Sept. 8.
Witn the cancellation of the fate of emergency the publicity campaign conducted by the Municipal Council comes to an end. We shall no longer be exhorted to "Read the Truth" or see the pamphlets and cartoons issued from the press decorating our telegraph and telephone poles. It may be worth while recalling the reasons that led to the inception of this publicity work, Immediately the events of May 30 and the following days occurred, the students' organization constituted itself into a gigantic publicity bureau, and scattered its propaganda, not only throughout China, but' also to Europe and America. Those who employed their pens in this connexion may be divided into three categories. There were first the irresponsibles who pub-shed "Hot Blood," "The Blood Flood," and papers of that type. They were unfettered by the trammels of truth and descended to any depth of scurrility to add a little fuel to the fires of hatred. Nevertheless, their publications, which were sold at one copper cent per copy, were eagerly bought up and, until they were suppressed by General Shing Shi-lien, had a most pernicious influence,—espec' on the minds of the ignorant and the vicious. Secondly, there were the pamphlets and papers issued by the Students' Union and kindred bodies. These were not scur-lous but they were full of misleading and often utterly untrue statements. They also specialized in a skilful presentation of half truths; emphasis anything that would strengthen their own view of the events that had taken place and skilfully suppressing whatever tended to justify the action the authorities were compelled to take in suppressing mob violence. As the publications of the hot-bloods inflamed the passions of the lower strata of the people, the pronouncements of the student body were taken at their face value by influential bodies abroad and by the editors of journals, who found it difficult to believe that young men, trained in mission schools for the most part, could be guilty of deliberate unveracity. And lastly, there were the anti-foreign foreigners like Bertrand Russell and others of that ilk who, from some perverted psychological impulse, are always ready to believe and propagate anything that tends to bring reproach on their own country.
When it was decided to commence a publicity campaign to counteract the activities of these three classes the ruling principle which was to guide in the production of literature was easily decided upon. It was the exact opposite of the course adopted by those whose views were to be combated. Nothing was to be said that was not strictly true; nothing that was in the least discourteous, No pronouncement was to be made on matters that were still sub judice but every effort directed towards placing the facts, as far as they were known, before the Chinese public. The first publications issued were a translation of Mr. Austen Chamberlain's speech in the House of Commons on the Chinese question and a pamphlet on "The Soviet, China's enemy." The publication of these pamphlet stirred up violent opposition. Any Chinese who dared to print or handle them was threatened with death, Two Chinese newspapers which printed the tran: tion of Mr. Chamberlain's speech were boycotted and had to make handsome apology. The speech was, as those who have read it know, very conciliatory and sympathetic towards China, but that made no difference. It exhibited the British Government in a light altogether different from the swashbuckling institution that the student agitators had pictured it and its dissemination was not to be tolerated.
The other publication which traced most of the agitation to Bolshevist sources incurred even more violent reprobation. No language was strong enough to denounce the black lie, Anonymous letters poured into the Council Building addressed to ithe writers of "The Truth," and if hard words would have broken bones they would not have survived the onslaught. But the publicists calmly pursued the path they had marked out for themselves. A steady stream of publications issued from an unknown press and every few days another bit of "The Truth" adorned the telephone poles. They were hated but they were read and truth, however much disliked, has a way of securing a lodgement in the mind. The latest issue which appeared was included in our delivery of Thursday morning; it was written by a Chinese merchant who, naturally, prefers. to remain anonymous. And influential men ike Chang Chien, the benevolent. despot of Tungchow and the Chief Executive, Tuan Chi-jui, have written denouncing the pernicious influence of Bolshevism as strongly as anything published in "The Truth." The pamphlets found acceptance in districts far removed from Shanghai. People wrote from interior stintions ask copies and had the Council lo to contemplate a nationwide publicity campaign its effects would have been far-reaching and beneficial, However, what was done has been of the greatest value and we make our bow to the defunct publicity committee.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.