City as Superstitious Ward Off Evil Spirits Barrages of exploding fi crackers laid down by superstitious Chinese as a result of the total eclipse of the moon which took place last night resulted in a deluge of telephone calls to newspaper offices and police stations by nervous citizens who were under the impression that another war must be close at hand.
A cloudless sky made it possible for Shanghailanders to obtain an exceptionally clear view of the total eclipse' of-the moon. The moon began the eclipse at 1039, after which time it steadily darkened until a total eclipse took place at 11.11, A darkened sky, lit only by a vague circle of light, attracted much attention among Chinese on the Bund who were to be seen closely following the progress of the earth's shadow across the lunar body.
There are several explanations among the Chinese for such a phenomenon. One of the most common is that there exists a secondary "wild moon" which is chasing the real moon across the sky. If the moon is caught and swallowed, it di appears from the sky as in the case of an eclipse. Unless the moon is freed there will be no more light in the world, so that it is always anxiously watched, and the superstitious breathe a sigh of relief w makes its reappearance.
It was understood that the Chinese Ratepayers Association was asked by the Shanghai Municipal Council to inform all shop-owners of the recent order issued regarding the question of flags and to give them a list of the dates on which they might be flown.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.