March 4.
Shanghai is not out of the wood, A load has been lifted; the fierce fighting on its borders and in the midst of a stricken suburb has exhausted itself in its fury. The Japanese authorities, now that their forces have driven their gallant opponents well over the 20-kilometre limit} and, at last, have occupied Woosung. the little garrison of which has surrendered honourably to overwhelming opposition, have! wisely announced their' readi ness to cease hostilities. This. is.a gesture which, assuming that it be carried into effect, should be recognised as generous, It the logical rule that refusal of terms, followed by a resumption of "hostilities, exposes the defeated party to further terms, of a more drastic kind. Japan has, of course, good reason for not'applying this rule, owing to) her definite repudiation of any idea beyond that of safeguarding, her nationals' and position in Shanghai. Still fairness demands recognition of this forbearance might well be taken by Chinese as an inspiration, in spite of the humiliation and resentment pervading their minds, to face the facts and to endeavour, as far as possible, to enter upon the task of negotiation. It is significant that Tokyo has promptly denied the earlier report of operations projected beyond the assigned limit. Equally significant is the, "Morning Post's" hint that the psychological moment hax come for the cessation of hostilities for that journal has all along! taken so strongly a sympathetic view of Japanese policy, up to the point of being apologetic, Shanghai is not out of the wood, but a definite turning point has been reached. It ig desirable: that every effort should at once be made to set in train the process of recreating normality, There is much destruction to repair. There are activities to be resumed. There is the thread of trade to be taken up once more, so that the resources for a speedy: recovery can begin to be collected at the earliest moment, must be remembered that weighty problems remain. The political aspects of this conflauration will command the attention of all nations interested in Shanghai and China for some Tha Foreign Offices, statesmen. Shanghai, to put it flippantly, is in the position of a house in which there has been a celebration with orgies on a grand scale and which now seeks to return to its lawful occasions, Debris has to be removed, breakages have to be made good, services interrupted have to be restored und the inmates, after a hectic strain of excitement, have to be reassured and enabled to resume their nor mal routine, This cannot be all done at once. There must still be anxious moments over such questions as the refugees, the state of the area next-door to Chapei and contiguous to the Settlement, the policing of which against looters and other disturbers of a new-found peace is, nobody's business ty, everybody's. responsibility, Nor is. it. likely that the eager pressure for the removal of the Curfew will find alacrity of response in offcial circles. There are clear reasons why the Curfew should be abolished as soon as possible. But the need for conserving the energies of the police and for scarding against the perils of a ity suddenly stricken by a wave of unemployment and distress has to be taken into consideration. This is said out of no lack of appreciation of the solid advantages of restoring the evening trade which is so important, a large section of the community. It is believed, indeed, that the authorities are {their close attention in order to devise means for an early removal of the restriction, The air of cheerfulness to which Shanghai has been for five] weeks a stranger was most mark-Jed yesterday afternoon, as reports elsewhere indicate. Let this be taken as a good omen. The hostili bette nese and Chinese have not been the only signs of friction. There has been, as there always must be in such crises, a strain on tempers and. on. temperaments, Normal relationships should be established rapidly. It would be dangerous to assume that every} pitfall must be avoided. There are risks in a too precipitate Movement "to. "carry befor: There are equal risks in being too deliberate in-demobilisation, if the word can safely be used in talking of a quasi-War. "One thing is certain: Shanghai is too relieved at the prospect of being spared some of the horrid sounds and spectacles of the last few weeks to} waste much time on unsatisfying recriminations, There must be, of course, a general examination of the issues in the proper setting jand between the duly-accredited parties, But for the rest of the inhabitants of Shanghai the motto will be to get on with the job of rewelding friendships, re-establishing business. relations and replacing the International life here on its usual plane Draetical commonsense." Shanghai has had its five weeks' nightmare. It will have to pay for the experience, "The best way meet that debit is to wet down to work, to apply the process) strictly to the mission of rehabilitation and, finally, if the politi-) cal experts' confer wisely arid well, to turn tribulation to such good account that Shanghai may eventually emerge finer and more prosperous City of all the nations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.