The Wilmington morning star., 1941-12-28
MANILA RAIDED BY
JAPANESE BOMBERS
CONTINUED from Page One)

of their bombed capital.
The Japanese airmen, waiting
until the city had been stripped
of its anti-aircraft guns and other
defenses in accordance with Gen.
Douglas Macarthur declaration
of Manila as an open city, swarm
ed overhead shortly before noon
Saturday and in an~almost leisure
ly assault laid waiste entire blocks
of the historic walled town of
Spanish churches and schools.
buildings of the commonwealth
government and sections of the
modern ship district.
There were so known dead and
no one would venture guess as
to how many more might be buried
under the tunbled and flaming
buildings.
A conservative estimate early to-
day placed the damage at at least
81. 100000.
While flames still shot skyward
last night Mayor Juan Nolasco
met with city authorities to formu-
late means of maintaining order.
Tighten Conformity
City officials also took steps to
tighten Manila's conformity to the
definition of an open city under
International law.
Police and constabularymen
were ordered to cease firing their
side-arms at Japanese planes cir
cling overhead. This futile ges-
ture was observed during a visit
of Japanese planes Friday night.
Details were lacking meanwhile
on the strength of reinforcements
sent to the northern and southern
fronts where heavy fighting con-
tinued.
In the southern sector, Japa-
nese advance guard moving west
from Mauban, on Lamon Bay, was
said to have reached Luisiana, 18
miles inland, while another detach-
ment moving inland from Atimop-
an was said to have reached Sari-
ava, % miles to the west.
The latter is only eight miles
northwest of Lucena, capital of
Tayabas province, and reports said
the provincial capital had been
transferred to Dolores.
Dynamite Bridges
Engineers, meanwhile, were said
to be dynamiting bridges in the
line of the Japanese advance.
In the raid on Manila scores of
men and women-firemen at their
posts, government employees, nuns
in the ancient convent quarters
were killed and wounded.
At least so were dead, with the
full toll yet uncounted as flames
still licked at the wreckage and
redeemed the night sky.
Crowds of indignant civilians,
watching the flames sweep through
the dry wooden buildings Of the
walled town, demanded flight to
the finish''-with the open city
declaration revoked and troops and
anti-aircraft batteries brought back
to defend the capital.
For the first two and a half
hours the Japanese attacked har-
bors and piers. They came in
circling waves-in groups of nine,
nine, nine, eight and seven -
smashing at one target after an
other, then wheeling back to get
it if they missed the first time.
Treasury Building Hit
One squadron then roared in
from the bay over the walled town
and dropped about 10 bombs, one
of which scored a direct hit on
the roof of the Treasury building
and accounted for most of the
casualties. Their target might have
been ships in the Pasig river, but
the majority of the bombs fell
within the mile-square walled town
which runs from the waterfront
to the river.
Three bombs struck the Santa
Domingo church, which dates back
to 1888, and others scored direct
hits on the Santa Rosa Girls Pri-
mary school and the Santa Cata-
lima Girls Secondary school. They
crashed down on the ancient roofs,
their explosions blowing out the
walls Of nearby buildings and fill
ing the streets with wreckage.
Casualties would have been far
greater but for the fact that the
schools were closed when the war
started and many inhabitants of
the walled town were evacuated
when Gen. Douglas Macarthur and
his staff left Fort Santiago in COM
plying with the terms of the open
city declaration.
Near Capital
Even as the silver-winged bomb
|ers circled and struck ceaselessly
for three hours and II minutes