WAR IN THE EAST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23075, 28 June 1938, Page 14

WAR IN THE EAST

JAPANESE BOMBINGS SLAUGHTER IN CANTON RAID NEAR HOSPITAL A MISSIONARY'S ACCOUNT Recent bombings of civilians in Canton and a strange Japaneso attack on an empty Normal School at Kong Chuen, 12 miles north of Canton, are described in an air mail letter received yesterday from the Rev. G. H. McKeur, veteran missionary of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church in Canton. The letter is dated June 7, and is written from the mission hospital at Kong Chuen. "Cables will have reported," writes Mr. McNeur, "the holocaust which has been taking place here during the past 10 days. The death-dealing aeroplanes of the Japaneso have been unloading their bombs several times daily, leaving piles of wreckage and the broken bodies of men, women and children in their trail. Flying high to escape antiaircraft fire they liavo loosed their missiles and rained their machine-gun bullets,, toward what they chose to designate as military objectives. Few of these were hit, but the civilian population'in the neighbourhood had suffered beyond description. The city hospitals, are full of wounded, many of , whom will die, and others will be maimed for life. French Hospital Hit "Dn Oldt, representing the International Red Cross, has been up here to-day between raids discussing the feasibility of taking some of the city casualties into our hospital. Among the places hit by bombs yesterday was the French hospital, which is near the city electric-light plant. Nothing short of international complications will limit this savage campaign of mass slaughter on which the Japanese Government has embarked. They have not the sense to see that China is a new nation, and that the more she suffers the stronger is her spirit of resistance." Writing of the position at Kong Chuen, Mr. MoNeur says they had an extraordinary experience on Sunday, June 5. At about 12.45 p.m. nine Japanese aeroplanes, flying low and in formation, came at great speed from the east. Just as they approached the eastern. boundary of the mission hospital compound they began dropping bombs on the campus of the Provincial Rural' Normal School, 340 yards distant. Forty-two Bomb Craters "They flew right over the compound toward the railway, and then circled back," continues Mr. McNeur. "For over half an hour they remained over* head, repeatedly passing over the residences and hospital and releasing their missiles in , the direction of the Normal School. After the aeroplanes left, a visit to the campus showed us that the visitors had actually left 42 bomb craters. As they had released the bombs in threes and iourg we had not realised their number. Quite a number fell outside Ijhe school bqundary, and some in '.the fields on our side. '•The strange feature of this attaok is not that it was aimed at a school. The destruction of higher educational institutions has been one of the features of this campaign. But the premises were vacated last September when bombing of the railway began. Since that time only a few caretakers and gardeners have been resident. The buildings were quite empty, and being of a temporary nature were of very cheap, construction. Of the 42 bombs only iwo seriously damaged the buildings, and a few hundred dollars would cover repairs. It must have been a very expensive operation for the Japanese. "The airmen must have known that they were operating in the vicinity of a British Mission compound and that a hospital with its patients and nurses was involved. They could not fail to see the British and Red Cross flags pro•minently displayed. Quite Deliberate "The fact that the British Government/ authorities have already called the attention of the Japanese to the location of our compound and the nature of its institutions precludes the idea that they could have acted blindly so far as we were concerned. It was quite deliberate, and they came all the way from their base to do it, but what they meant by it we simply don't know. Perhaps their spy system had given them unreliable information. No damage was done to our compound with the exception of a broken pane or two and more plaster from the ceilings. But it is an uncomfortable experience, especially for- sick folk. One does not wonder that some of them have gone home. "There has been another raid at Canton during the writing of this letter. Some of the aeroplanes came up hero, and a great many folk from the villages near have been sheltering in our compound. We went over to the sandbagged corridor of the hospital, where patients and nurses and village women with their children were gathered. It is great to be here at a time like this, and to see the grateful friendliness of the people among whom we have made our home." Mr. McNeur adds that all the members of the staff are well.