Government Improving Cotton Seeds in S.W.
Chungking, Aug. 31.
Sales abroad of Government-controlled commodities, such as silk, tea, cotton, wood-oil, bristles, tungsten, antimony and ti are estimated at $600,000,000 a year, according to Mr. Oong Wen-hao, Minister of Economic Affairs.
Before the war China imported three per cent. of the nation's average total production of 700,000,000 piculs of rice every year, but Free China, Mr. Oong declares, is at present suffering no shortage of rice owing to good harvests in the past three years, China, however, he adds, has yet to work hard to produce sufficient raw materials to clothe her millions. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, China produced over 12,000,000 piculs of cotton, but half of China's cotton-growing districts has fallen into Japanese hands since.
The Chinese Government is, therefore, at present improving cotton seeds in the south-west provinces and operating 92 cotton mills in the interior to meet the shortage—Reuter, Japan Cost of Living Rises in July Tokyo, Aug. 31.
The cost of living throughout Japan has increased 23 per cent. in July over June, bringing the index figure to 253.7 per cent, against' a basis of 100 as of July 1914.
While the housing, lighting and cultural (health, education, trapsportation and amusement) costs have remained unchanged, the clothing and food respectively have increased 5.3 per cent. and 3 per
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.