Evening star., 1932-02-13

Yubari. lying almost alongside the Jap
anese headquarters, continued to shell
WooSung intermittently, although the
other ships which participated in to-
days bombqrdment mad withdrawn.
The naval bombardment continued
throughout the day.
The first cloSe-range clash between
the two forces at Woosung occurred late
in the afternoon when a party of Is
Japanese soldiers, under sergeant,
crossed Woosung Creek over frail
fcotbridge They Immediately encoun-
tered rife fire from the Chinese de-
tenders and were forced to retreat.
They managed to capture single
Chinese soldier. however, whom thev
dragged to headquarters and questioned.
He said he was 20 years old and had
been in the army two months. He en-
listed, he said, Ito get something to
eat"
United States Minister johnson, ac-
companied by the British Minister.
conferred with Mamoru Shigemitsu,
japanese Minister. today. but the latter
said this evening that none of the min
listers had any concrete peace proposals
in mind as far as he knew. The French
Minister conferred with him yesterday.
The three foreign ENJOYS seemed chief
~ interested in the japanese demands
and what proposals had been made
recently for a cessation of hostilities.
The japanese Minister said he sent
his last message to the Chinese authori-
ties on Thursday and had not yet re-
ceived reply. In this proposal he
said, the japanese agreed to withdraw
from Hongkew if the Chinese would
withdraw 20 miles from Chapel That's
a fair proposition" he said, but the
Chinese have not replied yet We set
no time limit for the Chinese with
drawal and still have hopes they will
comply
Asked to Withdraw First.
He said the Chinese wanted the Jap
anese to withdraw first, but he stressed
that such a move was entirely out of
the question and that the Japanese
could not even agree to withdraw at
the same time since their position was
purely defensive and in the interest of
protecting japanese lives and property.
I'VE still have hopes of avoiding a
big drive on Chapel and Woosung," he
said but it is only hope and moth
ing more. The Chinese must withdraw
and We have told them So" These
moves, he said. have not the slightest
connection with the visit of the three
foreign ministers.
United States Marines have materially
strengthened the defenses they are
guarding on the Settlement boundaries
in view of the constant dropping of
stray explosives into the American
sector and the possibility of an increas-
ing deluge of bombs and shells If the
expected new Japanese offensive ma
terialiZeS
The sandbag emplacements along
Soochow Greek have been made higher
and thicker and the Marines now plan
TO cover them with sandbag roof to
make them bombproof. Along the rear
of the three-Sided barricades high sand
bag screens have been erected to pro-
tect the Marines against flying shell
fragments from back of the lines Most
of the emplacements facing the river
are now three sandbags thick and
strong enough to afford protection
against the severest artillery or aerial
bombardment
Brick Ovens Installed.
Brick ovens also are being installed
in all the emplacements for the added
comfort of the Marines who are forced
to stand duty during cold wet nights.
The detachment which is billeted at the
Wingon cotton mill, which was bombed
Thursday. is continuing to stay there
on the theory that lightning is not
likely to strike twice in the same place.
Numerous strands of barbed wire also
have been added to the 8-foot fence
containing the emplacementS. which are
set about SO yards apart along the bank
of the creek. officers commanding the
marine detachment said a considerable
number of shells already have dropped
in their territory and they wanted to
give the men the fullest protection.
They said the marines would be in a
dangerous position if heavy japanese
drive opened because they are situated
just behind Chapel. in line with the
Japanese artillery positions at Hong
| kew Park, and the slightest miscalcu-
lation in the japanese gun range might
cause the shells to overshoot their mark
! and hit the portion of the settlement
| guarded by the Marines across Soochow
Greek.
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