There is one reader of the "North-China Daily News" who is highly satisfied with the delivery of his paper, He is a resident of Sutsien, in North Kiangsu, where a Japanese column is advancing from the north, another Japanese column is preparing to advance from the south, and Chinese troops are filling the breach, but he still gets his paper. Formerly, it was about a 24-hours' distance between Shanghai and Sutsien, but now mail deliveries from Shanghai must go via Hongkong, Hankow, Chengchow and Hsuchowfu and anything between one month and two months constitutes the delivery time. The postal service is slow owing to this circuitous route but he writes:
A check-up shows that ell 31 isšues of the "North-China Daily News" for December have come-to hand, though some of them were on Yhe way about two months. This is a remarkable record It is so because it show: the indomitability of th d the enterprise of the Chinese ice which seems to be able to penetrate anywhere in spite of conditions. The fact that during the difficult period reported by the correspondent not a single copy of the newspaper was missing indicates the reliability of the Post Office in face of unusual obstacles. But there is also another factor which reflects on conditions of newspaper delivery in China and that Sutsien is within Chinese-controlled territory where records show that newspaper publishers are in a far better position to deliver to their subscribers than in Japanese-controlled territory. This is a situation which needs remedying for there are quite a number of cities in Japanese occupation where Shanghai newspapers are unable to be delivered. Incidentally, the Sutsien correspondent's report reveals the persistency of Chinese mercantile enterprise for by utilizing the Grand Canal and the intricate system of creeks, via Nantungchow, a trade route between Sutsien and Shanghai has been established and kerosene hipments from Shanghai, taking 10 to 20 days in shipment have been so considerable that there has been a substantial reduction in the price of this commodity and the mail route may also be shortened. This is an encouraging indication of China's capacity for recovery.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.