Any patriotic effort, however futile, is wholesome and worthy of encouragement. But, as_ the practical persons see it, the Shantung Railway is never going to be redeemed with the contributions of high officials or of isolated_groups of students and literati. It_ will either be purchased from Japan through an issue of internal loan bonds in the ordinary way or through a real public subscription.
The Chinese public is keenly businesslike. Like the rank and file of any nation, it is sentimental for brief wnsustained periods when sentiment stands sponsor for impracticable and futile causes, but it will sustain sentiment indefinitely when it is fortified and insured by practical considerations. Sentiment is not gaging to inspire the Chinese general public to contribute to the tune of Gold Marks 53,000.- 000 to the saving boxes of isolated student organizations or to those of societies formed by benevolent old gentlemen graduated from the Mandarinate. Nothing but a business organization, approaching the public with a clean-cut business proposition will inspire—really liberal subscriptions from the people at large and such an organization should be formed at once.
AN Oraanization oF BaNKs.
There resides in Peking a foreigner who was once a corporation lawyer of international repute upon whose knowledge the fate of much larger sums than the assessed value of the Tsingtao-Tsinan Railway has often depended tached way he has thought to the possibility of deeming the Shantung Railway by subscription and has come to the conclusion that it can be done through an organization of banks and through no - other medium. The writer is enabled to proffer to the Chinese people this expert judgement of a high authority without the usual high fee.
A People's Railway Corporation should be organized, independently of the Government and outside Peking and other administrative centres, by a group of commercial (not political) banks of unquestioned stability. The security of the funds received should be further guaranteed by making the banks mutually responsible for each other's credit and stability. The group as 2 whole, in other words, should be responsible for and should make good any loss of railway funds through the failure of any one bank. The larger the group of banks the better, the bigger the territory they cover with their branches the better, but to inspire public confidence the depository banks should be restricted to a limited and published list of particularly reliable banks outside Peking and other administrative centres.
Having formed this organization among themselves the banks should offer to China at large to accept subscriptions towards railway redemption, in any amounts from a dollar upwards, as five-year fixed deposits paying, not to the individual but into the general fund, interest at a liberal rate—not less than eight per cent. per annum. Each deposit slip issued by the banks should be in the form of a contract with the depositor to the effect. that under certain conditions, the moneys received would be used for the redemption of the Tsingtao Tsinan Railway and the fixed deposit period extended, while if these conditions could not be met at the end of five years the depositors could withdraw their funds at discretion with compound interest.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.