Shansi, May 8 North Shansi has not had its usual light rains this spring and fairly high winds have given a good percentage of unpleasant dusty days. Fortunat ly there were several fairly heavy /snowfalls in the winter and generally the prospects for the crosps are good. The result of the improvement in farming conditions over the past two years is that cereals are now being exported to other provinces, River conservancy and irrigation are still in the forefront when reconstruction generally is under di cussion, but as funds are not avail. able it' is doubtful whether anything} big can be attempted in the near future. The Chinese Government and officialdom generally have set their faces against anything in the nature of foreign control and it is manifestly. impossible for any Government to recommend its nationals to. invest in industrial and similar undertakings in the interior. Actually, of course, in mast provinces it would be impossible to exercise such control even the principle were conceded.
Last year a fairly comprehensive scheme was drawn, up by the Shans! Conservancy Commission which had the assistance of the chief engineer of the China International Famine [Relief Association. Since then various League experts and advisers in river conservancy and hydraulics have been through the province. These include Mr. Coode and Dr. Haas and condi-tons obtaining in Shansi ought, to) be very well-known, It can safely.
asserted that China has not suffered through lack of advice and possibly. the reports of experts "who have! glanced at localities may do some good. There is a mass of authentic Information available which experts, could not hope to acquire on a fairly' hurried inspection trip.
The recent reports of an ambitious hydro-electric scheme which would) facilitate the electrification of the whole province must be accepted with reserve. It is true that considerable power could be obtained from falls situated on the Yellow River ap-Proximately west of the city of Kiang chow in south-west Shansi, but at the moment the capital cost' of such work makes the scheme impossible. Quite definitely, Shansi farmers are not in a position to instal electrically driven agricultural appliances and) before the power from such a plant can be used, the Chinese will have Yo think in' circles wider" than a provincial Boundary and at the same Hime increase security in) enterprise. Tt ought not to be necessary for the Shansi Provincial Commission for the study of electricity to make a prolonged investigation of possible sources of water power. Unless any Such scheme can be made commerclally" practicable it would be better put the coal mines at Yang Chuan and elsewhere on a sound footing and use the cheap coal available.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.