DAMASCUS BOMBARDED

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 19, 23 January 1926, Page 16

DAMASCUS BOMBARDED

&TORY OF A GREAT REPRISAL.

About 12th October troops returned liirough Bab Sheerki, going along Straight street to El Merdji with 14 camels, each bearing a Syrian corpse, and these were dumped in Merdji square for public exhibition, All the dead being Damascenes, this enraged the population, says the special correspondent of the "Morning Post." On Sunday morning, 18th October, a strong Druse attack, assisted by a simultaneous insurrection of the populace, caused a serious conflagration, involving artillery bombardment, much street fighting, and many casualties. The Druse bands, penetrating tho southern suburbs, erected barricades in the Moslem quarters and burned shops and houses.

As a reprisal, the French artillery bombarded nightly and daily the insurgent quarters with howitzers and aeroplanes, tanks assisting. At halfpast 1 o'clock on Sunday an eyewitness, with a Syrian attendant, found everything in a warlike atmosphere—armed guards, tanks, and armoured cars—and the streets utterly deserted by civilians. The bazaars were all shut. At half'past 4 o'clock he heard from the Christian quarter a heavy bombardment, and found people running terror-stricken in all directions, with bombs dropping and shells flying overhead. The bombardment went on all the following day until midday Tuesday. The damagedone was enormous, and a great fire broke out near the Great Mosque, burning all night and several days after. Two British women living in a house near Straight street were unable to be removed to safer quarters till Monday, and were again removed owing to French shelling. The British consulate was, damaged.

"On Monday morning," continues this eye-witness, "I saw no French troops in the Christian quarter, and the barracks near Straight street had been hurriedly vacated. When I saw the dangerous situation in which missionaries would be placed if they remained unprotected iv danger of bombs and shells from French guns firing from the citadel and the Salehich quarter, I obtained a Syrian police escort for 11 missionaries, with children, to proceed to the Edinburgh Medical Mission Hospital. At halfpast 2 o'clock our party marched to the hospital under the protection of five Moslem policemen, staying there bY night with about 5000 Christians, who had sought protection nudcr the British flag. "During tho heaviest bombardment the Christian quarter was entirely at the mercy of tho Moslem popular tion, and for 24 hours there were no French soldiers or Syrian policemen in the whole district."

TO THE NORTH POLE

CHILDREN'S AIRSHIP JOURNEY

IN A STORE.

An illusionary flight to "the North Pole" for 1200 children on each of four daily "trips" was provided at the John Wanamakcr store, Astor place, in a'giant "airship'- into which the auditorium of the store had been converted prior to Christmas, says the "New York Times." Not only Had the hall itself been remodelled to resemble the interior of a great passenger 'plane, but devices had been utilised to heighten the illusion of actual "flying." Port-hole lights shone dimly upon walla of steel gray, with doors masked by ribs of steel like the bracing inside a fuselage. Interplay between a chief officer and "Sparks," the radio operator, was followed with "All's well" from starboard and port. A motor whirs and bells clang. Lanterns swing dizzily, the wind roars, and through the portholes the youngsters see clouds dropping away as the plane "ascends."' The airship bucked a snowstorm and finally mado a safe landing at or about the North Pole. Iv rougher weather, the Wanamaker pilot admitted, the 'plane may miss the exact top o" tho world by a mile or so, but in each case tho Polo was passed "coming back."

With motor throttled down while awaiting the return trip, the juvenile passengers were treated to a motion picture, specially filmed in Alaska. After "close ups" of Santa Claus and his gnomes busily at work in a toy shop and of reindeer herds from which Santa chooses the memorable Dancer and Franeer, Dormer and Blitzen, the picture reproduces actual scenes in the frozen North.

Admission was free, and John Wanamaker officially announced that '' The North Wind," as the airplane is called, made daily "take-offs" at 10 and 11, ? and' 3. :