Threaten "Measur Chinese agents allegedly employed by the Japanese gendarmerie are visiting all Chinese residents of the Eastern districts, encouraging them not to pay their municipal rates, it was learned from reliable sources yesterday, although police officials questioned on the subject refused to make a statement.
These Chinese agents, it is learned, make house to house calls and inform the occupants that if they continued to pay the rates as in the past, the Japanese authorities would look with disfavour and would be taken to deal h such "offenders."
As far as could be learned however, Japanese ratepayers are still paying their rates punctually as in the past, which leads to the belief that the agents of the gendarmerie have instructions only to approach Chinese residents.
What action is being taken by the Shanghai Municipal Council on the subject could not be learned yesterday and it was understood that the allegations are at present being investigated, In the Western districts where houses, whilst actually in "Ta Tao" territory, enjoy the privileges of the Settlement's public utilities, pay rates to the Council, the occupants have also been forced for a number of months already to pay rates to the "Ta Tao" authorities as well, although they receive no~privileges in exchange for these payments.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.