The latest attack on an evening contemporary by the local terrorists fortunately resulted in no loss of Mfe, and not too great an amount of material damage, while the fact that two men have been arrested, one of whom at least is reported to have admitted that he threw the bomb, should bring the solution of the problem presented somewhat nearer than it has been since these outrages commenced. Bombings of other offices and the murder and decapitation of two Chinese have been accompanied by the suggestion that these crimes have been committed because of the anti-Japanese activities of the victims. That is an attempt to place the responsibility for what is happening upon the Japanese and does not have about it even the quality of ingenuity. It is not believed for one moment that the Japanese would ever descend to such low levels as to seek revenge for criticism by any such means, and at any rate until there is full evidence on the subject any such theory should be rejected. When Shanghai fell it become known that a number of Chinese had been left behind for the purpose of harassing the Japanese. It has since been stated that these irregulars had been withdrawn from Shanghai, and the quietness which prevailed for a time suggested that this might indeed be the case. The hopes which were thus inspired have been rudely dashed during the past few days and there is available now all the evidence to show that a terrorist gang is carrying on its nefarious work regardless of who may or may not be damaged. Anonymous letters have been received by some members of the staffs of the newspapers involved and the general idea to be formed of what has been happening is that some persons or other hope by the inculcation of terror to bring about changes in the policies of the newspapers concerned, or to wreak vengeance for opinions which have already been expressed. No journalist unconcernedly offers himself for martyrdom, but it can be said of the foreign members of the profession that they are not likely to be deterred from what they believe to be their proper functions by any such behaviour as that of which the local terrorists have recently been found guilty.
So long as the men succeeded in throwing their bombs and effecting their escapes, it was obviously difficult for the police authorities to trace the offenders or the organization behind them. With the apprehension of two prisoners yesterday, that difficulty may to some extent be removed, though it is still possible that the two many refuse to talk. That should not place an insuperable obstacle in the way of police enquiries, for, once the identity of the men is established, it should mot be exceptionally difficult to trace their acquaintances and the circles within which they have been moving. In any event the police have now something to work on, which up to yesterday morning was completely missing. Whatever may be the opinion of some people, it is quite clear that no blame whatsoever attaches to the police forces of the French Concession and the International Settlement for these occurrences. They cannot be expected to forestall crime of this nature, though it is apparent that offices likely to be subjected to this form of demonstration will for the future need some special protection, if not to prevent the throw ing of bombs, at least to make re possible that the perpetrators of these outrages shall have little chance of making good their escape. There is every confidence that the respective police forces will eventually run these terrorists to ground. In the past they have been faced with considerable difficulty in dealing with armed gangs, but patience and thoroughly efficient work has: ultimately led to their being rounded up and sent to the punishment which they so richly deserved. What the police have done in the past, and done so well, they may be confidently expected to perform in the future and it may be reasonably expected that they will in the end prove just as successful in dealing with the bomb-thrower as they have been with the armed robber. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that to the onerous tasks already thrown upon the police forces by the existence of the present state of hostilities the extra work of dealing with these terrorists should be added, but they should realize that the foreign communities have every confidence in their ability to deal with all phases of the present emergency, The offer of $3,000 reward by the French authorities for information leading to the arrests of these terrorists should bring in some information. There is also the $5,000 offered by the Municipal Council. The greater the reward the more inducement for informers to run the risks, which they are invited to do, in order to gain it. If these outrages are being committed under the inspiration of the Chinese authorities, and it was originally suggested that this was indeed the case, they should be persuaded in their own interests to put an end to them. The surest way of alienating the deep sympathy which is felt for China, is by a continuance of these practices which are abhorrent to all right-thinking men. Not only that, it constitutes a direct breach of the neutrality of the two foreign areas in which so many Chinese have sought refuge from the tragedies which have been witnessed throughout the countryside. Those may be matters of pure expediency, but on the question of principle these bomb outrages are as futile as they are deplorable, As has already been pointed out the courage of people who have to express daily opinion is not likely to be daunted by the wretched fellow who seeks to throw a bomb and make good his escape before anything happens to him. Bombing of this sort is the most vicious type of crime that can be imagined. The culprit runs little risk himself, and may do considerable harm to perfectly innocent individuals, and it must be emphasized that most of the persons working for a newspaper have nothing whatever to do with its policy, but are merely human cogs in the machine which produces it. It is to be hoped that those found guilty of these crimes will receive the most condign punishment. There is not a single good thing which can be said for the dastardly perpetrators of these outrages, and Shanghai expects that the Courts, before whom these men may ultimately be brought, will vindicate the law and justice which it is sought to administer in this city of Shanghai.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.