NEW ULTIMATUM PREDICTED

Southland Times, Issue 25746, 9 August 1945, Page 5

NEW ULTIMATUM PREDICTED

Japanese Surrender May Come Soon (Rec. 7 p.m.) NEW YORK, August 7. The cataclysmic might of the atomic bomb reinforced tonight in Washington and London predictions o£ a new surrender ultimatum to Japan, says the Associated Press. One military authority said it was inevitable that Japan would be told quickly that she must surrender or face the most terrible weapon ever devised. Another official said that the Japanese might be expected to make up their minds within six weeks whether to get out or sec their home islands devastated from the air. It was pointed out .that the new bomb multiplies a Superfortress’s striking power 3000 times. The Associated Press says that censorship as impenetrable as the dust which hung over Hiroshima shrouded the details of the first atomic bombing, but the angry reaction of the Japanese indicated that the High Command realizes the dread import of the new

weapon. Tokyo radio announced that a special session of the Japanese Cabinet was called to discuss “internal and foreign matters.” Another broadcast warned the homeland to brace itself for new atomic bomb attacks. It is possible that the Japanese do not yet know the extent of the damage, for a number of broadcasts from Tokyo reported that investigations of the havoc were still under way 36 hours after the attack.

JAPANESE DEFIANT “The destructive power of the atomic • bomb cannot be slighted, but history shows that ways are always discovered to nullify new weapons,” said Tokyo radio quoting the Domei News Agency. “The Japanese authorities are already busy on counter measures. “The main reason which drove the enemy into the use of the new bomb on Hiroshima is his impatience at the slow progress of the projected invasion of Japan’s mainland. While admitting the bomb’s considerable destructive power, informed quarters said that a resort to such inhuman tactics will brand the enemy as the destroyer of mankind and public enemy Number One of social justice. These bestial tactics prove how thin is the veneer of civilization of which the Allies have boasted. An investigation is under way to determine the extent of the damage done by employing this new weapon designed to massacre innocent civilians. The Americans have unveiled to the world their sadistic nature. The gallant resistance of the Japanese forces on Iwojima and Okinawa frustrated the enemy’s hope of a quick decision in the forthcoming battle on Japan’s homeland. The strategic advantages which the Japanese forges are certain to enjoy in the Pacific war’s next phase made it clear to the enemy that an early conclusion is mere wishful thinking. Therefore, the enemy has begun to employ this barbaric method as a last desperate resort.” Major “Eddie” Rickenbacker, the famous last war American air ace, expressed the opinion that Japan could be quickly defeated by airpower alone. The Japanese would be so demoralized and battered by daily rations of atomic bombs that they would cry quits. “It is my firm belief that this is the first war which will be won exclusively by air power,” he said. The editor of The New York World-Telegram, Mr Roy Howard, in a message from Honolulu says: “Any estimate of an early ending of the war is within reason. That the end must come within a few months is certain, within weeks possible, and within days is not impossible. The time factor must be governed by the speed with which the Japanese people grasp the full significance of warfare’s latest development”