Gloomy Talk of Vanishing Trade and Greater 4 Restrictions; Japanese Harassed by Guerillas Mr. W. Lewisohn, Peiping correspondent of the "North-China Daily News," who has resumed his post after a trip abroad, is writing a series of articles on Conditions in North China and the-changes which took place during his absence. This is the first of a series, the second of which will be published. shortly.
NE of the favourite slogans of the Japanese has been that their chief aim is to "stabilize East Asia."
Yet in North China, where they have been in occupation for nearly 1% years, one sees few signs of stable, not to say improved, conditions.
Among the different foreign communities, one hears hothing but gloomy talk f vanishing trade and of ever-increasing restrictions and vexatious regulations.
And even. Japanese circles express disappointment at the little (progress made towards recovery and\the return'of prosperity.
confusion is the chief note of the north today: confusion politically, dministratively, financially and economically.
{This is partly due to the differences of opinion among the various mil ry cliques who are trying to run the country and each of which belives that it is in possession of the y true panacea for existing evils; partly to their overruling of the advice of financial and economic experts; and partly to the fact that these military authorities do not seem 1o have any clear idea as to what they really want, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that the different things that they appear to want are quite incompatible.
It must be said that, although sixteen months have passed, there are few signs of the long heralded economic development of North China. Except for large offices with a numerous staff in each, there is little to, show for the various development companies, founded with millions of YFA capital, that are supposed to be exploiting the riches of the North.
The great outburst of building activity at the beginning of the year has long since died down again. Across the river in Tientsin, in the former Russian and Belgian concessions, a number of factories of different kinds have been put up: cotton, paper, flour mills and so forth. But most of these are still not working owing to the difficulty of obtaining the necessary machinery, In the early days of the invasion already, the Japanese started buying up feverishly any foreign properties that they could get hold of. This too has ceased.
In Tientsin this may be'due partly to the uncertainty of Japanese busi-mess circles as {o the intentions of their military with regard to the foreign concessions. But in both places it is chiefly due (o the.increasing difficulty of exporting yen from Japan, and the still greater difficulty of obtaining the foreign currency: for which alone foreign firms are prepared to sell
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.