Harbin Feb. 28.
Manchuria is not a particularly healthy place for the Japanese, recording to a survey that has just been completed by the medical experts of the South Manchuria Railway. How adults have fared has not been reported on, but the rate of infant mortality has been high. The survey was not general, but the conclusions arrived at are considered as a key to the health of the coming generation, on which much hope is centred. The climate of*Manchuria is not attractive to the people of Japan, and if there is an excessive death rate among those born in the country, economists reason that the future commercial absorption of this province will be dificult. There are many phases of the study, but the summing up shows that of the infantile, population of about 10,000, the births were about 2,000 while the deaths were about 500, or one in four. While the rate is not dissimilar te that of the Japanese mainland, it apparently was the expectation of the authorities that the less crowded conditions of Manchuria would make for the better health of the babies.
Whichever side of the Russian controversy other foreigners here are on, they approve of propaganda. by the Reds to improve the agriculture of the country. In former days religious processions were made to rid the land of insect pests and to' break droughts. Now the peasants are now urged to use good seed, practise constant cultivation, and wherever possible employ machinery. Students of the changes that are taking place in the rule of the communists, see in this recognition of the importance of the farmers evidence of the desertion of the doctrines of Karl Marx more significant than any other concession to capitalism that has so far been made. The breakdown in the Marxian dogma came about because it could not be made to apply to the peasants, and the recognition of this failure is looked upon es a healthy sign.
One of the first acts of the Commissar, sent out from Moscow to supervise the merging of the Far Eastern Republic with Soviet Russia, was to appoint a committee to secure exhibits to the big agricultural exhibition that is to be held its food supply. Graduates of the colleges of agriculture are now in demand to give instructions to the peasants.
Representatives of the Amur railroad have been there for the past several days employing experience labourers from among the discharged employees of the Chinese Eastern. The first lot of 200 will be sent out in a few days. Other consignments will go forward as fast as they can be secured and checked to see that in addition te being skilled railroad men, their political complexion is duly red. By the end of the summer it is intended to have the great steel bridge across the Amur river repaired, and the entire line from Vladivostok put in the best possible condition. It has been estimated that it will cost a sum equal to a quarter of a million dollars to re-Place the two spans in the Amur river bridge that were blown out by the Reds when the Japanese troops took up their headquarters in Habarovsk, the Russian city ea the south bank of that stream.
From February 15 to 20 a total of 5,403 Polish nationals are said to have left the three ports of Vladivostok, Dairen and Tientsin, bound for home. They were all from. Siberia, and the exodus was made up of 2,980 men, 1,911 women and 612 children. Most of these people left Vladivostok before the Japanese evacuation. What Poles remained after the coming of the Red troops, have found that their unpopularity made it difficult for them to live under Soviet jurisdiction, and they too joi the repatriation movement. Arrangements were made by the Polish Government to transport those who were unable to pay their way. pay oe _Changchun reports that the Russian station, master at the terminal depot of the Chinese Eastern was robbed last night by a band of his countrymen. Gaining entrance, the robbers led up the family, and found im the house $1,500 in money, part of which belonged to the railroad. They also. took jewellery to the value of $2,000. After cleaning out the residence, the servants quarters were visited, and there the cash taken amounted to $180. The work was a repititioa of several similar acts of spoliation this autumn at the capital city.; T a that occurred in Vladivostok, and The practical desertion of the the authorities are of the opinion Kutzbas colony, that utopian dream that it was done by a part of the te which a number of American Same gang. and English believers in communist contributed their presence and Unable further to face the slings money, has further strengthened and arrows of misfortune, a valiant the hands of that element in the spirit took poison yesterday, and Russian body politic which isi before aid reached him, he "boring from within" in an effort \solved the riddle what lies to get the country back to where beyond. His name was Glyado', it will at least not be dependent Russian who had known all of on the charity of other nations for the extremes of adventure. He
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.