Chungking, Mar, 22 High praise "has been bestowed upon the Cinton-Hankow Railway by a Chungking foreign business man Who has just returned from a reune trip to Hongkong, going via Indo-China and returning through Hankow.
He reported that the trains were fAtted with wireless receivers which Warnings of alr-raids. were received, When the alarm was given, hho said, the passengers, disembarked to take shelter in the fields wh train awaited the "all clea before resuming the journey.
'The informant travelled ina frst class sleeper, which he said was most comfortable.' The Journey took two and a half days aid was only inter rupted twice by alr-raid alarms.
Discussing the first part of his trip, he said that the Yunnanfu-Haiphong Railway was efleient and comfortable for passengers, but that the freight charges were too high to make the route very valuable for Chinese trade, The charge of $120 per ton was prohibitive for Szechuen merchants, he declared 'AS a result of his exploratory visit, the traveller prophesied that the Im: mediate future of Chinese trade the interior tay in private enterprise of a caravan nature, with the merchants arranging their own (rans port by rond. Considerable business of this nature, he said, was already being done in Canton and Hankow by Meets of motor lorries.
The Burma Road Among possible routes, the foreigner elted the new road. Burma, which was nearly completed, He also mentioned that wer work was being done in ra} outlets in. the direction of the Chinese south coast between Indo-China and Hong: Kong. the exact details of which, however could not be published for fear of Japanese action.
In the event of the Canton-Hankow Railway being cut, he went on, China's western provinces would noi be entirely cut off. Trade would continue, he added, but would be into a humbo of small lusian, the merchant declared that the outlook for foreign traders was not promising, but "they wore not entirely finished."—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.