In threatening to attack Amoy, the Japanese authorities probably have a good military reason but it is difficult to discover it, The latest reports from the Fukien city reveal that there are only a handful of Chinese troops in the city and these are engaged chiefly in police work, The main garrison force moved out some time ago and is now about 50 miles from Amoy, while the poor state of the defences as illustrated by the amateurish sandbag redoubts and dug-outs along the waterfront deny any idea of resistance. During a day of raids last week only two rounds of anti-aircraft fire met the raiders over a period of eight hours which is pathetic evidence of the possibilities of defence, Hitherto, Amoy has enjoyed a peaceful existence indulging in nothing more exciting than a prosperous trade in oranges and vegetable products with Shanghai and other ports, but political developments are interfering with its daily life and some of Shanghai's problems are being experienced for naturally there is a big influx of refugees from the mainland to the small foreign residential area of Kulangsu which is becoming crowded, The situation may be solved by the withdrawal of the Chinese authorities to permit the Japanese unobstructed access to the city, but it would not be a fair reflection on the situation at Amoy to regard the attack and capture of the city as an important military problem analogous to other points of the Japanese drive in China
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.