Evening star., 1937-08-22

nNE day We were having guests for
lunch. Amah. the one Vona n
servant of my household. had asked
for an. hour off in the morning she
| had been told her children. who STAYED
with a relative in Chapel, were SAFE
in the settlement and she thought they
might be at friends house. She had
never seemed worried about them.
maintaining confidently that they
We're safe. told her to 60, but surely
get back before lunch.
About 4:30 Amah returned Her gen.
orally placid countenance was stained
with tears and her whole BODY shook
with sobS. Her only son was dead
She said he had been hurrying along
the street. his clothes tied in a square
OF cloth. The japanese had taken over
the policing of the Hongkew section
OF the International Settlement and
a sentry told the child to raise his
hands while the bundle was examined
The little boy was too frightened I'd
OBEY and started 10 run. The soldiers
ran him through with a bayonet.
SHORTLY after this incident We re-
ceived our evacuation notices
Shells had started to fall with TN /
happy frequency in the foreign com
pounds Accidentally, of course. M
casualties resulted, fortunately. Thes1
were generally Chinese bombs and theyI
very often failed to go off. Investiys \
tons proved in many cases that theyI
were filled with dried mud instead a
gun powder.
My sympathy is with those thou
sands of foreigners who have the,d
/ evacuation orders now. Those mimeo
graphed forms were sent to ali for
eigners by the consular authorities
They told you to pack at once and ID
prepared to go 70 the designated point
the minute soldier came TO you}
home with the official notice to eo|
That warning might come at AMI
hour Of the day or night. From thes4
points Of evacuation the women and
children would be taken in armored
j cars to the Bund and placed on trans
( ports, war ships, commercial craft
or any other kind Of vessel that could
+ be commandeered After they verA
safely aboard the remaining accom-
modationS, If any. would be givelI
/ to the men who wished to leave.
| The orders are very strict about
the matter OF baggage. Each famllI
/ is allowed one piece of nd-bageaaeI
In this you may cram your clothes o}
| household effects, as you choose, bUI
under no circumstances may you taxi
! an extra suitcase. 1t is easy to under
stand that the ships on which vol
room for baggage.
r ESIDENTS of China invaria bl |
collect at least few valuab
pieces. If not many. The thought tha
/ the home you have built up, possibli
with considerable sacrifice, must ID
abandoned, is not a happy one.
| The British received their noticeI
some time before We did. I don't rel
member what arrangements the othe|
counties made, but in cases of interI
marriage confusing situat tions some|
times resulted. I had an Englls |
friend married to Carol Lunt of Ba
timore. She received instructions from
the British authorities. A few day|
later the Americans sent their order
for man and wife and as the instruct
tions differed, Olga couldn't decid|
whether to go to the American schoj
or the cathedral when word came
We did not have to evacuate then
but today hundreds of Americans ar
abandoning their Oriental treasures Il
Shanghai. In 1892 the fighting grad
ually moved away from Shanghai anI
centered around Woosune, some mild
down the river. The 31st InfantrI
arrived from Manila to supplement tn
already increased British, French AMI
| Italian forces