Sept. 15.
In the British Court a tale of misapplied talent, of stupid [shifts pointing inevitably to the gaol, has obliquely revealed the of some hearts in Shanghai; likewise their reissness. Seldom has there been so clear a revelation of the ease with which the traffickers in the arts of plausibility can extract a more or less living wage from fellow Shanghailanders. From the reported proceedings it is reasonable to infer that the prisoner apparently had been without employment for the best part of a year. His resources were clearly heavily involved before he left his last regular post. Yet he ems to have been able in fashion or other to have ied on. Judging from the idence given, his means of sustenance depended on the readiness with which some more or less kindhearted Shanghailander was prepared—with or without the inducement of a "bedtime story""—to make him ismail advance. No doubt in a large number of these case, the sum involved was entirely negligible but it is to be noted with some resentment that the generosity of American citizens was stimulated at the expense of their usual shrewdness. by the concoction of a tale of one of their fellow-countrymen in distress, Thus patriotism working in several directions was ex-plaited. Discovery that they had been hoaxed awakened in the victims' minds an under andable desire to keep the matter dark. They were, governed by a sort of sporting spirit which took the view that if the stroke was clever enough to deceive them the player could have the stake and welcome.
Actually this amounts to a direct encouragement of frau 8 of distress begging turally' more evident in the life of a big City than when prosperity rules, although the calt of begging as an organised industry must not be ruled out of consideration. The case under notice indicates clearly that a man with, special knowledge of Shanghai—and the prisoner, for various reasons, had such special knowledge—can for long time rely on successful "touching" of the charitable or negligent pocket. It is understood that his distress had received the attention of societies specially equipped for that purpose. Like many more deserving indigent folk, he endeavoured to avoid r course to sheer charity but unfortunately undue reliance on his perverted gifts led him to turn into the path of chicanery. Had Shanghai a clearer sense of the meaning of charity organisation, he would not have been able to flourish for so long on so haphazard a method of raising revenue. The strength of his adventure lay, of course, in the fact that his request was t|not on his own behalf but for the benefit of an imaginary friend. Yet in essence the beneficiary was the suppliant himself. and, therefore, reference to a charitable society would have been highly appropriate whatever objection to it might have been raised. Except for the hi inquiry which actually led to the court proceedings, the victims never thought of verifyig the references given them, Shanghai's generosity has about it a touch of laziness. It ly far easier to hand out the nimble ten dollar note than to ring up possible sources of enlighten ment. This criticism should be (embered by the reservation that there is also the element of extrente good nature which shrinks from the notion of being deaf to distress, The practical view of such cases suggests that this attitude does harm to deserving sufferers of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. It hampers the charitable organisations in their arduous task of collecting funds and discriminating between the deserving and undeserving. Tt also encourages rascality to persevere in the reprehensible device of begging from door to door. If reference be made to the secretary of any patriotic society information will be forthcoming of a number of chronic cases of what almost be termed prof For that reason the jous societies last year form-led a ce-ordinating committee which it is hoped will enable the supply from ficance to achieve the maxim uni result of well-directed philanthropy. Shanghailanders and especially businessmen who seem, contrary to the accepted opinion, to have the softest hearts, should not open their pocket-books to casual visitors without the precaution—of making inquiry through the recognised channels, Any one of the patriotic societies will be able to indicate the proper source from which assistance can invoked in such-and~such ease. Nor should facile excuses accepted in objection to that suggested course of action. The man who pretends, for example, that he is ashamed to go to a patriotic society may quite possibly lack the shame which prevents him from perpetrating the fraud of, misrepresentation or obtaining by a promise to repay money which his lips call loan but his thoughts another happily secured subvention to his existence, Observal this general policy does a moment, indicate a des discourage one of Shang! most attractive traits—the readiness to put a hand in the Pocket on a call for informal assistance by friends in aid of a friend in distress. The plea is unauthenticated requests should be treated in a business-like way for the protection of the public. And it should not be forgotten that, the recipient of indiscriminate charity is definitely harmed by the feature. It merely fortifies his lief in the efficacy of his plan campaign and leads him, therefore, from one indiscretion to another in which he loses all sense of moral judgment to his ultimate undoing. It is sincerely hoped that the unfortunate man who has given a text for this thesis will in due course be enabled to recover his self-respect. In the meantime it is insisted that responsibility for this plight and the exposure of others to the same predicament must be attributed to those who fail to make use of the machinery set, up here for ensuring effective and well-calculated relief to neces
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.