A gang of robbers used a removal van in the West Hongkew district yesterday to carry away their booty. Four Chinese, with one pistol, went to a cloth shop at 12 Tai Yuen Li, off Tsepoo Road, and stole—a gigantic task—463 rolls of cloth, valued at about $4,000. They loaded their plunder into a_ van bearing the markings of the Safety Householder Removing Company, and drove off. No shots were fired.
The bold robbery took place in broad daylight, at 830 a.m. but the property: was traced: by the Police and recovered during the day.
During the morning another gang of four Chinese robbed 149 South Wusih Road, escaping with $900 in bank-notes. All these men were armed and one of them fired a shot. rebably to intimidate the victim No-one was wounded, however.
Two robberies which took place on Thursday evening were reported yesterday morning. At 8 o'clock an armed man and a companion entered an office at 614 Nanking Read and stole $75 and a felt hat. At 1030 pin. a Japanese was intimidated by about ten unarmed Chinese in Chihli Road, near Tientsin Road, and robbed of 16 yen.
The United States has not been officially informed that Japan has announced her intention of keeping permanent control of Shanghai University property in Shanghai, the Acting Secretary of State, Mr. Sumner Welles, announced today.
Mr. Welles said the United States las made frequent representations to Japan requesting complete return of the American owned property, but had not received a flat refusal thus far. He said he understood that Japanese military authorities eva-enated the property some time ago, but were preventing Americans from reopening the university.
Mr. Welles' comments were prompt-led by the statement of a Japane: spokesman in Shanghai yesterday who aid the Japanese authorities were including the university property in a new military zone. Japanese military factories will be built in the new zone, the spokesman said, indicating ihat Japan feared the "consequent noise and smoke would make the area unsuitable for schools.
The Japanese spokesman said al-tempts had been made to persuade the American Baptist university authorities to reopen their school elsewhere and Japanese had offered to purchase the present university property. The Americans were said to have rejected this offer on the grounds that the university had been built with donated funds, that the Japanese monetary offer for the property was too low, and that sale to the Japanese military would constitute a violation of American neutrality.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.