Evening star., 1941-09-28
japanese, Observing
Year in Axis, Hail
Changsha' S Capture
Conflicting Reports From
Chinese and Nipponese
Cloud City's Fate
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
TOXIC, Sept. 27.-The first an.
niversary of Japan's signing of the
three-poWer pact with Germany anc
Italy was observed quietly today
while the Toxic press expressed ju.
bilation over the reported Japanese
capture Of Changsha, important
capital of Central China's province
of Human.
The japanese Army. after having
previously announced that its troops
had entered Changsha's suburbs
stated in Shanghai today that
Changsha had been completely cap
tured.
Later reports, however, indi-
Gated the announcement may
have been premature. Chinese
dispatches to Chungking denied
the fall of ChangSha and claimed
Chinese troops in a furious bat
tie had recaptured four points
in an area some 25 miles north
east of the Human province capi-
tai Dispatches from ChangSha
said dead and wounded Uttered
the battlefield after a fight which
ragged along the entire front.
Heavy japanese casualties were
reported)
Important Stores in City.
The city is on the Canton-H -HankoW
railway and is said to have impor-
tant rice and wheat stores.
The Times and Advertiser, con-
trolled by the Foreign Office, said
"the Human campaign is driving
home to Cungking that Japan is not
leaving settlement of the China af-
fair to any diplomacy or attrition. -
The paper claimed that the Jap
anese have encircled half a million
Chinese troops in Central Human,
and it said the reported capture
of Changsha meant that the Chang
kai-shek regime had now lost HUI
mans food supplies and thus would
be deprived of important agricul-
tural reserves.
The ChangSha campaign" the
paper said. comes at a time when
an American military mission is
either en- route to or already has
arrived at Chungking.
"Chiang Kai-shek's general staff
will have to show Gen. Magruder
his desperate position, Whether
the American officer can help is
matter of little doubt-he cannot
president Roosevelt on Au-
gust 26 announced that a mill
tary mission headed by Brig.
Gen. John Magruder would be
sent to China soon to make
lease-lend aid to China effective)
Matsu0ka Message Cheered.
The only official public observ-
snce of the three-power pact ami
versary was a meeting in a Toxic
auditorium attended by 5000 people
who cheered message from former
Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka,
who negotiated and signed the
agreement. saying that it was all
Japan could have done at the time.
"I firmly believe" he said, that
Japan after all should proceed on
her way in accordance y with the
letter and spirit of the three-power
pact"
Among several messages eX-
changed between Japanese and
Axis statesmen were two from Pre-
mier Prince Fumimaro Konoye to
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini
very briefly offering congratula-
tions.
A prominent commentator, Tel
ichi Muto, writing in the news
paper Hochi, advocated that Ger
many and Russia sign peace SO
that Germany can turn full force
on Great Britain and hasten es-
tablishment of the new order.
What we desire of Germany" ="
he wrote, lis that she should not
lose fighting strength against Brit
ain on account of the war against
Russia. which is of secondary i'm
portance at present.
1T is highly desirable that Ger
many should bring the war with
the Soviet Union to a close as soon
as possible and thus revert to war
fare against Britain, which was the
original object of the present Euro