JAPAN’S HOLD

Grey River Argus, 6 December 1938, Page 7

JAPAN’S HOLD

ON SHANGHAI Great Fortifications Building [Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Received December 5, 7.40 p.m.) } LONDON, December 5. The “Daily Herald” says: Japan is building powerful fortifications, an air field, and a vast military camp near Shanghai," in order to cut off the city, and also forcibly to maintain, if necessary, Japan’s refusal to re-open the Yangtsekiang River to commerce. Japanese naval engineers are carrying out the work, with the aid of an army of Chinese prisoners and forced labourers, thirty thousand of whom are excavating and filling in a swamp near Kiangwan for an airport with bricks and stones from the ruins of the Chapei district of Shanghai, and also from Hongkew. There are two hundred White Russians engaged, and they drive the stone trucks. A mile of modern jetties have been built. Sales of confiscated Chinese land are financing the entire undertaking. CAPTURE OF DELTA. TOKIO, December 4. The Japanese have completely occupied Chiukiang delta. They captured a position eight miles south of Fat-, shan. A communique claims that this means cutting off Chiang Kai-shek’s munition supplies, eliminating the Chinese attempt to counter-attack at Canton.

Japan’s Mandated Islands NATIVES OUTNUMBERED. BY JAPANESE COLONISTS. (Received December 5, 7.10 p.m.) TOKIO, December 4. Admiral Ryozo Nakamura, who is a member of the Supreme War Council, has returned after touring Japan’s mandated islands "in the Pacific. He said that the Japanese residents of these islands now outnumber the total native inhabitants by ten thousand. • Moreover, the Japanese language is supplanting the. native language, which will soon vanish. Thus, any question as. to who is the owner of the islands is settling itself. Admiral Nakamura confirms that Japan has not the slightest intention of giving up the islands to Germany or to anyone else.

BRAWL AT SHANGHAI. FRENCH SEAMEN AND ITALIAN MARINES. (Received December 5, 7.45 p.m.) SHANGHAI, December 5. A brawl occurred between French sailors and Italian marines at a cabaret in a Shanghai street, known as "Blood Alley.” The brawl resulted in one Italian marine and three French police being wounded. Seven Italian marines were arrested.

Boycott of Japan AUSTRALIAN WATERSIDERS. SYDNEY, December 4.' Delegates from 17 unions, meeting at Woollongong, decided to support the waterside workers’ ban on loading pig iron on the steamer Dalfram, and defy the Federal Government’s threat to impose a licensing scheme at Port Kembla. The crew of the Dalfram assured the meeting that they would refuse to take the vessel to sea if the iron were loaded. The meeting decided that if nonunionists were employed to load pigiron on any vessels, those vessels would be refused repairs in all Australian dockyards.