CO129-590-25 Accounts of events leading up to surrender and subsequent treatment of prisoners- etc 23-4-1942 - 28-9-1943 — Page 193

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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/