Editor of the "Noru-Cunsa Dany News"
Su,—Late as this contribution of mine is towards the controversy over the proposed. rate increase of the SIM.C. and its subsequent. postpone ment, I hope, you will be kind enough fo accord it the privileges of your alnable. space. That T have given careful thought to all sides of the question will be, 1 trust too, apparent.
Some of the utterances of the representatives of the Chinese community here, like those of other nationalities, may be open to erilieism. The letter of the Chinese Ratepayers Association, as appeared In. Your correspondence columns of the Mth instant, is, however, worthy of the same notice as the official statements in favour and in defence of the rate increase. It represents the altitude of the actual majority of the ratepaying population here; is a display of the anxiety for a close and amicable ce-operation with the non Chinese communities here; and contuing nothing but constructive, though inavoldably. recriminative, criticisms and suggestions. In particular, the following extract gives the logie of that atitud nisachse "of "ine'® Counelt "te Wa hell ave that the present pane of over-spending Mtr parscatring that wilt" be vinguced exercise restraint. and' uso" dseretion inthe handling' of public' nance.
This need not be taken as a special slight on. the integrity and pelence of the Council; the tendency {o extravagance on the part of the governing. body, when additions to the revenue are readily available, is Invno way peculiar 10 our, if not model then at Toast unique," Sett ment; and" an opposition to' an. increase Ju taxation, whether justlied 'oF not, should rather be welcomed as salutary cheek on that tendency.
Tt feels like crying over spilled milk, to dwell too much on the past of the Council's finance, but the figures brought up in the letter men= toned about the rapid Inevease of exponditures and items such as resign {lon payments, exchange compels tions, ele, are not easily overlooked. Credit is, however, due to the old Council for having lately, in response to, public agitation, effected "quite noteworthy economy. And, under the pressure of that agitation, we may look forward with confidence to the new Council's efforts in further judicious retrenchments and avoid-nce of new. commitments of unwarranted generosity., The recommendation from Chinese and "Japanese quarters fora more liberal employ of their nationals the senior positions in the Council, to" some extent already heeded, though savouring of partisanship, is, nevertheless, sound economically. Many Chinese, graduated in the best universities, at, home or abroad, bre willing to work at what a mere clerk receives from SMC, 1 may tite "a typleal_ instance in Nanking, when 800 sat for the examination for Tour clerks at $40 monthly, among whom were several college graduates, Including two returned students, one from Japan and one from the USA, Tu deference to those who are unfacctistomed to the comparison between Chinese and "foreigners, we may examine the latter by them= selves, Alongside the senior members of the staff in the SM.C. the junior is naturally to be sympathized with for the recent 8 per cent. cut in salary' and. the payment of rates, During the times of critical Anance of 1982/3, Chinese governmental 'Mees have introduced salary, cuts sliding upwards to 90 per cent, That, course, may be overdoing a good thing; but the S.ALC. surely would be able' to find a more equitable gold mean," At the present, when prosperity is as yet around the corner, few would be optimistic enough to expect to escape the pinch of depression. We have seen times when ho self-respecting foreign girl typist would work for less than $150, but now we have applications from' for~ eign males pouring in asking for $40 upwards, with nary a one audacious enouith to aspire {0 over $100. What Ixvsauee for the goose without the Council is certainly sauce for the gander within. "AS to the senior Doflieer of the S.MLC., it is only 10 remember that, not so many weeks ago, some British' members of the Cabinet Fecelved as little as £2,000 annually.
'The Council, as well as the Foreign Ratepayers' Meeting, instead of being taken to task, is to be commended for. the compromise in the form of postponement and possible reconsideration, It is really gratifying to note, alongside readiness for co-opera tion' and compromise, as shown by the majority of the Chinese, many foreigners are alive to the fact that, if this cosmopolitan city Is to be run smoothly and for the good of all, there must be more of international harmony and unity and less of the foreigner-versus-Chinese complex.
Mr. Arnhold, the retired Chairman of the S.M.C., more than once pointed out that the proposed increase repre~ sented a measly 20 els. to each $10 fof ent assessment. Against this, llew me to say that, such sums, though small in themselves, repre= sent a heavy outlay in comparison with the. incomes from which they are paid." to quote from your recent comments on the Chinese income Tax.
It is safe to assert that the Chinese Ratepayers Associations have been speaking Father for the inarticulate. non-voting, ratepayers than Its mem: Bers, those who are paying in cents. As to the voting members, I am sure, not a few of them have been contributing towards charity and other: public funds many times the amount that the proposed increase would. represent, Personally, Tam of the. opinion that even a 20 per cent. me crease would do no harm, if it does: not affect adversely those who are: paying In cents and if the added revenue Is employed properly.
It is with reluctance that I cite the (typical example of the Municipal Orchestra. Here we have a luxury' which is being supported by all and enjoyed by a very few. And to think that with a solitary dollar T have had cees to hundreds of millions worth of public parks, contributed, T do not Know to what extent, by those who cannot afford that dollar.
Your readers need not be alarmed at the prospect of my advocating Communistic or Bolshevik: ideology; Dut, certainly, a more equitable way of collecting and spending may be asked. And, it Is useless to argue that Shanghai is the lowest taxed city of the world, for it is the return received "in proportion to the tax paid) that counts.
This inequity of indiscriminate taxation is really not so very insur mountable. It would indeed be most Gesirable, if something akin to. the Income "Trax werp introduced here too, Failing this, an accumulative scale of the rates could be considered. AS to the spending, the interest that the Council has taken in problems such fs Rickshaw, Housing, Food, ete, does Promise a brighter future for the bulls, the poorer strata. of the population here. Tt fs hoped that foreigners will join forces in pressing the new Council for more energetic progress and more concrete results in that Airection.
UK Shanghai, Apr. 25,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.