To the Editor of the "Nonru-Cunxa Darcy News"
Sm—On reading the report issued ever the week-end, in re the "Raven Group" I am reminded of the "mountain labouring mightily and bringing forth a mouse", as after six months of labour we are served with a lot of figures as to the sums owing to and owed by several national groups. together with a promise of Ti per cent, "maybe" before Christmas—10352).
Maybe I am, more than ordinarily dense, but "for' the life of me" I cannot understand what practical value such figures can possibly have to any one of the creditors, For my part at least, and as one of the largest creditors, I have not a particle of Interest in whether the defunct bank owes more to Americans as a group for to Russians or Chinese or "and thers" and anyway, why select only three national groups and bunch all the rest together as "other", especially since the others are the largest creditors, Of what such figures to the thousands have waited six months in the hope of a substanti dividend, many of them, with the gradually Meeting rome prance of the bank officers' statements, issued immediately after the closure, that the assets were several times greater than the liabilities and that creditors would be repaid every dollar.
Tt appears to me that such statistics, it not simply politics, are at least
Preparation evidently required many waste, of ime and money, their weeks of work on the part of the staff and auditers for which the: tier alone are receiving several thousand dollars'a month, As an example of the futility and ungellability of such statistics, 1 have only to mention two facts which are known to me personally, in that the case of two of my own deposits, al though one is in my name (and would therefore presumably be listed under my nationality) actually the money 4s held in trust for someone of different nationality. Another of my deposits in the joint names of nyselt and another party of different Rationality represents unequal interest of two parties, of which the yeeord Is unknown to the bank and therefore could not be classified cor~ redly as to ownership by nationality. These two examples are of my own personal knowledge, but what of the deposits of many institutions such.as schools, hospitals and missions, which though controlled by Americans are solely concerned with, and their funds are contributed " largely. by, Chinese and other nationalities?
The statement informs us that about $800,000 has been collected at a cost of $87,000. which Mr. Hough regards, semparatively favourable percent of cost of collection, whereas it seems to me that an opinion on this subject can only be formed when the accounts are finally completed. I, for one, would be more interested in
appear to be of far more importance Yearning, and such statistics would and Interest to the creditors, what proportions of the "assets" were sacrificed and are represented bby the $800,000 odd so far collected, and similar statistics.
Avo Emens, Shanghai, Nov, 13.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.