To the Editor of the "Norra-Cuma Dany NEWS"
Sm—In a footnote to my letter published in your Sunday's issue you saw fit to comment unfavourably on my unnecessary vehemence of. expression, and your correspondent RIP, in his to-day's letter, playing the old game of "follow my leader," conveniently harps on the same string.
I-would have much preferred it somebody had come forward to contest my arguments instead of attacking me personally, At any rate, please understand that in expressing myself somewhat forcibly and calling a spade a spade, I did not intend to be abusive. It was only because of the recently recurring habit of finding fault with everything Germany does, and where that is impossible with the way she does it; and knowing from past experience what an effect such incessant pounding finally has on the Public mind, I thought fit to plead Our case, to aquaint your readers with our point of view in the matter.
It would be a pity if in this community, where a population more cosmopolitan than anywhere else in the world tries to live harmoniously together, if only the journalists will let them, a spirit of mad animosity, irom which we all suffered for more than four -years during the world war, mainly as the result of incessant insidious propaganda, should once more poison the air. The recollection of those awful times still lingers too vividly in the minds of many of us for us to wish them to return.
If your correspondent R.LP. sees fit to accuse Lloyd George and Clemencoan of moral cowardice by arguing that they had to be harsh to Germany to save their own skins, I will not contradict him, It only goes to show what a ghastly amount of evil a couple of men could do when their nerves failed them.
If the allied Press will only show a little more sympathetic understanding of Germany's endeavours to regain that place in the array of great nations to which she is entitled, there is no reason why the peoples of Europe should not once more live in neighbour ly peace and harmony as they did before the war. It would be a thousand pities if the persistent combined endeavours of certain nations to keep another one. tightly bottled up, should result in the bottle 3 bursting, when many inoffensive people "would get hurt by flying splinters.
Fx. REIBER.
Shanghai, Apr, 12.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.