"Everyone knows that it was the order prohibiting the export silver from Hankow and the collec. tion of bullion into the central treasury that caused the banks to suspend payment. But others beside the two banks mentioned suffered from the incidence of these orders and also suspended payment. There was the Sze-ming Bank. the China and the South Seas Bank and the Industrial Bank of Chekiang. But these banks, as soon as the Western reached Banke army (and drove out the comm regime) of their own vali resumed payment of their paper in specie. 'This was a brilliant ction on their part and by it their credit was re-established. Only the National Bank of China and the Bank of Communications, though they received many urgent letters and telegrams, refused to make any announcement' on the subject.
"We really do not know what ideas they had in mind that led them to take up this attitude. They reiterate that it was military action that involved them in difficulties and that the Government should admit responsibility for the impasse. T would ask, were the other banks who have since resumed payment not involved in the same military difficulty? And yet their action has been as stated above; do the Protest by Holders chick recently of the base, wherever the army passed, the people, were, directly or.indivectly, involved in difficulties through its, operations. It) was not Wuhan, alone that suffered. And even in Wohan others beside these two banks suffered losses. If they can, because of the trifling loss caused by the military, refuse to honour their paper and' lay the blame the Government, carnot all the rest of the people do the same? Can they also follow the example of the banks and beg the Government to readjust their businesses? If this attitude becomes general it is to be feared the Government will have more than enough to do. "If it is said that the Government owes money to these two banks, they can demand repayment but they may not, on this account, refuse to cash their own netes. From the above it is plain that the twe banks cannot, according to right or according to lay, shelve their responsibilities, as though the redemption of the notes. was no longer their affair; for the business of a bank depends upon its credit. It may be recalled that, when Yuan Shih-kai usurped the government of the country, he Esued n decree ordering the cess tion of payment in silver, but the Bank of China and the Bank' of Communications in Shanghai bravely disobeyed this order. Society applauded and the mercantile community praised the moral courage of this action. The reliability of the bank was demonstrated and ite business greatly enlarged. Unexpectedly the banks have, on this occasion, reversed the action taken years ago and have paralysed the Dusiness of exchange. They take individual action and in destroying others destroy themselves.
The Tiger's Skin "It is not to be supposed that holders of the bank's paper have no satisfactory remedy. They have refused to take that remedy for the reason set forth in the telegram addressed to the Government by the National Associated Chambers of Commerce—we must consider the repercussion of such action on the schola business of banking. We are in the position of a man who wished to hurl & missile at a rat trained from fear of breaking a valuable vase that was in the line of fire or like the other fellow who begged a tiger to lend him its skin.
(Asking for the tiger's skin was asking for its life. The writer train from suction th creditors, as slaves.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.