The shortage of subsidiary coinage in Shanghai, which has been a daily infliction to the average resident for many months, is officially emphasized in the summary of the annual report of the public utilities companies which has been issued by the Shanghai Municipal Council. Particularly in so far as the transportation companies are concerned, the shortage has created a number of new and extremely difficult problems, The issue of their own subsidiary currency in the form of coupons valued nything from one to five cents, has simi ior the general public, but unfortunately has complicated matters for the companies concerned. For many of these tickets, designed only for use on the vehicles of the companies, have found their way into general circulation, and have thus become a liability which cannot be properly assessed. The issue of such a currency has also created a number of opportunities for abuses which the companies must find almost impossible to check, Hence a conductor may refuse to accept a coupon of the company's money and demand some of the few one cent and five cent notes issued by the Chinese Government; but in change for these notes he will tender the company's tokens, If these are refused by the customer, he may cause any amount of trouble, by protesting that he has not enough Government currency to fill the demand. Yet thirty seconds later he may tender a utility's coupon to another customer in exchange for good national currency and may get annoyed when it is not accepted. There can be little doubt that there is a bad need of more subsidiary currency here in Shanghai, Small annoyances, such as those described, go a long way towards fostering dissatisfaction with the present system of national currency and create a frame of mind which may be prepared to accept any substitute so long as that substitute can be passed. This deplorable state of affairs has almost been reached today, and its effects must necessarily be adversely felt by the recognized Chinese Government, unless something is done immediately to remedy the situation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.