Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-03-25

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than 100 American men, women and
children, are still in the seething tur-
moil of the river city, their fate un-
known Solemn warning has been
served on nationalist leaders by the
American and British commanders to
produce these unharmed or take the.
consequences Menacing muzzles of.
naval guns, trained on a swarming city
of a quarter of a million population
backed the demand.
BY what steps Read Admiral H. H.
Hough, American naval commander
at Nankifig. i and his British colleague
aplan to enforce their ultimatum was
unknown tonight to the Washington
government In the face of that fact
Secretary Wilbur declared after con-
ferences with Secretary Kellogg that
Admiral Williams, the American naval
commander in China, had unlimited
authority to employ his forces as he
deemed necessary to protect American
lives.
He has the full one hundred per
cent support of the government the
naval secretary said.
Late in the day Secretary Kellogg
went over to the White House and
conferred for an hour with President
Coolidge, showing the chief executive
all the official dispatches received
from China.
Later he, too, declared that the
American naval forces in the zone of
disorder would be upheld to the ut
most and reiterated that the state de-
partment was prepared to back the
navy in all it did.
Fragmentary radio reports from
Nan<ing alone carried the story from
the river for 1870 miles from the coast
out to,the world, They painted grim
picture in the terse language of naval
advices.
The break came just after Marking
had passed from military control OF
the northern Chinese faction to the
hands of advancing Cantonese troops.
Reports from Shanghai told Of rem
nants of the northern army cut off and
penned in against the city wall.
Apparently the first outbreak came
within the city of Nanling as Aneri-'
can consul John *. Davis was des-
perately gathering American nationals
for refuge under guard of American
sailors on Socony hill at the edge of
the city but two miles or more from
the river. 1t is the plant of the
Standard Oil company, one of the two
big American oil establishments at
Nanking, and was picked as place
possible of defense against a mob.
Meanwhile, rioting and looting had
broken out in the city. The official
reports made it clear that Cantonese
troops were involved.
During the afternoon Cantonese
troops looted the American, British and
japanese consulates, wounded the
British consul and are reported to have
killed the japanese consul, Admiral
Hough said in radiogram sent soon
after his arrival at Marking ON the
river gunboat Isabel, flagship of the
Yangtse river patrol force.
In the river lay the American de-
stroyers Noa and Preston and the Brit
ish cruiser Emerald. But before Adj
miral Hough arrived on the scene the
mob and undisciplined troops had
turned on the foreigners on Socony
HILL The first official word came
from Admiral Williams, at Shanghai.
Foreigners ON Socony Hill at Nan
king We're attacked" he said
"The British cruiser Emerald and the
United States destroyers Noa and Pres
ton shelled the area around the hill to
protect foreigners. Landing forces
were sent to attempt the rescue from
the hill"
The next was from Hough at Nam
king direct:
The Noa and Preston have ceased
heavy gunfire and the Emerald has
sent a landing force to the wall under
the Standard Oil company house, while
the Emerald covered the landing with