columns a review of ie war of terron On Monday there be Cere See Which has been going on in all parts of Shanghai for the past year. It exp d no comment, but gave a level account of what had happened. It isnot the custom of British newspapers to express editorial opinion in any column save those usually devoted to that feature, namely, the leader page. It is probably due to that language difficulty, to which the Japanese have so often referred, that the Japanese military spokesman appears to have completely misunderstood the tenour of the article and to have laboured under the misapprehension that it was an expression of editorial opinion. The spokesman is reported by e. dies Pao," and temporaries, to have alleged that the article apparently also by writers in Japanese conin question encouraged terrorism and to have continued, "The North-China Daily News is in fact a British Government organization and the publication of such a report apparently indicates that official British quarters are hostile towards us and so we cannot but feel much concerned about it."
The article did nothing of the sort though it is possible that some irritation has arisen over the fact that both sides of the picture were given. The Japanese Army spokesman is entirely misinformed if he believes that this journal is in any way connected with the British Government. It is an independent, privately owned newspaper having no affiliations with the British, or any other Government, and accepting no instructions whatever from any outside influence. That policy of the completest independence has been consistently followed throughout the whole of the lengthy history of this paper, and has been adhered to even when it ran counter to official ideas of what should be British policy in the Far East. When it has been considered necessary to criticise British, municipal or any other officials this journal has not hesitated to do so, and will not hesitate to do so in the *future should occasion arise. This announcement has to be made periodically and this appears to be an appropriate moment for again emphasizing the fact that the "North-China Daily News" is completely untrammelled by any outside connections whatever.
With regard to the policy of this paper vis-d-vis of the war of terrorism which prevails, there can be no doubt in the minds of those who have read the very many leading articles on the subject which have appeared in on this page ever since the Shanghai area became the battle-ground of thugs and as-sasins. No local journal has been more emphatic in condemning these wretched murders than has been the,"North-China Daily News." Out of ima examples an extract from a leading ide, published on July 22. 1940, may be quoted 1f the only method of government of the activi! are completely and "utter! of statecraft and, morality. These words apply to anyone who resorts to' murder in the hope of achieving political ends, and it does not matter in the slightest whence the inspiration for these "acts of terrorism emanates There can be nothing but the severest condemnation of practices which are becoming far too frequent, and of the people who instigate them, and it is to be hoped that even at this late hour they will hold their hand and prevent -the International Settlement from becoming the battle-ground of opposing, gangs of assassins, Those words apply with equal force to any assassination, whether inspired by Nanking, or Chungking, or anyone else responsible for incitements to murder. Apart from any other reason, terrorism is obviously against the best interests of the International Settlement, which it is everyone's duty to keep international and free from political intrigues in times such as these, If another quotation were required to show how completely this journal condemns these murders reference may be made to the leading article on the subject of the murder of Mr. N. A. Ivanow, appearing in this column on September 17, last. The files available in this office prove that from the very first assassination, taking place after the retreat of the Chinese National Government's forces from the. Shanghai area, this journal has pursued a persistent policy condemning such outrages in terms similar to those quoted above. It is the only policy to which de-gently-minded men can possibly subscribe. The criminality and utter futility of these outrages, the hideousness of murdering in-If another quotation is required to show Hocént people, no matter what their nationality has been so persistently emphasized in these columns, even so recently as less than a week ago, that astonishment is felt that anyone could believe this dual has made a sudden volte face. That it has not done, and the only charitable interpretation of the Japanese army spokesman's strange attack is that he was completely misinformed concerning the article in question, and that, the Japanese writers, who so enthusiastically fall his lead, are in fact in no better case. j
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.