Piping, Nov. 9.
The sole topic of conversation here is the new government of China which the Japanese are to organize shortly. Of Japanese military activity in North China there is none—all Japanese seem intent on the political side of events.
The architect of the new government is the same man who built that structure" of independence called Manchoukuo, Gen. Doihara. He has been exceedingly busy for many weeks, interviewing old time Chinese leaders, the chief figures in the Proional and Reformed governments and also leading people in Shanghai.
He has just come back from Tokyo, whither he is alleged to have taken his plan for a new government and where he is said to have secured the approval of the Japanese war office.
His task has obviously been made difficult by the lack of material available. Although one learns that the Kuomintang regime has been reduced to a local government somewhere in western China there seems to, be no material left from which to build governments.
Ever since November last year the Japanese authorities have been strive ing to persuade Gen. Wu Pei-fu, an old man' now and out of the hurly-burly of politics for many years, to emerge from his retirement to head an administration in Peiping. Wu strenuously refused to be moved and continued to live quietly in his establishment, receiving constant Japanese guests who got ceremonial tea but no promises.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.