A total of 717 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria arrived in Shanghai yesterday morning aboard the specially chartered Lloyd Triestino liner Giulio Cesare and disembarked at the Customs Jetty yesterday afternoon after a non-stop journey from Colombo.
As will be recalled, Sir Victor Sassoon a few days ago appealed for premises in which to house the new arrivals and as a result, 100 were taken to the camps in Wayside, 100 to the Ward Road camp, 120 to the former premises of the Hongkew Branch of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which building was kindly placed at the disposal of the committee, 260 to the Chaofoong Road camp and the remainder to the hostel in the Embankment building.
Meanwhile, projects are being studied with regard to the construction of huge camps in the event that an insufficient number of buildings should be placed at the disposal of the committee which would enable them to house the 25,000 refugees expected to arrive here before the end of the year. The total number of refugees already in this city is estimated at 8,800.
Extortioners Sentenced By District Court Ending their short career as extort tioners in the guise of patriotism six Chinese youths who recently obtained money from a merchant by posing as members of the "San Min Chu I
Youth Corps" were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to five years yesterday by the First Special District Court.
Four of them were members of a dubious news agency. Three of them made their initial extortion attempt at 20 Kinkaloong off Honan Road on April- 13 when they received $150 from a factory owner by threatening to disclose his secret connections with the Japanese. Alleging that the factory owner was chairman of a peace maintenance committee in Tsipoo village outside the Hungjao area they originally demanded $4,000 to defray expenses for their "guerilla activities in Shanghai."
Some of the others went to the victim several days later and demanded more money but before they could do so the son brandished a pistol and held them at bay until the police arrived.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.