The methods of administration of these districts, although no. longer: conducted on orthorlox Kuomintan, principles, have nothing In common with Communism, It would appear te be what one should call a radical form of government, which Is experimenting with all kinds of reforms. Nor does the Eighth Route Army attempt in any way to Interfere with the evil administration, "On the contrary, ina. few Isolated instances, where extremists have tried to one Tore' Communist "methods onthe people, they "have been severely Punished by the leaders of the Elgh™ Route "Army, who sill publicly. Iknowleage the. leadership of "Ger. tone does oevastonally come across those parts portraits of Lenin and Stalin, nevertheless. pictures of Chiang Kal-shake greatly predominate, while. in most of the villages are 10 be seen propaganda, posters of the Chungking Government. The Bighth Route Army confines is activities 10 military operations against the Jap-
TI will doubtless be realized that, owing to the poor state of com: munications, the population. of. the Slstrets here described have always lived a more of less isolated existence, cut off from the lain centres of Chi hose" civilization. The. struggle. to keep alive has been their sole ore-Secupation. The effects ofthe Wwesther" on "their crops; "foods, Grought and locusts; the increase {axation;: the prices at frs inthe market towns; all that kind of thing hae occupied their dally thoughts the exclusion of the. happenings tu the world outside, Even in. former days letters from Peiping and other of the larger cities ued to take several days. Now that the regular Postal service has ceased to function, they are more sated than ovr. Pot time, a kind of local post-arnee was tablished, which even issued Its own stamps, but, az It only served Ime mediate local" requirements, it was Rot worth while, and has been closed down.
Ulfe As Before the early days, the main stream of the Japanese invasion passed these Aistriets by. without disturbing. the Deacetul tenor of their ways. It was Reard of as a distant rumour of evil much as they used to hear about far: Si disasters, such as 0 food in the central plains. 'Though the villages lose to the Japanese borderctine all" been "evacuated by. thelt_ hubitents, with: the exception of few old men, those further away of fon' inaccessible "mountain. slopes" fained untouched. in them life went tu much as before.
Nowadays all that i changed. The Japanese terror io. the main. pre ®ecupation of every man, woman an child" This is party, though. lesser degree, due to the direct effects of Japanese raids: but cblefiy to the Dropaganalst "groups who. tour the fedia, penetrating tothe tee molest villages, and lecture the people fu the crimes of the Japanese and the necessity of reseting them to the bitter en Food Supplies Removed When a Japanese raid Is reported—and the Chinese always manage to obtain early warning—the villages along the expected line of their ad~ venue are evacuated, the inhabitants retiring high into the mountains. The greatest care is taken to remove all food supplies and fodder, and anything else that might be of aid to the invaders. In the course of time and experience, a regular technique has been evolved for these evacuations, which are carried out in. ac-! can scarcely be encouraging. cordance with definite fixed plans, drawn up long in advance and under the supervision of the Tosal authori-
There can be no doubt as to the emeaey of these methods; for the tack of supplies in the country in which they are operating forees the Jap~ nese invaders either to carry all their supplies along with them or to drop units behind, as they advance, in order to keep open their line of communication with their base. All this either slows up the advance or stops it completely.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.