Following the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese hostilities, the Eighth Route Army is said to have recruited many irregulars, who were only poorly equipped, Later, it became necessary to regulate their organization.
It is understood that after considerable discussion, it was finally decided to fix the strength of the Chinese Communist army- at six divisions.
According to the agreement reached after the Sian incident, the Central Government is reported regularly to have given the Chinese Communists funds for the maintenance of one treaty, can be understood only in terms of the prevailing hardships and dissatisfaction with the Government's efforts to cope with them.
"Commodity prices," the "New York Times" continues, "have risen 16 per cent. in six months. In the autumn the Government announced that there were to be no further increases, only to follow this with large increases in—of all things—the price of rice, the people's staple.
"Commodities have become creasingly scarce and an actual shortage of rice developed, for a time. While some wages have risen, the increases have been unevenly distributed. The lack of initiative and general ineffectiveness shown by the Government in coping with these problems, were plainly a major factor in its downfall, The "New York Times" points out the fact that criticism has arisen at all in a country where heretofore. the army's policies were beyond public reproach, proves how severe the strain has become.
"The China 'Incident' is a bottomless pit," the newspaper concludes, "into which are being poured Japan's manhood and hardly-won resources, and no end is in sight."—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.