orities, among whom I have figured somewhat prominently at times, Venture to say, without fear of contradiction, that no civie administration in the world has excelled that of Shanghai in eMficieney, economy and integrity Especially during those recent! months when Shanghai was continu ously' city of dreadful night' the various departments functioned admirably and services were rendered under such dangerous and trying con ditions that their value could not be measured In terms of money. On two occasions 1 had to venture into the war zone to rescue Telatives of my Chinese colleagues marooned there. At the Hongkew police station I found the municipal staff bravely carrying. on their duties with destruction and death going on continuously in their immediate vicinity.
"An absence of public spirit has been referred to in your correspondence columns from time to time but actual has been more apparent. than. cal. What grounds there were for this' impression have been compli mentary to the administration. It has been a case of "let Bill continue to do it" for Bill had been carrying on re= markably well and giving general satisfaction, There has only been one organized attempt to undermine confidence in. the council and the obvious falsity of the allegations could not fail to imugn the motives for them.
'There has in fact been developed a very real sense of citizenship in this the: most cosmopolitan city in the world and a pride in its achievements, To most foreign residents it is now: almost more. thei home than any' other place. It Is very necessary that there should be 'a more general re~ cognition that the administration of the culty' in which they have been for so long domiciled, the integrity of which they have fondly imagined has been guaranteed by a combination of all the leading Powers of the world, in grave dang:
"Put not your trust in Princes" I would warn my fellow citizens of Shanghai, Your civie interests have been, to some extent in the past, already sacrificed on the altar' of €iplomatic expediency and may be again to an even greater extent, The most vigorous united effort must be made to influence those Wwho hold your destiny in their hands. What you can achieve in this respect was strikingly demonstrated recent-by. the American community, when Washington trifled with. the idea of scuttle, Tt was these considerations which Jed me to write three letters to the Secretary of the. Council the first Jon August 27, the second on September 10 and the third on the 23rd. that month, This correspondence: would prove interesting reading at this juncture but it is. too lengthy: for reproduction in full, Perhaps, however, Mr. Editor you can afford space for a brief summary. I may say that all three letters are to the same effect. The second and third were largely to press hom the urgency of carrying out the suggestions in the first for the first received, as did the others, "scant consideration if any at all. 1 leave it to your readers to judge whether these suggestions were worthy of a dotter fate, Having been a member of the! 'Council "during the Shanghai con-ict of 1992 I rightly or wrongly felt that I could speak with some! authority. I reviewed the certainty that "appropriate diplomatic "action could then have rendered the whole Shanghai area immune from' any danger of a recurrence of such wholesale destruction and loss of life as then occurred. I place squarely on the shoulders of inexcusable diplomatic blundering the holocaust that hag again stricken this great city of Shanghai T urged that planning should begin at once for Shanghai's future' protection and development that! could when the opportune moment arrived be presented for the consideration of the Diplomatic Corps backed by the united support of the Council and all concerned in the welfare of the Settlement.
Avoiding publicity for the time], being I suggested the immediate appointment by the Council of an informal advisory commission that would be frequently in session closely following the course of events and making deductions from them as guide to their final recommendations. It was suggested that members of the commission should consist only of those with a thorough knowledge in the historical background of the sequence of events in China affecting Shanghai and that the Council should not neglect the collaboration of authoritative opinion, outside their own body.
Other suggestions mzy be summarized as follows:—
'AL the conclusion of hostilities the! Seitlement should be in a position
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.