Which Saves Nothing: Display of Patriotic Fervour and Practical Rowdiness If Sunday's meeting of the United National Salvation Association is to be taken as an example, we fear that the association will be a farce and save nothing at all.
The meeting was a typical example of the Peking Parliament's methods and had there been inkwells, pens, etc., at hand nothing could have prevented these being thrown.
Sunday's business wag to elec! directors and the committees. Instead of sending out a list of names to each would-be member, as had been decided at the last meeting, the organizers seemed to have left things to chance, and a number of men turned up on Sunday to obstruct. They demanded that each man willing to serve as a director or committee member should walk name on a blackboard. This many up on the piatiorm and write his people hesitated to do.
One man rose and denounced this system of election on the ground that it was illegal. "If we are unable to abide by the laws here," he cried, "how can we be expected to observe the laws of the country? If we do not observe the laws of the country, how can China be saved? Our object is to save China."
Immediately a host of men jumped up together, shouting, "Let us go on with the elections." Several others raised another. yell "Yes, yes." "Let us get to business. We have the country to save." A short Cantonese, fearing that he might not be seen by the 100 odd persons present jumped into the air, shouting in pidgin Mandarin '"Jam C—h—e—n—g." (Approved.)
The gentleman who denounced the elections stood up again and gave another "short" speech which took up nearly 20 minutes, finally ending by taking off his felt hat, ruffling his hair, clasping his neck and repeatedly jumping up and down, crying. We are lost, We are lost. There is no hope of our salvation. We are lost. I am going home to die."
He was reassured for a few minutes, but he again broke out, his friends in the meantime trying to pacify him with "No we are not Jost. We shall be saved. China is not lost while we are here."
After much rambling and heated argument, a lady stood up to make speech, but attempts were made to how] her down. Shouts arose, however, of, "Let her speak. She is a lady. Have consideration for a lady." Thus encouraged she declared, "I firmly. believe in the salvation of this our country. I certainly believe that the time will come when we shall be saved I served in the 'Dare-to-die' corps in 1911 and I had this object is view. I still maintain thee our country can be
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.