Welcomed Shanghai, Apr. 28 The Chinese press in Shanghai unanimously praise the efforts made the Shanghai Municipal Council to bring Hongkong rice to Shanghai stating that it will reduce prices of lee ere. The Shanghai Rice and Cereal Guild which refused to cooperate with the authorities in the distribution of the Hongkong rice was Foreign Firms to Handle S.M.C. Rice Shanghai, Apr. 27. The Council has been unable to effect satisfactory arrangements with the wholesalers in the rice trade in regard to the distribution of the rice which the Council proposed to import from Hongkong to place at the disposal of the Shanghai market.
The Council has accordingly decided to import rice from Hongkong and offer the rice direct to the retail trade. The Council will handle the business aspects of the matter through Messrs, A. R. Burkill Sons, Ltd, and Messrs. Knipschildt & "Eskelund, Ltd, firms which are not engaged upon any other rice business, strongly criticized and in its "Daily Comment" columns, the "Chinese American Daily News" even urged the Council to punish the guild.
Most of the reports indicated that} the masks of members of the guild had finally been taken off. It was asserted that most of the people well acquainted with the situation should know now who have been behind the hoarding business. The populace would no doubt support tite Council in carrying out its plan of distributing the rice from Hongkong by giving it directly to retail dealers.
was. said.
It is important to recall in this connection that both the lalo Mayor Fu Siao-en of Greater Shanghai and the Chinese. press urged the author: tes to punish the executives of the guild long ago, but no such steps have yet been taken. The late Mayor even went so far as to advocate the abolition of that rice body.
Prices Up Again Meanwhile, the situation in the Shanghai Rice Market has gone from bad to worse. As if to nullity the strenuous efforts made by the authorities in increasing the supply of Fice by shipping cheap rice from Hongkong. prices in the local market have gone up again. The price of even $140 per picul was quoted on Saturday. While hope, is expressed Ju Chinese circles that ihe Hongkong rie will help to reduce prices by. about $20 per picul, profiteers tried to increase their' prices.
Tt was revealed in the economic sections of the Chinese press that the' "rice worms" were spreading rumours; that negotiations between the Council and Hongkong authorities in bringing
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.