whalers.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.