With the passing of Mr. A. W. Sherriff, compikr of the China Hong List and the Shanghai Directory, the North-China Daily News Herald, Ltd. loses one of its oldest and most valued' employees. Sherriff came to join this company some sixteen years ago after having resided in Japan for some time previously. A man of very high principles and deeply religious, Sherriff by his quiet geniality was most popular with his fellow employees, while his quiet sense of humour was thoroughly enjoyed by all. As a worker he was second none. The annual and semi-annual compilation of the Hong List and the Shanghai Dirsetory were in themselves no light tasks, and the infinite capacity for taking pains, which was undoubtedly his, is responsible in the main for the great accuracy of the two publications. Lis will be greatly missed by his colleagues who felt the day incomplete if they had not had an opportunity of exchanging little gentle badinage with him. Sherriff, with his charm of manner had the happy ability of making and keeping friends no: only in the office, but in the widtr sphere outside, this journal takes the opportunity of ex-sing to his widow their deep regret at her ement and their own loss.
A Showdown Coming? 4
By midday today Shanghai should have received details of the speech to be delivered by President Roosevelt on the international situation, a speech which was postponed from last Monday, on account of the death of Mrs. Sarah Delano Roosevelt, the Presidents mother. During the period of postponement the State Department releas: d the news of the sinking of We Panamian vessel, the Sessa, bound to Iceland with American goods consigned to the Icelandic Government. News was received of the bombing and sinking of the American transport Steel Seafarer in the Red Sea, carrying a cargo of munitions to the Near East, inspire of the fact that the ship was prominently displaying the United States colours and was not blacked out, as she would have been had she been a British or Allied transport. From Axis sources, the Domei News Agency came the report, unconfirmed so far, that Germany intended to attack all ships sailing in the zones which she has unilaterally declared to be blockade zones. The members of the House of Representatives have bein summoned to m: et on Monday, September 15, instead of on September 22. President Roosevelt has conferred with his Sécretaty of State for War and his Secretary of State for the Navy, and Mr. Cordell Hull, the Secretary of State, and leading members of the Senate. The stage has been set for some very important decision within the next week. This decision may be as vital to the Pacific and the Far East as may be to the war against the Nazis. The secrecy which has been preserved in Washington and Tokyo concerning the talks between Admiral Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador, and the State Department, and the continued silence of Prince Konoye, the Japanese Prime Minister, who was "expected to make a speech on Japanese policy a week ago, are not without hopeful significance. This does not mean that appeasement may still be resorted to by the United States pr Great Britain, but is shows that the door /to agreement has not yes been reported United States warning to pan against attempts at expansion either to the north, at the expense of Russia, or to the south, at the expense of the small countries there or the Philippines, or the British and Netherlands empires, should be sufficient proof that there is no prospect of the Democracies giving way. It is now for the Japanese to make use of the loopholes which have been left open for them to "scape from the entanglement into which their Nazi friends have got them. The alternative is a terrible one—war in which Japan cannot rely on any help from ver Axis partners, against nations whose powers and resoure: s are beyond comparison with anything Japan can produce. With this choice in view, it is surely time that the Tokyo ress faced the situation squarely and ceased to mislead their readers with such nonsense as the "Nichi Nichi's" layest declaration on Mr. Churchill's review of the war. This newspaper describes the history of Britain and the United States in the Far East as "one o y and greed." Is urges them to revise "their criminal Asiatic policy." The paper says that Britain and America should withdraw from the Far East before attempting to restrain Japan. This sort of recrimination is amazing when a sober view is taken of the issues at stake. A showdown is coming, and it looks as if it is coming soon.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.