To the Editor of the "Nonru-Cirxa Dan News papers today, that from Sin—There is a notice, in the the price of Gasoline will be per gallon. Not so lon Price "was 70 cents, Naturally, 9 rear many people who are forced '2 own cars in Shanghai by reason of the impossible public conveyance system which exists in this city, will reduce their travelling to the very minimum, eliminating all trips which may come under the category of "luxuries." There can be no question for these car owners of trips to Hangchow or any of the other cities or places to which the National Government has built automobile roads, presumably for the Purpose that these be used as much as possible. Or, are these roads of the nature of the villages of Potemkin, ie. to be viewed from a distance only and not for use?
In order to build these roads and promote communications in general, the National Government has instituted the National Lotteries. At least, that is the purpose of these lotteries as far as we know and, we cannot be acquainted with details, because accounts of how the income from the Lotteries has been employed, have never been published.
On the other hand, the main item, according to the Gasoline combine, in the price of Gasoline is the duty which has to be paid on importa Yor, We arrive, therefore, at the paradoxical situation of the Chinese Government building roads so. that motor-cars may use them and, at the very same time, imposing a heavy penalty, in the shape of an excess sive duly on car fuel, on those who would, if it were not a luxury "not to be afforded in these days of depression, use those roads thereby, incidentally, circulating money and bringing business to the places which they would visit on their auto tours.
In most countries it has been recognized that the motor-car is not luxury but a necessary and a useful one at that. In Shanghai a motor-car is more of a necessary than any place I know of, owing to the total inadequacy of its public transportation service. We have: bult one single prize exhibit that we can point a proud finger at and that the solitary monstrosity which labelled, by the Bus Company, a '"double-decker." It is illogical "and wrong economics, to penalize neces [saries and, in this present instance, the heavy duty imposed on. gasoline seems to defeat the very ends for which so much Chow much?) money was expended (on roads). 'The National Government at Nanking and the perpetrators of the: import tariff might well ponder, whether they are really serving the" best interests of the' country, by obstructing the tural development of motorized coni-
Shanghai July 27.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.