her farmers contrasting with, the thatch and mud dwellings of the less rich coolies. One. little wall of earthworks, a deep moat ringing it from the river and the gates protected by a maze of wire, Other towns in the area defended themselves against the marauders by erecting similar cations and sheltered thousands of peop! from the rural areas where protec. tion was impossible. At Yiencheng not only a stout wail rings the city but this has been strengthened an extensive system of earth works which withstood all Communist attacks. "This was the case inmost of the fortified towns which provided a string of strong bases for the subsequent campaign which routed the Communist Despite its empty. appearance, Yenmen district 1s distinguishing. {tself by its will to recover. Nobod: people. were Kil ed or fled the district. The energemagistrate, appointed by Gen.
Kai-shek with extraordin" ary powers, thinks that out of a population of 800,000 between 50 and 80 per cent,, have returned, This is only a fs subject to re 7 largely on the population towns which have always well garrisoned and show ing and business conditions Nobody knows what happened the scattered tens of thousands in the isolated and unprotected. rural districts, One authority estimates that not more than a third of the former population are back, Bordering on the where, across on the southern bank the Communists "were in thei strongest force, the need for addi tional protection and the been realised the magistrate who, within two months, has organised a militia 700 strong' for ion Corps A several thousand strong' in country, Nightly patrols and at frequent intervals along the road these patrols were encounter. Jel. Outposts are maintained. strategic points, little straw huts sheltering the' spearman whose anears, flying @ white, penant, boring the character "brave," "ave stuck in" the ground outside. Developing this spirit of volunteer service is producing good results, the magistrate claims, but even more rigid precautions are bein; observed, Travellers at night mus carry good citizenship passes and Gen. Chiang's system of "mutual responsibility" is being. worked out: to a fine degree, This system provides for mutual "guarantees of people's loyalty and good. cit ship, and" assists. in eliminating. oe suspicious elements, In this way the infiltration of Communist clem move down in increasing quantities which were after months of interruption, River General invariably their head-gained for there has been no official Village consisting principally of troops|contact since, tke Communists en-lone Tow of shops one Tow, of shops revealed "tys0 of the ports badly hit by Communi revealed gaping, owerrul pres fole "a leat out, of their tered. "Official "government by building leet of armour~ lapsed. Most, of "the territory" handful of people hiding in. the Valley in "Rohe launches sampans which ley in Bghtin have recently been made to Laohodepopulated. either through Compenetrated the shallowest of creeks. munist terrorism or the Might of hades of almost em "shop. iffy per cent. of this Ittle vil ow, well up, the river, the frst At the end of the campaign, nearly the populace while large areas are had been destroyed.
Yanguage and. mindful shipment for two years." With an 2,000 boats, stolen from. boatmen of the excess: uncultivated over' a forge radius atmosphere of security pervade ind fishermen, were recovered. where Communist" raids struck snarred with ruined white houses, Made by the. 'Communtats use of propaganda might this. big' economiedlly-starved believe he had stumbled upon the Who were the men who were able terror in the hearts of the countrytrict and a comprehensive rehabilitavery fountain head of Communist to create and administer a Soviet people." The return to the farm tion sehemd sponsored by the Na-'The countryside tells also of the movement is proceeding, the terpropaganda. Of course, he would tional Government. recovery may be state unmolested for three years in recent travail. Neatly Titory north of the Han River show-wrong. The town, walls expected to be rapid. the heart of "China? Not all tha Bolter results than south of the simply smothered with posters in Hung Hu Red leaders were killed for defence. Dotting landscape The campaign which broke the Han between the river and Yangved, green and white but they or fled. Two of them, Ma- Wu, a. for miles are tiny little earth forts power of the Communists started member of the Presidium of thd) attack" Communism and exhort zo. Tsienkiang and Meiyang are capable of being used in emergency. four months ago when Gen. Hsu|Hupeh Soviet, and Chang Shun- the two largest towns in this area/ At one point a string of these and patriotic slogans loyally. Anti-Communist. appeals painted in. of a more substantial charaeter.than Suanechuan embarked on operations council, are being held prisoners by ming, member of the Soviet military and have been in Red possession for) forty'rans across the country and jig blue, she. three years. the; up often along the wind-symbol, shout out tothe Breviouny. He found was, ighting an clusive foe by pursuing him with small parties up and dows creeks which the foe knew inch by Inch." Large-teale operations were necessary and with Ws 40,000 men, Gen, Hsu started north of the Had to clear a district constantly raided Gen. His at his headquarters in the Temple of the God of War at Yo-
