June 30.
IF one half of the things which have appeared in the Chinese press concerning the export of rice from China with oficial connivance, or worse still at official instigation, are true, they constitute the severest indictment possible against the country's government. Tampering with the daily food of the people is the most despicable form of '"'graft"' that can be alleged, and unfortunately there is only too much ground for believing that some office-holders at least have not scrupled to put money into their pockets by this means. But to suggest that their operations are the main cause of the present situation in Shanghai would be to ignore a condition of affairs which is of long standing; upon no one class of people, official or other, can the-sum of the blame be laid. An_old established system prevails, and its result to-day is that hardship has to be borne by the workman, and the employer is compelled to hand out thousands of taels over and above his normal wage bill to prevent crisis. In records of past years reference is made to this system, and to-day it seems to have come to a climax. Yesterday rice of the best quality was verging on $16 a picul, a price for which we believe there is no justification, and we have no guarantee that it will not go higher. Already the bonuses which have been paid to workmen have ceased to be adequate to meet the greater cost of living, and it is small wonder that on every hand is heard the cry that the authorities should do something. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce has taken steps to ease the situation, but it is time for drastic action to counteract iniquitous practices in vogue.
Were economic laws the only factor to be reckoned with Shanghai would have plenty of rice two lor three dollars a picul cheaper than. it is. to-day. Inquiry at places such as Nanking and Hangchow shows prices some 40 per cent. less than here. The higher prices ruling in Shanghai would naturally attract large quantities, and we should find that there would be ample for all needs. The large supplies would have the effect: of preventing too great an increase in price, and it would then work out that we should be paying only slightly more than either of the cities mentioned. Why, then, are these economic laws not working? Apparently for the' reason that they do not get a chance. For Years, if we are to believe official records, the people's rice supply has been in the hands of a set of manipulators. Not only do they deal in futures, but of old they are known as hoarders, and between these operations, complicated by the presence of countless middlemen, the natural laws of supply and demand have been stifled.
There can be no question about it, when one considers the discre-poney in price between Shanghai and other places, that the market is being manipulated somewhere. It would be very interesting to know the exact supply of rice in Shanghai to-day, as only very rough figures are available. One report has been assiduously cir
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.