Sentiment v. Logic To the Editor of the "Mobrh-Cwika Dairy News"
Sm,—Your correspondent HERMAN has taken issue with me over my letter concerning the Canton Bombings. As in most cases of this nature, Sentiment overrides logic or reason and HERMAN has either purposely or accidentally misconstrued the points 1 raised.
I wish to repeat that a War is actually being fought, call it what we may, and as Canton is a fortified city and important military base it is the natural objective of the enemy's forces. War usually means life or death to one or both parties in the conflict. Centon is perhaps the most important centre for incoming mili-plies to the Chinese forces—is it then so surprising for the forces to try and isolate a city through which arms and ammunition to be used against them are imported? That innocent civi-ins are killed or wounded when Such attacks take place is indeed unfortunate, and the sympathy of all human beings goes out to the victims.
As far as I personally am concerned my sympathy also goes out to the victims of the Canton bombings or any other bombing, and I am not lacking"...that lovable spark of common humanity that is inherent in every decent human being," as Herman chooses to infer.
In fact, as far as the present Sino-Japanese conflict is concerned, m; sympathy goes back nearly a year—to August 14, 1938—when I was an eye-witness to the terrible holocrusts at the Bund/Nanking Road corner, and at the junction of Avenue Edward VII and Vu Yah Ching Road. It pains me to remind HERMAN that these bombings (and machine-gunnings) were carried out by Chinese aviators. It was also a Chinese plane which bombed a de-tenseless passenger liner—the Dollar s. President Hoover—just off Woosung on August 30 last.
When I quoted samples of Great War "frightfulness" it was done not with the idea of excusing such acts, whether perpetrated by Britain, Japan, Germany, Spain or any other country, but to show that as long as we have wars such acts of frightfulness are bound to occur, with the civilian population the victims invariably. An unfortunate corollary of our modern civilization seems to be that the more civilized we become, the more "frightful" our wars and death-dealing instruments become. Even without very "modern". means of warfare, China's internecine con-fiots—especially General Chiang Kai-shek's seven campaigns against the Chinese Red armies—took toll of several million lives, mostly civi-lion, during the past several years.
As regards China's peace-loving status, HERMAN evidently skipped over my paragraph in this connection, When I stated that China has wot attacked other nations because she has not yet "grown up," I was speaking from a physical (or military) point of view. But I did state ihat China has consistently endeavoured to "attack" other nations im various other ways, an enumeration and elucidation of which would occupy far too much of your valuable space. That China has not succeeded in such attacks, does not make her "Not Guilty."
Iam afraid that Herman has missed the gist of my original letter, and if he will read over my correspondence he may possibly understand from my point of views Epwaro Dunn.
Shanghai, July 20, Those Medals:
Women Who Did Their Bit To the Editor of the lenth-Cuina Dairy NEWS"
Sim;—With reference to the medals that both the French and Shanghai Municipal Councils are distributing among those men who saw service during the recent "Undeclared War,"
I might point out that the same consideration might be tendered to the few women, who likewise, in their own way did their bit during the hostilities and did not leave Shanghai.
In bringing this matter up before the public, I have one particular lady in mind, and that is Miss Georgina Fuller of the Clarendon Club, who during the trouble not only sheltered but fed dozens of refugees who came to her door. Like her, there are a few others, mostly business women, who stayed during the trouble and continued the struggle while others had the advantage of leaving the scene of the conflict. If the Municipal Council would take measures to investigate who those women were and tender them the same consideration as the men are being given, 1 think that Shanghai in general would greatly appreciate their action,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.