Both were captured in the final assault on the lake headquarters and it was from these two men, both young, that I was able to obtain other towns igher up the Han has
proportions. Inthe interior dire drunk, to' fraction of its former starvation conditions are reported among the peasantry who survived Communist rule. This is due to the failure of the Red rural economy system. Food shortage was their by communists from south of the 2 Some impressions of the Comm Byers While he closed een ile he ruling official great problem and this knowledge
Communist has "ata Wa, who is 34 years old, is ws Used by the Government was used by the Government troops eventually. el wring. the district of regular' farmer type, rather tall far as the viver, other forees opera Hardy stolid. beating: and obviously off during operations in order to force surrender. Restoration to of little education. "When I saw him ing from Shasi, Kienli and Heingti normal conditions is a problem of on' the. Yangtze advanced against was dressed in a black padded the future, The present difficulty the Red headquarters at Hung Lake gown and seemed to have been wellfs to find out what are actual conand other fortified points, ¢o-treated. As chairman of the preslditions and how many people are operating with Gen, Hsu's troops involved. resident of he, as calle out "agg who, having cleaved north of ths 2yesident of the Soviet Council a were al to er river igh only Hupeh farmer,|iand to Yokow and returning to Making a trip of 120 miles by
and assist in the enveloping moveeredeninne rave: [coming from Melyang, report has i|Hunkow by the Han, Rivery Twas
guerilla tactics always avoided fight-Communists whan [that He Showed @ Nigh desree of able to ect an insight Int, cond Jing in the open, were forced to fight H16, 8as, not, very enlightening on aa and were overcome, only, after' 8] monotonous. voice how the. Com. ge, and in the territory north of hich they put up a'ntatborn resist. [MUSES isto his distviet umber of severe engagements. jn{™onotonous, voice how. the tke'river only a few fortified. town two and notably Yokow, Tienmen and Ying: nce. Ho Dung esseneed. with 2000 Pole year Tsien," were. held by. Government men, crossing the Han River higher Bp, but the rest ofthe Red army ments. He joined the movement beg, "cit Propaganda and argu reel then aiteay was scattered, leving it would be advantageous to embankment. skirts a marshy Gen. Hsu's headquarters estimate himself and, the people generally trict which was the Communist that itp Long's army. comprised and rose high in Communist official principal stronghold north of the three divisions of about 40,000 men, circles. He later became disgusted Fiver, and is marked ultra-red on on which serious losses weve inflict: with their terrorist methods and re- the map, but the rest of the north-td and: many prisoners taken, alisod he had made a mistake and erin area'was constantly harassed by the higher affeers, Ho Lung, the Hed that Communism was ruinous tol the Communists, as the countryside neralissimo, escaped, bUE the the people but as he. was so deeply plainly shows. "Zau-sze, a town on others Tuan Teheshin and. Tuan Jenmeshed in the movement he had|{he road, was the scene of the fo continue. severest. battle in. the campaign Yate ston commander Now he was repentant and urged when Gen. Hsu defeated the Red the" third divisional commander, lied fu action and: Hwang Yi'ming, everybody, to fight Communism and! army in a battle which cost him methods, he concluded, and star- 860 men. vas taken prisoner and subsequent-[ed vacantly across. the temple Three months has witnessed Wy "executed. a couple of soldiers] markable change in the district Headers exniated their part in the standing in a doorway. His state- around Hankow, the countryside Pop up often along the wind: ing road which runs to Tienmen and Yokow. A. farmhouse bs incomplete tions of bygone. days in on Communist alder the Even medieval fortified town wi ite' big" double
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.