Now.
In the last few weeks the trade depression has greatly accentuated the unemployment. problem in Shanghai. In particular this journal feels impelled to draw attention to the distress ing im the British com-'The other day the Anzac Society was informed that its executive had taken steps to warn people in Australia. and New Zealand that Shanghai was no means a suitable place to send men of women unable to find work at home, This warning has been issued to other countries ax well. Arrivals ut this port of men seeking employ ment have been unhappily frequent of late. And the extent of distress ju the countries from which they come can be gauged from the exceptionally high standard of qualifications possessed by some of them, But Shanghai British, with" more claims to Shanghai's solicitude, ate also out of work for no fault of their own. The National Societies continue to do all they can but they cannot create jobs in a period of stagnation, Nor can they either find time or the means to tackle the problem on general lines. Other admirable is to be carried to the extreme associations have to consider length of seriously impairing more than one nationality and efficiency, measures for the/haye to limit their activities increase of revenue will neces-palsy to concrete. yeller of sarily "have to come under individual cases on merits. The review. the same time/Salvation Army, ax a recent it must be realised that, if the appeal from Major W. Darby growth of Shanghai is not to be showed, has reached the limit of impeded, an assessment more in its resources, It hax made a keeping' with the—service striking appeal for warm cloth rendered! will have to be imposed. ing and it is to be hoped that all The only question really is whether the adoption of that who can assist in meeting its requirements will do s0. It maj, course during a period of de-in fact, be.said that anyone who pression is politically feasible. has @ spare overcoat at this time ere are valid arguments in can acquire instant merit by favour of a bold line of action.
Provided care is taken to resist passing it over 0 Major Darby, specious demands for avoidable for warmth and an ability to maintain " passable appearance expenditure, the Council will are big assets to distress. And supported if it endeavours, as distress in Shanghai just now is far-as possible, to avoid curiailvery real thing. Although the ment of services which, in themselves, dre vital to the process of immediate purpose of these lines recovery. If return to the 16 is to draw attention to the plight of British unemployed, it is per cent. rate or a rise to the 20 Der cent. rate is deferred until Impossible to refrain once again from touching on terrible straits conditions improve, the Council has to consider whether the] R, to which too many of the rissian community are being delay will not, in fact, retard that improvement. And, ven although better conditions arise, it is easy to believe that the collection of more revenue will arouse some form of opposition. If the Council takes the bull by the horns and tackles this problem now, it may have to face but it will be in good case to meet it by reason of its ability to point to the maintenance of essential services in efficient trim and, let it be insisted, to Judicious' curtailment of ex-Denditure on non-essentials. Its education polices should give it good ground for commanding Chinese support. Its obvious faith in the future of the International Settlement should encourage foreign ratepayers to rise with it to the occasion. In a time of depression the voice of the critic of the tax gatherer is loud; yet such critics are sui ly vocal at any time. The Council has every reason to be proud of its administration.
need only point to the lowness of the assessment figure to enforce the view that an increase of revenue rather than extraordinary retrenchment is the right expedient. Tt has been enabled ingenious but justified exploitation of its financial resources to temper the wind to the shorn lamb during the critical summer just: passed. Extension of that device 4s impossible if soundness continue to govern its reduced. There is no desire to dissipate effort but it should be mentioned that' each steamer from Dairen is bringing sixty or more Russian refuge whose welfare becomes a charge on the benevolence of a struggling and ilendowed community.
This digression gives a lead to the British in Shanghai. In view of the special hardships now being faced by their own unemployed they might do well to consider whether they too cannot, as a community, evolve special plans for meeting the situation which has thrown: so. many British on the market. The list of applicants for work with the British Chamber of Commerce has now no less than 128 names upon it, of qualified men and women for whom no job exists and for whom work is essential if they are to continue to exist. A plucky but abortive effort was lately made by a group of men to form a scheme of relief on the basis of self-help. It started unfavourably but, later, it was able to command sympathetic and practical assistance. It could not recover from the original errors and. Perhaps, it was not able to avoid others which hindered its development. It is no exaggeration to say that there are a very large number of British men and women on the unemployed list, over and above the comparatively select entries on the British Chamber's register. No special
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.