Oral representations have been made to the Japanese Government by Mr, Sumner Welles, the Under-Secretary of State, concerning the rights of American citizens in the Upper Yangtze Valley.
Mr. Welles, it is learned here, indicated to the Japanese Ambassador in Washington, Mr. Horinouchi, when the latter called at the State Department at Mr. Welles' request, the Government's dissatisfaction with what he described as the "res-frictions on the movements of Americans in that area.
Mr. Welles requested that the rights of United States business men and missionaries in the Upper Yangtze Valley be better respected by—the Japanese.
Mr. Cordell Hull, the Secretary of State, later indicated at a press conference that Mr. Joseph C. Grew, the United States Ambassador in Tokyo, might raise the matter with the Taiyuan, Apr. 21.
Acting in close ce-operation, Japanese detachments routed Chinese troops attempting to destroy the Tatung Railway in the vicinity of Szechwang in south-western Shan: 10 o'clock on Wednesday morning, according to reports reaching here yesterday.
Earlier in the day, a Japanese unit was said to have inflicted heavy losses on 1,000 Chinese troops concentrated in an area north-east of Tiennan, nine kilometres west of Fenhsi on the west side of the Fen River, in south-western Shansi, The Chinese fled to the west, the reports staied Chinese forces of the 84th Division, badly defeated near Yicheng in southern Shansi at midnight April fà, retreated before pursing Japanese forces, despite alleg?d orders from Gen. Chiang Kai-shek to continue resistance, another feld report reaching here yesterday said.
Three Japanese detachments, one advancing from Tungíouyuan to Hsia kanchuan, ten kilometres south of Yicheng, another approaching as a left wing, and a third forming a right flank, have trapped the Chinese in a narrow sector near Hsiakanching, according to the last reports received from the area.—Domei
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.