Peiping, Feb. 20.
Pushing ahead with the modernization of North China in the military as well as civil domains, the local authorities shortly will create an Anti-Alr Raid Committee and Defence Corps, ij was leamed today Mhe Committee's task will be to educate the old capital's 1,700,000 Chinese and 50,000 Japanese residents in air raid precautions.
The North China Telephone and Telegraph Company meanwhile announced that it plans to establish 13 new telegraph offices and 18 new telephone exchanges during the current year, The company's budgetary estimates for these projects exceed $20,000,000. Plans already completed provide for the inauguration of long-distance telephone lines between North and Central China, the increase of subscribers from 6,000 to 9,000 and the replacement of antiquated with automatic equipment, Motor communication lines will be extended also and the North China Communications Company announced it would inaugurate new bus routes in South Hopei and West Shantung. The total mileage of routes will be increased to 5,625 niles, Total budgetary expenditures of the Reconstruction Administration are understood to have established at $30,000,000 this year and of this sum, $3,000,000 will be utilized to build 323 miles of new highways and the repair of 227 miles of old roads. A new bridge, 1,320 yards long, is to be built across the Hutoho River between Chengting and Shichiachwang—scene of fierce fighting in late 1937.—Havas.
Newspapers and Publications—641 different kinds of publications comprising Chinese newspaper, periodic Cals, magazines, and mosquito newspapers, and English, French, German, Russian and Japanese newspapers and periodicals were regularly perused during 1939 and translations of articles of interest to the Police were made daily. The editors of 69 publications were cautioned for publishing objectionable matter while 18 publications were either suppressed or suspended temporarily for offences of a more serious nature. For publishing indecent articles or selling obscene books, 49 persons were pro-secured and' sentenced by the Shanghai First Special District Court to fines ranging from $10 to $150.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.