Readers who from time to time write to this paper complaining of the noise made by cabarets in the vicinity of their houses, will read with envy the report appearing on another page of what the authorities in Hankow are doing in the matter. Music in all the cabarets must close at midnight, and, even before that hour, the. strains from the various orchestras must only be of a classical nature. It is re Ported that cabaret owners are transgressing with regard to the character of the music played, anda certain amount of sympathy can be felt for them in their wrong doing. The "Peer Gynt" suite, admirable music though it may be, is hardly suited for dancing, and after all what else are cabarets for? They appear to be on safe ground, however, in their offending if the decision, as to what is or is not classical, is to be left to the police officers who prowl the limits within which the order applies. They would be on even safer ground if they instructed their musicians to play only such dance music as has been used ceremonially by Chinese brass bands for some years past. Thus "Over There" which so often is played as processional music in Shanghai, might still provide adequate accom animent for terpsichorean exercise up to midnight, on the ground thet, Chinese use of it justified the contention that it was no longer common ance music but something of a rather more sombre import, though providing sufficient rhythm for the moving
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.