for Shanghai Introduced by Mr. Lil. Il, Arnotd to the company gathered to meet him at tiffin yesterday at the Foreign YMCA, as the _cornerstone of confidcice which inspi the effort now palatially standing in bricks and mortar in front of the Race Course, Captain Robert Dollar gave Shanghai a vigorous tribute and a smart rebuke, As one who had helped in the construction of the YMCA, Captain Dollar was able jo say" that the finished building, seen by him for the first time that afternoon, satisfied him in every respect. In fact, having seen Y.M.CA's in many parts of the world, he des-'s Foreign YMCA. as the finest of the lot, and any. interest that he might be considered to be owed in respect of the money which he had contributed had been amply wiped out by the results achieved, Returning to Shanghai after three years' absence, Captain Dollar found a progress which seemed to:|him remarkable, gone ahead in a wonderful way, into consideration the war existing in China, he felt that this virility justified every confidence in Shanghai's future. Indeed, with one-eighth of the human race living in' the hinterland of Shanghai, in the Valley of the Yangtze, there was no reason, provided China put a stop to ruinous civil wars, why there should not be a time when Shanghai would be the biggest city in the world, The veteran shipowner thus gave the company the pleasant feeling of being warmly approved by distinguished visitor, but there! they erred.
Captain Dollar had a complaint to make against Shanghai. It was! no good being the biggest ci the world if the biggest ships could not come up to the wharves, and Shanghai's anchorage was so bad for the big ships of the ocean that} even at high tide they had to put} up with shallows which did unutterable things to their hulls. The Captain himself was building four new ships—one of which was to be called the President Hoover—because he always built bigger each time he went to the yard, and unless Shanghai mended its' ways those ships would not be seen on the Whangpoo.
Captain Dollar had already made this complaint in other quarters, for he told the audience that when he recently met General Chiang, Kai-shek he told him of the disability and warned him that the new ships of the Dollar Line would not come up to Shanghai. The General shook his fist in the Cap-_ tain's face and vigorously retorted "They shall." From that the company wore asked {0 assume that the Conservancy Board will be shortly in receipt of strict instructions on this subject. After all, as Captain Dollar said, Shanghai should not be of taking ina little more Tu addition to Mr, Arnold in the! chair, others present included Mr. Douglas Jenkins, the new Consul-General for America, Brigadier-General E. B. Macnaghten, Mr. W.Re Myers, Mr. E, F. Harris, Dean Trivett,' Colonel Hooker, Mr. George Fitch, and many others. Promising to return to Shanghai very soon, Captain. Dollar shook all the guests individually by the hand, and many of them endexvoured to reassure him regarding that} Tittle question of water. Whether} they spoke authoritatively on be-halt of General Chiang Kai-shek oF the Conservancy Board was not made clear. sixth, Several pedestrians were slightly wounded. durat i The armed battle was of short using at least three.
At 9.39 a.m, the gang of six with drawn pistols entered the alleyway leading to 375 Point Road, the house vj being situated about 150 yd. east of Urga Road. Their entrance was easy, as they found the gate to the alleyway open as was the front door Jot the house.
In one room of the house the robbers threatened a woman ard her daughter. Two of them remained there, while the other four entered the other half of the residence, it being virtually a double house. Binding several' inmates of the second house, the gang asked the woman in the first to escort them up stairs where she had her valuables, "In the meantime, she instructed her servant to summon assistance, A youth on the Point Road, who saw the marauding gang, informed a constable. Not knowing that fir persons had gone for agkistance, the robbers continued with their work.
An interesting note comes into the narrative at this point, It will be called that in September,—the "Good Samaritan" of the neigh-Ts-yuin was kid: napped by six armed men. Later' he managed to escape. His office is situated opposite the scene of the robbery, and it was to his office that tion of the crime.
Inspr. Groves, in charge, pressed the emergency alarm and' all men from the station, with the exception of the charge room sergeant, denned steel waistcoats and armed" themselves. 'The station car was at the Ward' Road Gaol, so there was a slight delay in getting under way. With no car in sight on Urga Road, the men individually commandeered rieshas, Sub-Inspr. Bennett in the lead, a C.P.C. close behind.
While this was taking place the robbers became alarmed. Some person, a constable perhaps, or the amah, had rapped on the back door. Two constables on duty had sum. mioned several others and the par of robbers, as they left the premise es, encountered a Sikh, armed with carbine and some Chinese, The robbers opened fire, paying no at tention to the command to stop.
