The collapse of the much-advertiz~ ed Communist demonstrations on Thursday, which fizzled out little stone-throwing and scattering of leaflets, should, it is to be hoped, prove a lesson to the Commmunist explicable why the Moscow announcement should have been made beforehand with so much publicity that August 1 was to be a day for world-wide demonstration. The ¢s-sence of success in such cases that, if possible, the authorities should be caught' napping. Even then, as we pointed out a day or two ago, nothing much more could have happened than possibly the shooting of a few people and some damage to property. strongly armed against Bolshevik. As matters were, simply became organization organization, and there was never a doubt of the result. At the slightest sign of a crowd assembling. the police, who indeed deserve warm, compliments on their excellent preparations, were on the spot in over~ whelming force, and the would-be rioters immediately found that they had business elsewhere. No doubt. they will try again: there are rumours that they may have a farther attempt to-day or some time next week. The frothy delight of throwing leaflets which nobody reads, and shouting slogans to which nobody pays the slightest attention, appeals enormously to a certain sort. of immature intelligence,.especially in the well-guarded streets of the International Settlement, where the rioter is practically safe from being shot, and, if arrested, is sure of a fair trial, before being handed over to those who would shoot him without 2 moment's thought. Whatever they try, the Communists will find the police ready for them. It is pertinent to point out that in this respect the foreign police of Shanghai are playing the game of the Nationalist Government against whom, much, more than against, Anybody else, the Communist monstrations directed. return it is only fair to ask that the Government will1ook into the doings of those organizations to which we referred 2 couple of days ago, and which, While claiming some sort of official affiliation, stir up trouble ug the workers of Shanghai out specious pretext' of improving their conditions. In actual fact this simply means the calling out on strike of men who are perfectly satisfied, and have every reason to be satisfied, with their conditions of work, This is unfair to the Chinese workers, unfair to their employers, and is undoubtedly helping eve ate that atmosphere of unrest bby which the Communist party mostly profit, and we hope the Govern-tment will do their best to stop such indefensible The Loss of the Vestris Apart from the allocate blame among certain offic all round criticism, the report of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the str. Vestris, which created such a sensation some little sea its bad while ago, may serve to destroy points. "women and 'Naturally children first' in the ease of a wreck: is wholly admirable, but the Court of Inq the brief report, which we have at hand, seems to suggest not that women and children nuld be got off the ship first, but be their safety. 7 ly every case means that a certain number of men must accompany them, for the purpose of properly. navigating the life boat, particular. ly in stormy weather when the task of keeping the craft's nose on to the waves means all the difference between life and death, and te font which no women could perform, ven if they knew how, and very few Tandsmen. There is nothing of cowardice on the part of men who perform this function as crew of boat so laden: indeed, there is a great de Certainly it calls for the intelligent application of a principle which unfortunately seems to be 80 expressed, such words as to cast some sort of reproach on men, who thus happen to be saved, in' the eyes of the unthinking, for'to put lifeboats afloat in a raging storm, laden with women and children, without suficient crews to navigate them is foolhardy, instead of brave on the art of the men who stay behind.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.