The move to ce-ordinate the various charitable organizations dealing with the relief of distressed foreigners should be unitedly supported. It is inspired by a plain commonsense appreciation of the urgent needs of the situation and of the dangers and difficulties which are bound to accrue from the activities of a number of formal. From America has come a definite societies working without a proper system of repudiation of the boycott theory on the liaison such as is essential at the present time, sound ground that it cannot be propagated Foreign distress unhappily is already on the rise. Societies have bitter knowledge of that fact. It except by stirring up hatred, that its is likely to be considerably increased before any practical effects would be long-delayed and signs of recovery can assert themselves. The that in the meantime it merely would British Chamber of Commerce is understood to strengthen the hands of the militarists -in be reopening its unemployment relief file and Japan. Already it is discerned that the boy-before long comprehensive measures for the recott proposal mainly rests on excessive lief of destitute and unemployed foreigners will exploitation of the reports of aerial bombing be essential. It therefore behoves every or-of Chinese cities. This is understandable as ganization which recognizes its responsibilities the movement Gemands for its success those to ce-operate in the proposed plan of co-ordina broad effects which can be obtained more tion. This is no time for particularist prejudices and there is no indication that anyone thinks readily by flamboyant appeals to emotion. it is. Yet it is necessary to emphasize this need This seriously weakens China's case. As for team-work for the situation is critical and this journal has pointed out, the decision to the prompter, the steps taken to combine the bomb a large number of Chinese cities, many various instruments of relief, the more effective of which even by the greatest stretch of will be the action taken to cope with a problem the imagination can hardly be called military of unprecedentedly grave magnitude. objectives, is a gross defiance of humanitarian principles and heavily discounts the value of Japanese assurances. Yet the agitation is
SHANGHAI'S SCHEMOZZLE
as indiscriminate in its citation of examples as the bombing is alleged to be. The result The public has been amply served by various is that Japanese spokesmen can immediately publications which have attempted to provide evoke sympathy by concentrating attention permanent records of the war of 1937 in on those activities by which it is difficult to Shafghai. The "Shanghai Times" has produced deny that military targets were sought and, in an excellent collection of photographs; "The many cases, hit or narrowly missed. This Shanghai Evening Post & Mercury," has like-has encouraged Japanophiles to come forth wise contributed an illustrated record of the with specious assertions to discredit all war; its Editor, Mr. Randall Gould, has the charges however well substantiated. They distinction of having taken the most telling are wrong, of course, for, contrary to the photograph of all in his wonderful study of the impression which they seek to create, refugees crossing the Garden Bridge—a picture which has acquired a remarkable circulation. appalling tragedies have happened in Hong-"Oriental Affairs" and "The China Journal" have kew and Yangtszepoo and have no connection both produced their editorial narratives with with aerial action. It must, however, be appropriate illustrations so that the purely firmly said that the bandying of "atrocity" descriptive side of contemporary history, charges is an arid occupation. It invites supplemented of course by the labours of the tu quo ques, as has already been observed by daily press, has been well handled. This Japanese emphasis on Tungchow and on the journal has felt that it should not stand aloof. tragedy of "black Saturday" in Shanghai.
It has, therefore, decided to issue in the form It develops a fanatical antagonism which of an album of some seventy-odd pages a sweepingly indicts a nation and, thus, collection of Sapajou's cartoons chaperoned by delays the operation of healing processes the comments of "In Parenthesis" as daily scintillating on these pages. The book is now essential to the termination of hostilities. available to the public and it is fitting here to British objectors to bombing from the air draw attention to a pair of pleasant conspirators are not on a good wicket. They cannot dis-who have done much to bring mental relief in claim all responsibility for the failure of the a time of great anxiety. The manner in which Disarmament Conference to arrive at an they have succeeded in sensing the indomitable international interdiction of that form of spirit of Shanghai gives this volume a value of warfare. It is true that the British attitude its own. The wit and humour governing the was partly swayed by the conviction that work of Sapajou and Mr. R. T. Peyton-Grifün such a ban would be impracticable for, once will be found to convey telling comment on the warfare had begun, the conversion of any graver aspects of the situation, but the artistry form of aeroplane into a bombing machine Of both is attractive because they have the knack of making their criticisms without malice would be simple and inevitably occur. Yet and tempering their cynicism with a broad there was also the undoubted fact that the tolerance which is the essence of that good British reservation was expressly framed to temper whereby Shanghai has managed to retain the power of bombing from the air weather the "schemozzle." in carrying out "policing operations" in Irak—at that time under a British mandate—in Palestine and on the North-West Frontier of India. It will of course be urged in reply
NEW YORK'S MONOPOLY
that in carrying out bombing operations, as the recent campaign in Waziristan showed, For another season in succession the blue ribbon of baseball will be fought for by New the Royal Air Force takes most elaborate York's two teams in the American and National precautions to give notice for the clearance League respectively. This reduction of the world of the affected area well before the bombing series to a "nickel" contest ministers pleasantly begins. In addition to the dropping of to New York's pride and it certainly gives the warning leaflets, emissaries are sent to induce epic duel a piquant touch which in England is the civilian inhabitants to evacuate the area labelled "a local derby." The Giants and the with their families and cattle so that the Yankees will therefore fight last year's battle action is as far as possible confined to the over again. The former will-burn to avenge bombing of combatants and the destruction the crushing defeat which gave the latter the of their lairs. This may all be admitted, but championship with only six games played, the it does not alter the fact that the whole Giants being able only to take the first and question of bombing cannot be satisfactorily the fifth games. The material benefits accruing from New York's monopoly of the contest are discussed by appeals to popular emotion on. not to be despised for the attendance passed the the basis of information which, although satisfactory total of 300,000 as against just under circulated in good faith, does not possess the 290000 in 1935 when Detroit's Tigers and high degree of accuracy necessary to the Chicago's Cubs were the contestants. The formulation of an indictment. Although there Yankees have won the World Series eight times is an evident discrepancy between official in 33 years. In due course American Shanghai-Japanese assurances and the results achieved landers will be absorbed in the breathless ocby some of their airmen, it is only fair to cupation of following the cabled accounts of say that maps recovered from the bodies of the mighty struggle. It is safe to say that, for dead Japanese pilots at Nanking have shown time being at all events, matters of local that the air force staff took precautions to concern will receive scant attention. It is not Possible for outsiders to venture on expressing mark those maps for the guidance of the any opinion on the merits of the decision which bombers with symbols to indicate what were has thus to be taken by New York. No doubt and what were not military or quasi-military the proper hope to record is that the best side objectives. This is said with no desire to) may win, but if so definite an observation be qualify the condemnation which this journal made the chances of antagonizing a goodly section has considered it necessary to pass on the|of the community are great. No true devotee recklessness of certain Japanese slaughter of] wants the best side to win he will only be placated if his side achieves that feat. Whether it is the best side is a purely academic issue snd academic considerations play a sorry part in the philosophy of the ardent sportsman, let his game be baseball, soccer or even rugger, for the matter of that.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.