(Delayed Transit)
South Shansi, Jan, 20, Is_now almost twelve months since "the tide of war flowed strength into southern Shansi. Prior to that, it will be remembered, three distinct stages marked out the military programme: first, the advance westward from Peiping along the Suiyuan railway, in the course of which Tatung was taken early September, 1937; second, the advance from the north and east on Taiyuan which fell on November 9 and third, the invasion of South Shansi which, brought the Japanese armies, within sight of the Yellow River at the end of February, 193 Bach successive stage was heralded by the hurried fight of countless refugees and disordered groups of soldiers, by. the circulation of the wildest' rumours, and by the suspense and occasional danger of alr-raids Taking " broad view of the past year it-can be stated that, all in all, the southern section of this province has come through the ordeal more easily than might have been. expected, and that our worst fears falled to materialize. Apart from a valuable time-lag of more than six months from the opening of hostilities, which gave business houses the opportunity to sell out their stock other factors which operated, includ: td''the absence of widespread air-voids or incendiarism; the lack of etlous resistance in most of the fillies long the tine of march; a alley of conciliation and goodwill adopted by the Japanese command fatter the first few months, had wite ested the inevitable concomitants of war; and finally the fact that though the initial advance came as tidal wave of terror, which in its onrush swept into every, city and many a market-town, in its ebb has become confined largely to the main channels of communication formed the Shansi railway. system, to-wether with the sector of road which Toads westward through Kiangchow and Hotsin to the Yellow River, forms a dificult but near approach to Sian.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.