TERRIBLE TOLL OF WAR

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20465, 4 April 1938, Page 7

TERRIBLE TOLL OF WAR

MANY THOUSANDS DEAD A TALE OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION MILLIONS OF POUNDS WORTH OF PROPERTY DESTROYED (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) ißeceived April 4, 11.10 a.m.) LONDON, April 3 The toll of two wars in human lives is indicated by figures received from Tokio and Barcelona, which do not take into account the Chinese military losses or the unknown extent of the suffering peoples of China, Japan and Spain. The Army spokesman in Tokio gives the number of Japanese soldiers killed in North and Central China as 20,000, but Hankow claims that 280,000 Japanese have been killed since last year. The British United Press correspondent at Barcelona states that according to figures checked with official sources about 207,000 people have perished and 220,000 have been crippled or wounded in Republican Spain alone. Property to the value of over £20,000,000 has been destroyed. Those who have perished include 75,000 killed in action, 30,000 died of wounds received in action, and 17,500 killed and 1500 died of wounds in air raids and bombardments. The message includes without explanation: “Executed behind the lines, 85,000.” It is estimated that those wounded in action number 160,000.

EUROPEAN POWERS ITALO—POLISH TALKS COUNTERACTING GERMAN PLANS REDRESSING THE BALANCE United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright (Received April 4, 11.5 a.m.) LONDON, April 3 The Sunday Times says that Count Ciano will go to Warsaw on April 22, to return Colonel Beck's visit to Rome. It is believed that he is aiming at an Italo-Polish rapprochmement, which, like the Italo-Rrittsh agreement, is designed to redress the balance in Central Europe, which has been weighted in Germany's favour by the AustroGerman union. France supports the Italo-British and the Italo-Polish talks.