To the Editor of the "Norm-Cinxa Dany News"
Sm—The Leader on "Municipal Salaries" in this morning's issue' of your esteemed paper savours. more an apologia than a convincing defence of the matter treated. So tar as Tam concerned It does not really alter whether Mr. Higher-up in the ouneit is paid $40,000" or $100,000 3 year, or whether or not his job has Fesuited from what some critics term Repotism. So long as the Ratepayers ound the system satisfactory and Voted the expense and nobody. was hurt in the process, there was little to seriously grow! about, 'But the frst growl happens to come from the Council itself. It recog izes the need for contraction of expenditure to meet the ever-lessening Income and' decides to embark upon scheme of retrenchment, 'True' tradition the "little man" is being made to take the whole brunt of all this." He needs every cent he receives In Seder to so much as exist, but in spite of this. he Is being thrown out large numbers and eft to fend for himself in a. city "where unemployment is rife. With nothing put aside {the has had no time) and nothing to look forward to, his position is indeed 2 desperate one. Yet are there men inthe Council's "employ living, a Tsay, on the "very" fat of the land' of occupying "soft" of created" jobs—positions thet 1 repeat. can quite easily be dispensed with without in any way interfering With the good work of administration. Why have these men not beet asked to make the first suerifice? They are best able to meet the change, 'That is the whole point of my eriticism. When into the bargain comes the matter of poverty of social service then the whole position becomes Infinitely' worse, "And yet the Chalr~ man, speaks glibly of an increase in the ales. If he' gets his hope ful-Aled, little hope is there lett for Shanghai's future.
Whilst on the subject, may T point out that your comparison of the focal Fates and taxes with those paid by Birmingham, Liverpool. Manchester {and most American elfic, is quite un: Justified, as the conditions obtaining each case are different. You cat not have allowed sufficiently for the differences in the ceonomie scale. That my very-great-grandpareat gnawed raw meat off the bone and donned only sheep or bearskin hardly justices my doing the same to-day. Of course T would delight the ladies—those keen worshippers of cave-man stull—Dut I should be immediately ostracisod by. the male or weaker sex and re-Tegated to the ranks of the cannibal and probably shot "on sight. What therefore may be good for Birmingham. ele, ete, need not be, indeed not, good for Shanghai.
the matter of overpayment of salary has it occurred to You that $9000 is the cauivalent of about £2000 bat. the real or. purchasing ale of the money" tu. Shanghai Inearer "£4,000, "in Stocum-on-Marsh 1 Shoutd 'Venture' to" say" that salary Would boa very moderate ene!tt (2) Payment of an over high salary order to. sure integrity of the Ipcumbent' ig 'a serious, Teflection on the moral character" of said' Incum-Dent? What's. commentary on our 1 do not suppose that much change wilt happen immediately' from all these weltings and discussions." The ame of patting each other's backs by those "who hold the reins of power will" probably. go on. Sincere and Justined criticism will continue to be Received with offence or disdain, And all" the lime the lowly-placed will Fiave to find happiness in being erushed out of existence: But the day of Feckoning cannot be very far off. The exploitation of the many for the sake the very few must have is re-Percussion." When the boomerang! Mrtkes, the force of the rebound will bbe even greater than that of the de-very.
Finally, does the new Council dare to. appoint immediately a totally. Independent and fair Commission examine into the above charges?
There are plenty of honest and capable men who could carry out the work to everybody's satisfaction—men who have no particular cronies to favour. no axes to grind and no false god to worship. Really independent souls I mean, P, H, Paevor.
[Shanghai, May 8, In regard to Mr. Prevot's (we questions it may be stated The Council's seales of salary are according. to "the market rates fixed by' experience and due re-
It ts a fact that the prescription of a scale of salary which ensures the receplent a modest. com= Potence isthe best safeguard For the rest Mr. Prevot does not seem to have read the leading article With the care which would have en= abled' 2) man of his intelligence to avoid so palpable a garbling of its urpor
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.