A temporary bridge was erected by the Chapei authorities whichlater also proved unsafe， resulting in another accident caused by itscollapse on July 23rd， 1927. Since that time another temporary bridgehas been erected.
A previous collapse of a bridge in Shanghai occurred on May 1st，1907， when the so-called Stone Bridge， which crossed the creek at thesettlement boundary， gave way， precipitating a large number of peopleinto the water. On that occasion some fifty persons were drowned. Itwill be remembered that this was the bridge over which the Britishtroops crossed on their approach to Shanghai in 1842.
The Last Mail Gun
On July 27th， 1914， the last mail gun， announcing the arrival offoreign mails， was fired from the Pootung Point. From that time thisout-of-date custom ceased， and thus another old institution passedaway.
Outbreak of the World WarAs we have said， the chief event of 1914 was the outbreak of theWorld War. When the news reached Shanghai on August 4th therewas great excitement. At first considerable alarm was felt in regardto shipping， but this was considerably allayed when Japan， acting inaccordance with the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance， issued anultimatum to Germany and demanded the evacuation of Kiaochow. Assoon as the Japanese fleet was mobilized and began to patrol the ChinaSea， the menace to merchant ships disappeared. The German cruiser“Emden，” however， managed to make its escape from Tsingtao and formany months committed ravages on British shipping in the South Seasuntil it was finally captured at Keeling Island.
The Japanese forces， aided by a small British contingent， beganoperations against Tsingtao. As the city was invested both by land andsea， its fate was inevitable， and after some resistance it capitulated onNovember 7th， and was occupied by the Japanese.
In Shanghai， as in other parts of the world， it was thought at firstthat the war would be of short duration， and no one imagined it was tobe waged on a titanic scale and to continue until the belligerents werewell-nigh exhausted.
When later it was realized that the war would last for some time，many young men left their business and volunteered for the front， andthe women took up the work of making hospital supplies and comfortsfor the troops.
A difficult situation was created in a cosmopolitan Settlementlike Shanghai， containing quite a large number of Germans andsome Austrians. German trade and influence in China had graduallyincreased and Germany had become one of England"s keenestcompetitors. One member of the Council was a German， and Germandoctors were on the Board of the General Hospital. It became impossibleunder the circumstances for English and Germans to work in harmonywith one another， and thus we find the Ratepayers refusing to electagain a German on the Council or German doctors on the Board ofthe General Hospital. Social relationships became strained， and clubstook steps to eliminate their German members， ignoring sometimesstrict legality. The sinking of the “Lusitania” caused the same revulsionof feeling against German methods of warfare in Shanghai as in otherparts of the world， and put an end to all friendly relations betweenEnglish and Germans.
Numerous war funds were started for the alleviation of thesuffering caused by the war， such as the Patriotic Fund， the Princeof Wales‘ Fund， and the Fund for British Mothers， and money was1iberally contributed.
Settlement ExtensionOne of the results of the outbreak of the war was， as we havestated， to side-track once more the desired extension of the Settlement.
The French had succeeded in obtaining a considerable extension，taking in the land enclosed by the roads they had constructed， and theMunicipal authorities of the International Settlement had been hopefulin regard to taking in the Chapei district and Jessfield. As all suchmatters required the sanction of the Diplomatic Body in Peking， animpasse occurred with the outbreak of war.
Railless Cars
Railless Cars were introduced into Shanghai at this time， to carefor the traffic across town， and in this way to extend the service carriedon by the Shanghai Tramways. From the beginning the cars werepopular， especially among the Chinese.
The Twenty-one Demands， 1915
The year 1915 was a critical one for China. In the early monthsthere was the long discussion between representatives of the JapaneseEmpire and the Chinese Government in regard to the “Twenty-oneDemands.“ Japan was anxious to ensure that she should have thedominant control in China and took occasion， while the Great Powerswere at war， to make this perfectly certain. As a result she stirred upmuch enmity， and lost the prestige she had secured. Her aggressivepolicy led to a boycott which seriously injured her trade.
Trade and commerce
The World War had considerable effect on the commercial life ofShanghai， and led to a rapid decline in business. Imports were affectedmore than exports. The principal difficulty in regard to the latter wasthe question of shipping， as merchant vessels of the Allies were neededfor war purposes， and it was hard to arrange for the transportation offreight. Rates rose on account of the scarcity of shipping， and bothJapan and America had an excellent opportunity for reaping a goldenharvest by supplying the need.
British Chamber of commerceIn many ways the most important happening， commercially， asit affected foreign interests， was the formation of the British Chamberof commerce on May 31st， In promoting co-operation among Britishmerchants it supplied a need that had been felt for many years， andhelped to stimulate British enterprise.
Railway Building
Railway building came to a standstill， as the nations of Europewere unable to furnish the necessary capital， but one important linewas finished by Chinese capital—that connecting Shanghai with Hangchow.