One striking feature is that very few of the Government centres were damaged while nearly all of the big business houses were destroyed and this raises two suggestions (1) that the Japanese deliberately aimed at the business centres in the hope of disaffecting people against the Government for refusing to discuss peace or (2) that the planes flying so high failed to "get" the Government centres though they aimed at them.
Another remarkable fact is that no Chinese fighting planes appeared to attack the Japanese; friends with experience of other places say that this is not an uncommon thing, but they don't seem able to explain.
The R. C. Nan Tang (South Church) suffered from the bombing as also did the Provincial Hospital (to a less extent) which is near by, but it is probable that this was not deliberate.
Today's local papers estimate the casualties 2,000 including killed and injured. This experience seems to indicate that the only safe thinz to do is to make for the country as soon as the first alai not returning until the is all clear sounded. state that the Govern-than Chinese, On the main streets about every third shop is Japanese, while in all the hutungs (side lanes running east from Hatamen Street to the wall are innumerable Japanese cabarets, drinking-places and restaurants. Walking down these lanes after dark, with the red neon lights advertising in Japanese script the names and charms of these various haunts of amusement, one would imagine one-Self in some side street in Tokyo rather than in Peiping.
It must, however, be said that these Japanese shops and places of amusement seem to cater solely to their own countrymen. One hardly sees a Chinese in any of the Japanese sho} Or other places. Up fo now, Japanese business would seem to partake of the nature of those famous South Sea islands where the natives live b taking in each others' washing. And as so often the case.in a boom of this kind, it seems that this class of Japanese business is already ove crowded, and no larger a very profitable concern.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.