Settlement Saved

Two spots in China have kept Japanese trigger fingers itching for a long time: Shanghai and Hong Kong. They are centres and symbols of Western exploitation. They are negations of the New (Japanese) Order. In Shanghai's International Settlement is concentrated almost every major U. S. interest in China.

So far the Japanese have restrained themselves from taking the Settlement by force and have tried only political graft and craft. Each time they fail they want the area more. Last week they failed again.

The 96-year-old Settlement is governed by a Municipal Council which since 1930 has consisted (under an unwritten gentlemen's agreement) of five Chinese, five Britons, two Americans, two Japanese.

Elections in the past were not so much contests as formalities. Twelve candidates were nominated, all twelve were automatically endorsed by the electorate. In order to vote it was necessary to own a sizable amount of taxable property, so that only 12,000 out of some 2,000,000 residents were eligible. The voting was proportionate by eligible nationalities, and the 5-5-2-2 Council ratio roughly corresponded to the electorate ratio.

During the past two years the Japanese have bought up large real-estate holdings in order to control more votes. Three weeks ago they announced they would run five instead of the usual two Japanese candidates. They hoped to marshal enough votes to oust three British Councilmen, elect the three extra Japanese. If they could get them elected, and then coerce the five Chinese Councilmen, Japan could put the final squeeze on foreign business in China.

Foreigners put their heads together, decided to out-Japanese the Japanese. First they drummed out every eligible U. S., British, French, White Russian, Austrian-Jewish and Czecho-Slovakian citizen to vote with them. The number looked meagre. So the Westerners decided that if the Japanese could use puppets, so could they. They pooled large real-estate holdings and split them among hundreds of dummy "owners." When voting day came, the dummies flocked to the polls. Result: a Council comprised of five Chinese, five Britons, two Americans, and two very angry Japanese.

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