Japanese Army Repairing Roads and Bridges, The writer has fust, completed trip by car which Included a night Spent in Wusth and the Journey to that ety by way of the Toad through Taltsong and Changshu. The tetum trip. was from Wusih through the suburbs of Soochow and back 10 [Shanghai through Quinsan.
'One of the most Interesting obser vations of the trip is the ect that Xtter passing the area of prolonged fighting near Shanghai, alt the dolas usually planted in winter wheat had been sown before the armies swept ly' all vileges near the Burned or destroyed. bY bombing. Not a single chicken, tuck OF goose wes seen. during, the entire trip. Farmers were. workin the dele and numerous "partes of country people under Japanese military overseers were. mending the roads, All destroyed "bridges have been, restored.
Just before reaching " Wusih, the and passes through the once busy market town. of Toongding. This town shows the mest appalling destruction. "There Is hardly" a, house Standing. A few people were seen Picking among. the ruing for the faivage "of such articles as. has tseaped ire and. shall "AP Wsih the northern suburbs for a mile were burned, as were all fatten mulls, excepting one. Many Site hongs and warehouses sutored {similar fate, Hotels, hops, godowns find residences. in-the area, between the railway. station and. city" wall were destroyed, "The railway sta-Hons and. freight godowns aren Fuins, "Telephone and electri. wires are down.
On entering the city "the same destruction If to." "be acted. Its estimated that at least hate the bulld-{ngs in' Wusth have been burned. This Includes all of the. shopping district from the contre of the city {o'the north gate and from the north Bate. on out to the long iron bridge Which spans the Grand Canal, the the road to' Welshan. The long Street which runs parallel with the Grand Canal, south of the city, for a Gistance of mile has been "burned on both sides, "This ety, which was (of, nce a. great manufaeluring centre, find grain depot lis. prostrate.- "crowds of people. were seen in the streets and. Fonds' outside Soochow, Chinese were in the majority, but hundreds of Japanese' salalers were there, mingling peacetuly" with, the Chinese. "Japanese sanities were much in. evidence everywhere, but were on the whole polite, yet very thorough in their" inspection of passes.
It Is said that opium is easily obtainable and not expensive, com-Paratively speaking. The rood from Wusih to Soochow is in good condi tion until it passes Mutu. From that town through the suburbs of Soo chow, on to Quinsan and from there to Taitsang it is very bad.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.