the Editor of the "Nontu-Cuxa Darcy News"
Suy—By what right do the Japanese remove quite openly all sorts of cargo from the occupied districts of the" International Settlement? They this so openly that this query must be put. For the last_month the Japanese have removed from the 'Yanglszopo0 district, quite openly, everything they could lay their hands on, Whether houses and shops were burat down, or nol, was quite imamatorial, Hordes of' Chinese coolies, euch with on identification tag issued by the landing party in charge of foremen, also Chinese with arm bands issued by the Landing party and supervised by Japanese in civilian elvess with a couple of gendarmes in wtendanee have been systematically removing Chinese property, mostly molals, new and scrap, machines, boilers, motors, ele. The question must be asked: By what right does this removal take place?
Private property' was alway held inviolable "and it requisitioned a voucher or acknowledgment was niven, It was the old Chinese custom Io"atiow soldiers three days looting but when that was over, priv property was respected. This much worse than at Ghengis Khan's time. Everything is removed and quite openly. By what right? The Chinese have to watch with folded arms how their property is taken away, Ts there any. parallel in history within modern times? This organised removal of private pro perly within the jurisdiction of the] SiMe, "The international community and the world at large is, therefore, entitled to demand from the Japanese an explanation by what right they remove this privately owned pro-petty, We must request and insist Upon an answer.
We maintain it is absolutely illegal, Jot the Japanese give a reply. Pre= sumably this removal takes place by order of the Japanese Government to ereay> a anetal reserve in case of possible eventualities, But what the result to Shanghai? Shanghat will teuly become an empty shell if this wholesale stripping. Is allowed to go on. The intrinsic value to the Japanese of this waste metal, machi bery parts, boilers, ote., is " insiani-Hieant." It can only be used as scrap, metal to be melted down, and similar material can be obtained at about the equivalent of at the utmost £5 to 6 per ton, But to Shanghallunders this removal has an entirely diferent Owini to the removal of every kind of machinery, it ranges from machin" ery costing 'a couple of lakhs for rubber goods, making textiles, down to small motors for driving smallest engines for making tools, by removing stool bars weighing many tons a piece to the last scrap of iron to the value of " few dollars per _pleul—Shanghai industry will be crippled for a long number of years. Shangha "industry on which this port depends to avery large extent, will be effectually crippled. Absolutely nothing remains. The smallest machines for making tools will have disappeared, the smallest bit of iron tart making tools will have gone. In the truest senso of the word, when ud if the Chinese will be allowed to rotumn to the areas North of the Soochow creel they will be vis-a-vis de tien, There will be no starting point ax the means of a start will have been removed.
Is it the ultimate intention of the Japanese to reduce Shanghai to an empty shell? If that is the fact, let them say so and the world will take cognisance. We Shanghailanders want to know the intentions of the Japanese. Plain words please. According to all canons of Jaw the Japanese thorities should have allowed.watennen of non-Chinese nationality be assigned to the carolus shops, factories, tte, in Yangtszepoo to watch over these promises. after their Chinese owners had left. However, this 13 texuetly what the Japanese authorities to this day have not allowed.
All Chinese property in the occupied area is left completely unguarded, the doors are broken and anybody, of course only Japanese, can help themselves to anything they wish. It is fan everyday sight that soldiers remove household furniture, tables, chairs, ele, 'This, although' entirely wrong, can be understood. But that the Japanese are quite openly removing every conceivable kind of article in 2 Well organised manner is quite another matter of which the world must be Informed and for which the Japan ese must be held to account. If this important port is not to become, in the truest sense of the word, un empty shell world opinion should mobilized to stop the Japanese it possible in the crime they are com-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.