12.
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to arrive at their destinations if run under European super-
vision.
Give every citizen something to do, even if jobs
have to be invented:
the danger-spots are where people sit
round with time on their hands. Stretch every point to ensure
that newspapers come out regularly as often as possible and
give decent and full news.
It seemed important to bring these broad lessons to the
notice of other civil defence organisations soon to be tested
and accordingly, as soon as I reached Free China, I conveyed
them as urgently as possible to ing. Comm. Steele Perkins in
India.
Odd things happened.
ly disappeared.
Small change, for example, complete-
No one knew why or where. If it was a fifth
column trick it was clever and effective.
By the second week
of the siege people had to buy $5 worth of goods, or get no
change.
Workers on daily rates - coolies, lorry-drivers and
the like, could not be paid. And that made for complications
at a time when it was terribly necessary to maintain public
confidence. New notes of small denominations could not be
printed under ten days.
Workers were openly restive.
In
this increasingly serious situation the Chinese Government
stepped in with an offer which saved the day. They gave over several millions of new national currency $5 notes which had
been stored in the Colony: the colonial Government was able
to/