To the Editor of the "Norta-Cuina Dairy News."
Smr.—The writer of the leading article under above caption in today's issue seems to be on the verge of hysterics, in his references to this sad, sordid. but quite ordinary, crime.
I quote these sentences from your leader "Consequently, shorn of the man's foolish acts, the tragedy constitutes as damnit indictment of the community as can possibly be imagined,"
"One man is dead and another has stood in imminent peril of death by a fault of the community."
There can be no indictment of the community for this crime any more than there can be for the' crime of the murder of the singsong girl, or the shooting of a girl in a brothel some weeks ago.
To use such extravagant and intemperate language towards the community constitutes, in my opinion. as damning an indictment of your own leader writer as can possibly be imagined'? because it! can be seized upon by those who are ignorant of life and conditions in these Settlements, and will give them an entirely wrong impression of affairs. In all great cities, particularly in all great seaports, there may be found vulgar and. sordid excrescences such as the "Trenches" seem to be, and people who go to these places have only themselves to blame if ill befalls them. Shanghai, as a community, does not patronize these places—' and, as a community, has no control over them—for I believe they. are outside the Settlement boundary. No community can prevent individuals from seeking trouble!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.