Not the least important event occurring in Shanghai this week is: that one of the leading social institutions in the Settlement—in fact the premier one—has seen its; way to bring about a substantial jr reduction in the monthly subscription paid by its members. Look. ing back at past events and conditions, it is perfectly well-known that a few years.ago no such re-! duction could by any possibility have been contemplated, yet at a} time like the present, When thei depression in business is about as intense as it could be, the committee have been able to recommend and carry it through. It would be well worth the while of other clubs and institutions here to inquire how this has been made possible, and if they do so they will find that a rigid attention to economy in every department has been the; sole factor. This, practised over a few years and still very much in vogue, has achieved the object aimed at and in view of the amount of money which is expended by the average man on clubs, it would be a profound blessing if others could follow suit. The tendency of late years has been for subscriptions to go up, until, if a resident is interested \in more than one form of sport and is also desirous of the recreation afforded by cextain of the clubs, he has found it increasingly hard to meet all the demands upon his pocket. Now, however, that a move has beea made in the contrary direction, there may be hope of pursuing a less arduous financial trail.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.