Apropos of the agitation now on in Chinese circles against the agreement entered into by the National Aviation Corporation and the American company, Aviation Exploration, Me., a lengthy petition has been addressed to the Administrative Yuan by the Postal ployees Union and is published in the Chinese Pross, This says, inter al "Since the inauguration-of servies by the National Aviation Corporation in October last, very few passengers have been carried in its aeroplanes and mail matter, for the carrying of which the service was actually inaugurated, has averaged only 20 Ib. daily. According to the agreement entered into between Aviation Exploration Inc, and the National Aviation Corpora tion, the small planes of the Corporation are capable of carrying 800 Ib. of mail., The distance between Shanghai and. Henkow is only 516 miles but, according to the agreement, the American Company undertakes to establish air routes in. China covering of least 3,000
"Now, the services rendered by the Company to China consist of the establishment of only about
the agreement, the Chinese Government has to pay the Americans remuneration on the basis of 800 Ib. of mail and 3,000 miles of air route. Should the agreement last for only two or three years, China's losses would be comparatively small, but it calls for ten years? operation! And the losses China will incur for these ten years will exceed—$40,000,000. We cannot understand what was the real object in the minds of those who centered into unequal agreement with the American company, Postal Finances Low "China's finances are at a very low ebb. Indeed, we are on. the verge of bankruptey. Our postal Yevenues are not as good as had been anticipated. Only last year, postal branches in more than 800 places had to close on account of the trade depression. The treatment of the 36,000 postal employees has not been improved in spite of numerous petitions submitted to the Government. If the 36,000 Chinese postal employees and their families were all deprived of their livelihood, the money saved would still be insuficicent to meet the debts due to the American Company by Ohina under this obnoxious agreement. There is no doubt. that the Chinese Postal Service will be thrown into bankruptey if the agreement is enforced. Postal rates will have to be increased to meet the deficiency caused by the agreement. This will increase the burden of the people for the benefit of another Power. Will our Government tolerate this?
"Last year, we congratulated ourselves upon the rendition of our postal rights, but now China is again down-trodden by a. foreign Power so far as the Postal Service is concerned. The enforcement of the agreement will affect not only the 36,000 postal employees but it will affect China's communications considerably.
"We have presented many petitions to Mr. Sun Fo, who tumed a deaf ear to them. Mr. Sun hag resigned because he well knows that he will be unable to wind up the hopeless state of affairs of the it service started by him, Fearing the imminence of danger to the Postal Service, we have formed a committee to oppose the agreement. However, we are greatly disappointed because Mr, Wang Pah-chun (Minister of Communications), who was appointed to sueced Mr. Sun as president of the Corporation, paid $20,000 from the tic Postal revenues to the National Aviation Corporation in Nanking within an hour of his taking office a couple of days ago. A huge sum of money has already been spent by the Chiaotungpu at the expense of the Postal Service for the upkeep of the Shanghai-Chengtu service and, up to now, more than $1,000,- 000 has been taken from the postal revenues for the maintenance of the air services. Our hearts are pained by, this fact.
fe hereby demand the immediate cancellation of the agreement in question and request the Government to take steps to. meet our wishes so that China will incur Toss losses.'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.