Hohsien, Sept. 5.
For brazen effrontery try to match this if you can. A few days ago, T dropped in upon the mayor and found him in the midst of having a petition presented to him by an important member of his staff on behalf fof none other than the gang of fish racketeers, with headquarters in Wuhu, whom the mayor had a few months ago driven from the waters this hsien. They have been for ges compelling all the fishers along this etreteh of the Yangtze to sell their fish through them, paying the fishers only half of what they could get in the open market.
'T confess (0 having been rather astonished and somewhat disappointed to find this subordinate, not only presenting the petition, but backing it with heated argument. He was giving reasons why the petition should be granted just as Mr. Liu was giving reasons against granting—both talking together and in quite a high tone, Finally the advocate brought out his strongest argument, viz.,-that the money these philanthropists would give for permission to have the Ash caught in a small section sold through them, would finish the out-Atting of the new gaol according to modern ides But Just as these words were being uttered, down came the fist of the hsien chang on the table with the statement; "Are we going to lot loose on hardworking honest citizens fang of racketeers and by doing convert their lives into what is far worse than what they would have in gaol, Yes, these rascals make life hell for the poor ushers by paying them Jess than half of the value of their fish, And are we going to do this so that the criminals of this sion may have de luxe lodgings? We have loured the gaol of every honest tua that has been held there, and the ras cals lott behind deserve all they are getting and more, We are not going to provide a show place to which you can take visitors to prove to them ihat we are progressive with the proceeds of iniquity. When the gaol is properly equipped it will be done With money obtained in a legitimate way." The advocate collapsed.
Modern Fishing Methods But the mayor is not merely protecting the fishermen against, rache teers, he is planning to assist them by inrodueing modern methods of fishing and in some way enabling them to work ce-operatively. At the very sults than many times the same amount spent in warding them off with powder and ball, after they have begun their destructive invasion, not to speak of the morality of the one course as compared with that of the other. Here is food ready at hand. All that is needed is the means of bringing It out of the water.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.