The alleyway is short and before the police actually opened fire, three, perhaps four, got free. They may have been struck by police bullets before they emerged. No one knows, as they are all dead. but the alley walls are spattered with remains of bullets, fired by the officers.
The latter gave chase fi they ran, Sub-Inepr. Bennett, in the vanguard of the station party] had just arrived at the intersection of Urga Road with Point Road, when he heard the burst of fire, Hi riesha coolie refused to go further, and as he dropped the shafts, Bennett jumped clear.
Drawing his pistol, he rushed to within 15 yards of the scene. Three men in single file scurried past him, They were some paces apart, but fs he could not see any weapons he held his fire,"
As the second—it is believed it was the second—man passed him, a [; reapon flashed. Both evidently frtd at once. They were about three fect apart. Neither of them missed) their mark. Inspr. Bennett felt a burning, sensation as the " missile strack him.
The other did not' crop at once ind Inspr. Bennett fired twice more, Sgt. Sanford and the others then got into action. One of the gang; turned to the right and ran into) the reserves. Set. Sanford directed his weapon at him and he fell dead' on the opposite corner of Urea! Road. Additional constables and detectives, followed the third, who! tell near Sinkiepang Road.
When firing ceased, Sub-Inspr. Bennett reported to Inspr. Groves "that he had been shot. CP.C. made a similar report. "Inspr. Groves hailed a passing motorcar, 4nd commandeering the machine, sent the wounded men to hospital, the former to the General Hospital, the latter to the Police Hospital.
This aving been done, he called his men. Learning of the missing robbers, "he had a cordon Uhrown-round the block, and. with men stationed at points of vantage, ed the rest over the. roof-tops and through the alleyways, Others tended to the. wounded, who wers struck by stray bullets, and sent them off to hospital for treatment. Qne. small boy, frightened by ths shooting, rushed' to his father's shop and was' in the act of replace ing the front beards when a bullet struck him in the foot after having passed through.a board, The police searched the block for rearly an hour, but unsuccessfully. They could not find the discarded pistols. of the men Inspr. Groves ordered his men back to the scene of the shooting and went inside with several detectives. Ordering caus tion he passed a' staircase on the right, between the house which had been victimized and a shop situate immediately in front. The stair-ease was' blind, as the occupan of the shop had placed boards over the tops so that no one could go A Chirese detective cantion.ty peered round the obstruction and said a piece of clothing. He call-for the man to come down, threatening to shoot him, if he did not opine voluntarily. He came.
firet he denied that others were Stereted above, but finally admitted that his comrade remained. At the. police order, he came Raised over his head. The police looked in vain for the pistol, which it was thought, they had. No one could explain the whereabouts of the sixth, the woman of the house having reiterated that six entered and the two prisoners likewise admitting it, It is suggested that, while the gang were searching the house, he had gone out to watch, and when the several officers collected, slipped off, without then ing him.
The available stof of Harbin Road began work on the case. Detectives visited the tea shops, other officers enlarged the area of their search, while those remai ing in the station interrogated th: two prisoners. Finally they admit ted that their headquarters were a lodging house in the Sinza district which the police raided.
Armed and equipped again with the party adopted After deploying. the men, the leader gave the word and the foremost man kicked in the door of the room. Investigations revealed that the "bird" had. returned, changed clothes, and left before their arrival, taking a pis tol with him. It is not expected that he will retura.
At the Mortuary the prisoners. identified the corpses as robbers in the gang.
It will be recalled that Sub-Inspr Bennett nearly met his death in 1924, while attached to Gordon Road station. With a search party he patrolled the roads and came upon a gang of armed mer. Shots were exchanged, one of which jammed the slide of his pistol, The others of the posse continued after members of the gang, while he tackled and threw one of them, choking him to cudbue him. Returning to the spot, a gangster slipped up behind the officer and fired two sho's into the back of his head. The o: glance off, the second entered n® the ear, much on a tangent, and lodged under the skull. Fully conscious he hailed a passing trap and reported to the station. Arri at hospital he was sill consciow but lapsed shortly into unconseionsness for three weeks. It was Jong after he was discharged and had been granted sick leave that the billet was removed.
Tt was pointed out yesterday by the police, citing an example, that with due warning. they are able to cope with armed gangs. About 10 days -ago, ea robbery was committed within a stone's thrtw of yesterday's. Althoagh two constables- were-en duty not 40 yards distant, they were no: formed; and the raxy- Dipped
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.