It is stated on good authority that the Northern forces mined their encampment at Sinchuang and that on Wednesday, May 2, some 200 Southern soldiers were badly wounded, The Shantung army were able to evacuate all their aeroplanes; no rolling stock was captured except one armoured Russian train covering the retirement which was cut off at the Yellow River bridges and captured, Later the Russians on this train were led captive through Tsinan with stout cords pierced through their noses.
On Wednesday morning, May Southern forces began to a1 at Tsinan from Taian and Mingshui on the Kiao-Tsi Railway. In the interval Japanese armed forces consisting of 500 of all ranks"from the Tientsin Garrison erected street barricades of barbed wire and sand bags in two protected areas. Two areas were formed instead of one in order to permit the Chinese populace to pass through without! hindrance, as one area would have cut off several main arteries of travel.
The troops arriving were those of Marshal Feng Vu-hsiang and General Chiang Kai-shek; and it is to be recorded that Feng Vu-hsiang's troops immediately on arrival at Tsinan seized all Roman Catholic premises for billeting their sold-no disorder—"business as usual."
There is no doubt that it was hoped on both Chiang Kai-shek's and the Japanese that the removal of the barricades would re-
Vieve the tension, which was undoubtedly great, 'At all the Japanese barricades were large posters clearly written in Chinese,—announcing that the Japanese' were there only to guard their own property and had no intention of inter-fen the Chinese in any war. Chinese youths were continually trying to slip up to these posters trid Paste antisapanese handily Who fired the first shot will never be known, But it is a bad point against the Chinese soldiers that, the Japanese did remove their bar-viandes when asked to do so.
'Chiang Kai-shek did well, all ore agreed: he did his utmost to, stop' the Chinese firing, but the soldiers would not obey orders, 'The Shooting' Begins On Thursday, May 3, at 10.30 in the morning ' shooting startes which, from several reliable sources, would indicate that Southern sold-ery were insisting on Japanese and other shops accepting notes issued the Central Bank and other forms of military notes.
Chinese soldiers attached to Gen. eral Ho. Yao-tsu, composed of nan units, started an attack on several Japanese shops, particular.
those situated along the second. horse road and began to loot.
worthy of note that several of thexe troops were equipped with Mitls bombs and other forms of} Kandserenades. Naturally Japan-cee soldiers intervened, and indiscriminate fighting ensued. At no} time, my informant says, were more Japanese soldiers engaged than the 500 mentioned above.
Tt has been established that dur.' ing the fracas of Wednesday and Thursday at Tsinan about 30 Japanese soldiers were killed. (The Japanese official reports subsequently put this number at 12 soldiers Killed 30. wounded: numbers of civilians still uncer'ain—Ed.), As to the number of Japanese civilians no authentic information has been received but Several Japanese women were ed under most brutal cireamstances.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.