MARTIAL LAW EXCESSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18531, 16 October 1923, Page 7

MARTIAL LAW EXCESSES.

MURDER OF SOCIALISTS. BAYONETED BY MILITARY. ARMY CAPTAIN'S CRIME. By Telegraph—Pre33 Association Copyright. • ... (Received 9.5 p.m.) A. and N.Z. TOKIO. Oct. 14. - All Japan is interested in revelations of the murder of leading Socialists. During the early days of the disaster there was a general rounding up of socialists. As soon as the military assumed control, ten were killed owing to alleged refractory conduct under arrest. It is now announced that the military Bayoneted 24 of 1300 who were arrested in Tokio for causing disturbances at the police stations at the time of the disaster. ■ • The War Office has issued a statement regretting the incident and adding that such things are inevitable under martial law. A' sensational murder trial is in progress. Captain • Amakasu, of the Japanese Imperial -j army, is charged with strangling a prominent socialist named Osurgi, his wife, and his seven-year-old nephew, who • were - arrested with others described as dangerous characters, mainly leading labour organisers, immediately after the earthquake. It is stated that the bodies were dumped down a well. Amakasu confessed,' declaring that he acted for the good of Japan, thinking i the holders of dangerous opinions like Osurgi imperilled the State in a time of calamity.

DESOLATION OF TOKIO. DEATH OF OLD JAPAN. NEW CITY TO ARISE'. A. and N.Z. . TOKIO. Oct. 14. The more one sees of the stricken city, the more - one realises the terrible destruction. No warfare could reduce a. city to ashes like this. : From the heights of Uyeno Park a scene of awful desolation is unfolded. Tens ,of thousands of temporary (timber buildings, shops, and dwellings dot the landscape. Here and there a building which was not destroyed stands out in striking: contrast. Rebuilding will take years. r Great emporiums are now carrying on in email timber sheds, others are conducting their businesses on the footpaths and in shacks. Hundreds of thousands of people are camped in timber barracks and tents in various parks. Australian pressmen viewed the ruined city in company with Count Yoshi, who recently visited Australia, and were driven in a car through miles of streets formerly occupied by prosperous traders. The scene baffles description. 40,000 People Trapped in Flames, In Fukugawa ward 40,000 people were trapped by 'flames, and all burned to death. Hardly a stick is lift standing. Banks, factories, schools, and mercantile houses all shared the same fate. Ten out of the eleven theatres were destroyed, including the Imperial Theaitre, which was owned largely by the Royal Family. * The Emperor's Palace is set on a hill protected by stone walls and moats dating >. from tho old days. The Emperor looked ' down from the high mount on the burning city crashing to ruins. The famous Kwannon temple in Asakusu Park had a remarkable escape, while the buildings all around were destroyed, and ; this appealed to the superstitious beliefs of the people. The road leading to the temple is always crowded by tourists and the faithful, but there were never greater crowds than now. The escape; of < this Buddhist temple is regarded as miraculous by the people of the city and country, ' who are flocking there throwing coins to the Buddha and praying with bowed heads. The feeling of the people is one of resignation, but not despair. They are resolved to turn the great - calamity to a good account. The fire has been a great purifier, wiping out all the slums. This gives a chance to plan a new city on modern lines. Old Japan is dead. New Japan is in the making. Years must elapse before Tokio rises out of the ashes.

Belief Supplies Plentiful. Food and ' clothing sent from other parts of Japan and foreign countries are now so plentiful that no fear, is entertained in that respect; but few people possess more than they stand in. Their homes and all their possessions are gone, and tragic distress is on all sides. Bodies are still being unearthed from the debris, which' lies in great tangled heaps. The naval and military authorities are conducting salvage work. Thousands are, employed in clearing the ruins.. Fortunately the weather is cooler, and the rainy season has set in, otherwise a serious epidemic would have been inevitable. , Numerous cases of typhoid and dysentery are; reported, i but no great epidemic is feared.The Australmount'a shipment includes a largo quantity of medical stores, which are much needed and appreciated. Yokohama is a city of smellssulphur mixed with decaying matter. Tokiot is less objectionable in this respect, but. many canals are stagnant through the breakdown ;of the waterworks, and this is causing typhoid. The authorities are overcoming tho difficulty as- rapidly as possible. . ~ ' It is not unnatural that, in the first excitement, many incorrect statements were made. ■ For instance, it was cabled that the earthquake was caused by an 'active volcano, on the Island, of Osliima ' erupting, then sinking into the sea, and later reappearing. When ' approaching Yokohama Captain James, of the Australmoun't, wirelessed - for any change in sailing directions. He got a reply from an American ship: "No ! special change." Oshima Island, which is seven miles long and 40 miles from Yokohama, is not much affected, . but the lighthouse was damaged, and ho light is visible. In Tokio it is now stated that the earthquake originated by the sinking of the bed of the sea. North of Oshima, in Sagami- Bay, soundings, show a, greater depth than beforo the earthquake. , :