Blame ior the difficulties leading to a refusal by the Japanese military authorities in Nanking to allow the landing of 100 tons of beans shipped there by the International Relief Committee, was placed yesterday on the officials of that body by a Japanese Embassy spokesman, The obstinate stand of the committee in insisting that it should deal exclusively with the distribution of the beans was claimed by the spokesman to be at the root of the trouble.
The beans, purchased to bring relief to Chinese refugees in Nanking suffering from beri-beri, were shipped to Nanking in the Butterfield and Swire s. Watung, which sailed from Shanghai on Friday. Upon the ship's arrival in Nanking the beans could not be landed, the Japanese military authorities refusing permission.
"Although it seemed to us that 100 tons of beans was an excessive quantity, as we are not aware that there sre so many Chinese refugees suffering from beri-beri," the Embassy spokesman declared, "we were willing to transport the shipment free io Nanking if the committee would donate the beans for distribution by the relief agency of the Nanking Autonomous Commission. This the committee refused to do and gave evidence of a most obstinate attitude," he added.
"Had the committee shown a more ce-operative stand the difficulties would not have arisen," he said.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.