To the Editor of the "Nowrw-Cniwa Daty News."
Si—As a former resident of Shanghai and customer of your valued and still an interested veadar of it, when a copy of it sent, by some friend in China occasionally Arops in, I herewith beg to put before you the deplorable material condition, in which former residents in China' presently have to live in Germany.
After a body of renowned layw Including Englishmen, lately pas oda resolution declaring the con-five ation of enemy private property 'a return to barbarism and brutality not heard of since some hundred years ago civilization reached a certain standard, I venture to entreat, you to put some pressure on the authorities concerned to release, Jong as it is time to do it, if not the whole at least a substantial part of the private property seized in 1019 to individuals, that have proved to be destitute now, owing to that confiscation followed at home by the Snflation of German currency taking, from them everything of their hard-earned savings they possessed.
My case is this:
As superintendent of the leading' German shipping firm 1 worked in Shanghai ever since 1898 until our deportation in 1919. My savings were mostly invested in shares of Yocal English Companies and confi seated owing to the war by the Custodian in China of enemy proerty, who holds on my. account about, $/T 60,000, When returned home forcibly I had, owing to the loss of the whole company's fleet to share the fate of of all the captains and Superin dents over 60 years of age and had to retire on pension, Now I am 66 years of age, which, after all the worry and privation of the last five years, begins to tell hard on me, so that {am no more able to do serious work to make a living.
The Company's po many millions of gold marks collapsed entirely, being mostly invest ed in state and communal loans and war bonds.
All the old. pensioners get _nobing, the Company refusing to provide for men, that have been faithful servants "to it for thirty and more years like me, except a few Jucky ones—captains of the most prominent steamers before the war—who are permitted to do watchman business on the Company's ships in a home port—Passibly the same ship they commanded before—at a" remuneration of 100 Marks—not $50 per month. Others proving destitute receive exceedingly small support, that may be withdrawn at any' times
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.