1 Shanghailander in general and Shanghai snotorists in particular can bear to hear a little story of the application ut trame rules to Londoners, they may appreciate the wisdom of the admirable special" article in to-day's issue of this Journal. Lord Trenchard was persuaded two years ago to authorize the drawing of mys-eat ines and diagrams at certain points in the streels of the Metropolis. With this decoration certain rules for the conduct of all concerned were issued to the press. Even editors, obligingly publishing the rules, did not profess to understand them, The introduction of the regime then staged in the streets of London a glorious comedy which depicted "motorists waiting to see what pedestrians Would do and pedestrians wondering what they really should do to solve Lord Trenchard's puzzle. All" was ood humour and bewilderment. but 4 desperate desire to do the right thing. Mr, Stanley Lupino at the Gaiely Theatre came nobly to everyone's rescue. He had one of Lord Trenchard's diagrams drawn on the stage and then proceeded to get entangled with it." Asked by a fellow philosopher the meaning. of the mystery, Mi, Lupino brightly ex-Plained:' "If you cross the street by this path snd a motor-car knocks yor down and kills you when you are standing in it—the Police won't blame you." This cleared the air—in few days the mystery was as plain as a pike-staff and now London ly surprised that it ever found difficulty in understanding Lord Trenchard's exposition. That cautionary tale is worth study by those who are aghast at the Council's proposed parking rules, For instance the correspondent who so dolefully describes the future of the shopping lady does not seem to understand that she has greater scope under the new rules, for she has actually an hour's grace in which to keep her car walling outside her favourite shops. As for th: fiery motorist who threatens a ratepayers" meeting and other. terrible processes for bringing the Police their knees, he really should read the rules, "He should also take note that the proposal to restrict parking was announced over a year ago and it absurd to pretend that there has been either a lack of consideration of the rules or an attempt to act arbitrarily. In fact the Commissioner seems have rivalled Mr, Nathaniel Winkle at Ipswich in the deliberation, with which he hes rolled up his sleeves and announced his intention to "be gin" It is safe to say that in most other countries police action would have been far swifter. There is one other point: most motorists realize that they cannot expect the community as a whole to be subjected to inconvenience and loss for rheic benefit, A fow motorists take rather a different and Jess sensible attitude and they unfortunately do further damage to their reputation for intelgence by refraining from studying the rules or giving the TramMe Department credit for possession of the elementary qualification of knowing fis own business. It would do them rho harm to tuke a lesson from London and cultivate a sense of humour.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.