Evening star., 1927-03-25
NANK|NG INCIDENT
MAY ADD TO FIRE
Distorted Reports Expected
to Be Spread Throughout
China by Radicals.
BY PAUL WRIGHT.

BY Cable to The star and the on T9nn1cago DaiiS
SHANGHAI, March 25.-The fat is
in the fire.
What has happened at Marking
will be broadcast in distorted form in
Chinese radical newspapers from one
end of the country to the other. 1t
will be spread by telegraph and word
of mouth from house to house and
from village to village, with resultant
danger to all foreigners everywhere in
China, except those with Soviet affilia
tions.
The story disseminated will not be
the fact that Americans and British
saved their nationals from massacre
but that Marking was shelled and
Chinese killed The Marking Incl
dent will be painted as an act OF
aggression by "imperialists" instead
of what it was, an act of plain human
ity to save helpless altruistic men
women and children from a Chinese
mob.
Results May Be Serious.
Such exaggerations can exert no
other than a most serious influence
OI the minus OI LIlC uIilcllCIc Gu dIlNa
susceptible Chinese masses.
The Nanking incident, which ere.
ated the present crisis, was by no
means sudden explosion, but was
the logical result of a long period of
careful nurture and development
The growing peril has been entirely
evident to all thoughtful students OF
China for months past.
What amaZes us here in China is
that Washington particularly. and a
large part of the people back home in
general, have been ignorant Of the
peril that besets all Americans in the
Far East.
Situation Is Ominous.
AS for Shanghai. the city is nearly
quiet. despite casional rife shots md
machine gun fire. Yet the situation
here is unsatisfactory. 1t is quiet
but ominous. The atmosphere is
tense. Nerves are stretched. A good
deal of wearinesS is due to loss of
sleep and long hours Of duty, and the
end of the long period of utmost vigi-
lance is not in sight. The most inn
so.called guerrillas to rush the for.
eign settlements. These attempts
already have begun, but have been
repulsed. Riots by guerrillas already
inside the settlements also are likely.
The evacuation of all foreigners
from Northern districts of the city is
believed to have been finished. with
the refugees inside the boundary lines.
Evacuation of the Western portion of
the city has not been attempted, and
the British are assigning details OF
soldiers to guard homes there. But If
this present virtual siege persists in
definitely it is likely that these men
must be recalled for use along the
settlement boundaries and elsewhere
A number of American homes in that
Western section are now protected
only by British soldiers.
Trouble i'm Hospitals.
Soochow is quiet inside the city
walls. Imprisoned Americans there
caught message FROM the American
consulate general, broadcast from
Shanghai, Thursday evening, advis.
ing them to come here for refuge, but
as Soochow has no means of exit, the
foreigners there are resolved to make
the best of it. There Is much labor
trouble among all foreign hospitals
especially outside the city walls. The
staff of the Southern Presbyterian
Hospital, which is outside the walls.
has left for Shanghai in a motor boat,
travelling through the canals.
Non-British residents of Shanghai
have undertaken to show their appre.
citation of the British action in get.
ting soldiers here early by sending a
telegram to the British government.
More than 25 nationaIities have sign.
ed the message.