Evening star., 1932-01-30
Hunt for Chinese Pressed.

Shanghai is awaiting with grave ap-
prehenSion unmiStakable confirmation
of reports from Marking that the Ma
tional government had decided to de-
clare war on Japan.
Through the Northern portion of the
! International Settlement, still clouded
by the smoke which swept over the
ruins of Chapel, hundreds of Japanese
marines, plain-clothes reServiStS and
rowdy elements scourged the settlement
in an orgy of lawlesSneSs
Every man of them carried q pistol
in his hand, his finger on the trigger
They SWarmed through the streets on
foot and in automobiles, dashing
through the winding alleys, searching
in every corner for Chinese
japanese marines on motor cycles
with side cars swept the streets with
machine-gun fire, and there were gangs
of japanese civilians armed with clubs
and base ball bats.
This menacing mob mixed with thou
sands Of Chinese refugees riding in
rickshaS, staggering along afoot all
headed toward quieter sections.
Break Down Shop Doors.
BY their own statement the japanese
were looking for snipers and other Chi
neSe whose actions were questionable,
but it was not apparent by what stand
ards they Judged these actions.
Time after time small groups Of jap
aneSe were seen huStling through the
traffic with a lone Chinese captive, or
perhaps two or three, hurrying them
no one knew where.
In many cases the japanese burst
into shops. dwellings. buildings Of any
kind. where they might find a Chinese, /
lNNr hrnn iVnrT
the doors and usually they beat the
unfortunate Chinese they found Fire.
quently they killed them
AS this wave Of laWleSSneSS swept
over the Chinese business district all
the shops were closed and plankS were
nailed across the shop fronts. There
were no lights inside and from the
front the places looked deserted. but in
each ore were dozens of frightened
Chinese.
The japanese circulated reports that
Chinese snipers were picking of Japa-
neSe residents in the quarter and that
it was imperative to root them cut.
RepuIsed at U. s. Hospital.
A gang. each member with a pistol
in his hand, tried to break into st.
Luke's Hospital. operated by the Amer
lean Episcopal Mission. They said
snipers were in the building, but hos
pital officials held them off and finally
they left without getting IN.
This wild disorder swept the few
municipal policemen to the sidelines
but now and then one could be seen
half hidden in a doorway, looking on
helpleSsly
To neutral observers who watched. it
appeared that nothing could prevent the
disorder from sweeping into the Hong
kew Chinese district and there was a
general belief that the vicious fighting
which took place in Chapel would be
repeated in Hongkew. In the center of
this whirlpool stood one Of Shanghai's
leading hotels.
Chapel itself was rapidly becoming
unfit even for battle. 1t was a furnace
with great columns of smoke rising
from the ruins of the ramShackle Chi
neSe houses AS darkness fell. the
flames engulfed still more buildings and
the sky was lurid for miles around.
Foreign Zone Menaced.
Refugees struggling into the settle
ment said at least a thousand buildings
already had been destroyed and the
fire was still spreading unchecked.
Since a bomb from a japanese plane
started the first blaze Thursday night,
efforts to check its advance have been
impossible and the district tonight was
an inferno roaring a serious threat to
all of Shanghai.
Should the wind sweep the flames to
the south it was possible that wall of
fire half a mile long would advance
upon the International Settlement and
it seemed unlikely that the settlement
fire department could combat it.
Those who live along the border of
the settlement were evacuating their
homes and taking refuge at points
further removed from Chapel.
u. S. Property Guarded.
So menacing was the situation in
HongkeW that virtually all the foreign
ers living in that section started moving
into the International Settlement to-
night There were many Americans
among them.
AS a precautionary measure, 100
United States Marines threw a guard
around the big plant of the Shanghai
Power Co. an American property, which
supplies electric light and power to all
of the International Settlement and
much of the surrounding territory.
An American destroyer dropped her
hook nearby in the Whangpo River to
guard the power plant and properties
of the Standard Oil Co. on the oppo-
site bank.
Meantime the American and British
consuls were doing all they could to
mediate between the japanese naval
command and the Chinese military
leader. These two were to be brought
together tomorrow with the two consuls.
The japanese forces were strength
ened during the afternoon by the ar
rival at Woosung of two more aircraft
carriers, the Kaga and Hosho. At the
same time the forces Of the Interna-
tional Settlement were strengthened by
the arrival of the 1st Battalion of the
British Wiltshire Regiment from Hong
kong, 800 strong. This brought the
British forces now here to $500 men.
Visits to the military posts along the
border between the Chapel section and
the settlements this afternoon revealed
that the fighting had dwindled to in