Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-17
AYERS JAPANESE: ;.
TORTURE KOREANS
Correspondent investigates
Tales of disagreement
and Useless Slaughter.
BY WILLIAM II. GILES.
Special Cable to The Star and the Chi
caEO Daily News, Copyright, 1919.


PEKING, China, June. 13-After
nearly three months Of travelling in
Korea, In which time l journeyed
from the north to the extreme south,
find that the charges OF misgovern-
ment. torture and useless slaughter
by the Japanese to be substantially
correct. In the country districts l
against women and a number of the
latter cases were brought directly to
my notice. One of the victims was a
patient in a missionary hospital. In
a valley about fifty miles from Fusan
the Japanese soldiery closed up a
horseshoe-shaped valley surrounded
/ by high hills and then shot down the
| villagers who attempted to escape by
/ climbing the steep slopes. / was in
| were killed in this ARRAY. 1t was i'm
! possible to ascertain the exact num-
| Der, as no missionaries or foreigners
are allowed in this ditrict.
| Try to Enter Writer'S Room.
In Taku. a large city midway be-
! tween Seoul and Fusan. hundreds of
cases of torture occurred and many of
| the victims of i'll treatment were in
Tue hospitals. IN SeOui, the capita !,
| strings of prisoners were seen daily
| being taken to the jails. which were
already crowded. While I was in this
city l spent some time in the Sever
ance hospital as a patient and saw
wounded men taken ont by the police.
! one of them having been beaten to
! death. Two days later the hospital
was repeatedly entered and the
I. patients cstechised. those in charge
being unable to prevent it. Detec-
tives even attempted in the night time
secretly to enter my room while
was critically i'll, In Seoul Koreans
| were not allowed to be on the streets
! after dark and were not allowed to
gather in groups larger than three:
J All the prisoners were brutally and
disgustingly treated: Innocent per
sons were being continually arrested,
kept in overcrowded prisons month
or more and then, after being logged.
released without trial.
Jail Overcrowded.
Northern Korea suffered the most
from the japanese brutalities. In the
Pingyang and Sensan districts whole
villages were destroyed and churches
burned, many of which l saw and
photographed. In Pingyang I inter
that he was poweriess. At FIRST I was
not allowed to visit the prison. but
the governor general Of Korea tele-
graphed his permission. l found 1t
clean and the prisoners were well fed.
but the eveYerowded condition OF the
cells caused untold suffering. In one
room. ten feet by six, were more than
thirty prisoners.
Christians Driven to Mountains.
I visited an interior village to learn
the truth in report that the Chris
tians had been driven from their
homes. The local head official, not a
Christian, admitted to nae that the
non Christian villagers had driven the
Christians into the mountains because
the local military official (gendarme)
had warned him that their presence
would result in the village being shot
Up. He said he had the most friendly
feeling for the Christians, but drove
them out in self-protection.
Women Are Terrified.
In other villages which l visited the
buildings had been dsstreyed and the
places were deserted. In some places
found only q few terrorised and
fearful women who did not dare to
gendarmes would beat and torture
them il they did SO. The majority Of
the schools throughout the country
are closed and in most places the mis-
sionaries are not allowed to hold
services. Though innocent of wrong
doing, they are under continual sus-
picion. 1t was impossible for them or
others to use the telegraph and post
Offices. the strictest censorship pre-
vailing. Undoubtedly an attempt is
being made to undermine Christianity
and make the position of the mission
aries so difficult that it will be impos-
sible for them to carry on their work.