curd May. For very many years the foreign residents of Shanghai have had to submit to having their clothes washed by the native laundry men according to the rough methods adopted by them, Formerly there was no help for this, so foreigners endured the evil as cheerfully as possible without enquiring too closely as to the process through which their linen passed, though the rapidly destroyed shirt fronts, cuffs and collars caused much forcible language to be used. From this condition of affairs, with few exceptions, there was no chance of escape, and therefore foreign residents put up with it as philosophically as possible, while occasional cases tried at the Mixed Court let them into the secret that the native washermen were fond of wearing their customers' underclothing, and there was besides a somewhat confused idea that the washing. of their ments was not conducted on strictly sanitary principles. But when in January, 1898, Dr. Macleod made his famous report to the Municipal Council on the prevailing system of washing clothes in Shanghai, the horrible state of affairs he then disclosed came as a severe shock to the foreign community, and it was rightly felt that some change for the better was imperative. The Council made an attempt to control the native washermen and to insist upon the work being performed more decently than was customary with them, but the disinclination of the native washermen to admit reforms caused the project to fail. There was then a fine opportunity for foreign enterprise, and this was taken advantage of with as little delay as possible by certain residents. It naturally took some considerable time to collect the information necessary to lay before the public, but in October last year the promoters ofa Steam Laundry Company were ina position to issue a prospectus for its formation, and the required capital was at once subscribed. It should be distinctly understood that the Company was not started for mere speculative purposes, but the prospectus pointed out that "owing to the insanitary and careless methods employed by the native washermen, such a Company would meet a long felt and growing want amongst the community," and further on it was very truly and forcibly stated that "briefly, the venture only requires the support of the community to eventuate into a great public boon, and the Directors have every confidence in inviting the co-opera tion of the public." In order to make the Company as ce-operative as possible, care was taken by the Directors to allot the shares in the first instance to those who had applied for a single share, and so on upwards, and that this was the proper principle to follow cannot be denied.
A contract was entered into with the Troy Laundry Company, Limited, of New York, to provide a first-class steam laundry plant with all the latest improvements, and a suitable lot of land was secured at No. 5, Hanbury Road, where this plant was erected under the superintendence of an engineer specially sent out for the purpose. The main building is constructed of brick, occupying an area of 100ft. by 50ft., the walls to the eaves being ift. in height, while a high-pitched roof and a large skylight secure good ventilationand light. On one side of this room the four
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.