The Latter part of the year 1924， and the beginning of 1925 was aperiod of anxiety for the residents of the Settlements， owing to the factthat Shanghai city and its environs were fought for as a prize in the warbetween rival political factions in Kiangsu and Chekiang.
In the opening part of the year there was little anticipation of thestormy days ahead， and the Municipality and community， except forthe disturbance to trade caused by the turmoil in China， pursued theeven tenor of their way.
Before giving an account of the war and its effect upon theSettlements， we will briefly review other events of 1924 which were ofimportance to the community.
New Shanghai American Schllo Buildings， and New American ClubOn January 2nd the handsome building erected for the ShanghaiAmerican School on Avenue Petain were dedicated with impressiveceremonies， and on January 10th the corner stone of the new AmericanClub on Foochow Road was laid. These events were indicative of thegrowth of American interests in Shanghai.
Round-the-Word CruisesIt was at this time that round-the-world cruises becamepopular， large steamers being chartered to convey passengers on acircumnavigating tour， and as Shanghai was one of the points of call，the residents became familiar with the incursions of globe trotters fromthe Western World.
The Cunard liner “Franconia，” chartered by the American Expresscompany， arrived at Woosung on Monday， January 7th， as one of thepioneers in this new enterprise.
At the time of the arrival of the “Franconia，” large steamers werestill obliged to anchor at Woosung， and to send up their passengers onlaunches. Shortly afterwards， owing to the improvement in the harbourand the further deepening of the channel made by the WhangpooConservancy Board， it became possible for large ships to come up theWhangpoo River and to dock off Shanghai. The first large steamerto accomplish this successfully was the “Empress of Russia” of theCanadian Pacific Steamship company， which tied up at her berth onthe China Merchants Eastern Wharf on the Pootung side on Saturday，February 9th. After this venture， the way was opened， and it becamethe usual thing for even the largest vessels to come up and berth atShanghai.
Dedication of the Shanghai War MemorialAs long ago as 1919 the people of Shanghai had begun to makeplans for a War Memorial， and after many years of waiting it was at lastcompleted. The solemn dedicatory service and the unveiling ceremonytook place on February 16th in beautiful weather， and were witnessedby a vast throng. The Bund was crowded from Avenue Edward VIIto beyond Canton Road. Those taking part in the ceremony weredrawn from every section of the Settlement"s many-sided interests，and included representatives from religious， civic， diplomatic， naval，and military organizations. commander G. de Rossi， the Senior AlliedConsul， performed the unveiling. The Memorial is a beautiful pieceof work， simple in construction and striking in its general effect. Itrepresents the Angel of Victory with her hand upon the head of a littlechild and bears the inscription “Ad mortuorum gloriam.” Erected ona stone terrace facing the entrance to Avenue Edward VII， it is in fullsight from the harbour.
On Sunday preceding the unveiling of the Shanghai WarMemorial， some beautiful stained glass windows were unveiled in theUnion Church as a memorial to those connected with the churchwho made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War. The ceremony ofdedicating the main window was performed by H. B. M."s Consul-
General， Sir Sidney Barton， and that of dedicating the two smallwindows， presented by the Sunday School， by Col. W. F. L. Gordon.
Union Jack Club
To meet the need of men of the British Navy in port， the UnionJack Club on Myburgh Road was formally opened on May 12th byAdmiral Sir Arthur Leveson， K. C. B.， commander-in-chief of theChina Station. It was erected and equipped by the Navy League andthe Shanghai Race Club， and is largely supported by the latter.
Missions Building
Another building completed at this time was the MissionsBuilding on Yuen-ming-yuen Road. Put up for the National ChristianCouncil， and for the housing of various mission agencies andassociations， it was intended to symbolize the underlying unity ofthe Protestant Missions in China. The project was made possible bya generous grant from the American Presbyterian Mission， a gift of＄150，000 from Dr. F. J. Tooker and his sisters， and a contribution of＄120，000 from the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Fund.
New Buildings
Among other new buildings opened during the year was thesplendid new home of the North-China Daily News. The ceremony wasperformed by Sir Ronald Macleay， K. C. M. G.， on February 15th. Atthat time the North-China Daily News had been published for sixtyyears and the North-China Herald for seventy-four. The front is ofgranite and makes the building a handsome addition to The Bund.
The new building of the Yokohama Specie Bank was opened onJuly 19th.
The present imposing Chinese Post Office on the corner ofSzechuen and Soochow Roads was completed at this time. For itsspaciousness and completeness of design， it ranks as one of the finestadministration buildings in China. It took two years to construct andcost Tls. 2，250，000.
The handsome McBain residence on Bubbling Well Road withits beautiful grounds was purchased and converted into what is nowknown as the Majestic Hotel.
Of special importance to the Chinese community was theopening of a new Chinese Textile Mill， the Wing On， on Lay Road onNovember 29th.The company was capitalized at ＄6，000，000， and thebuilding is one of the most complete in the country.
New Race Course