Washington Journal., 1943-05-07

away 10 MdlCHuTld 10 LEN lily luck WIFI Tie
Russian forces there.
Some time earlier, Jack London, who had
come to Japan as a war correspondent for
William Randolph Hearst's newspapers,
made a lot of trouble for Lloyd by getting
himself arrested on japanese soil for taking
forbidden snapshots. Lloyd obtained his
prompt release, but found it hard to get
Jacks confiscated camera restored to him.
Later Jack London, having reached Korea,
got into further trouble with the japanese
military authorities by striking his horse
groom, who happened to be a japanese sol
der assigned to him as an orderly. Before
Lloyd could adjust that difficulty at long
range, Jack left the Far East in a huff and
returned to San Francisco without ever hav-
ing reached the real front.
An TnterIude
While | was with the Russians at their
front in Manchuria no direct word of course
reached me from Japan. Later, when | hap
pened to be at Picking, some pleasant tidings
about Lloyd at Tokyo were related to ne by
three Of his friends in China-Edwin Nor
gan, Willard Straight and Harry P. Fletcher,
then serving as secretary at our Legation in
Picking.
| thought | might not see Lloyd again until
the Russian-J japanese war were over, but
it came otherwise.
Late in the fall of 1904 my friend, Marcel
Smet van Lherberge, serving as a war CORE
spondent for "Le Matin' Of Paris, and |
sailed a small boat from the Mia-tao Islands
in the Yellow Sea to Port Arthur, then in the
seventh month Of it's siege by japanese land
and sea forces. General Stoessel, the Russian
c~omnlandant of Port Arthur distrusted us
because of our previous stay in Japan and
sent us out Of Port Arthur in a junk, manned
by Chinese sailors. The junk was intercepted
by a torpedo boat Of Admiral Togo's blockad-
ing fleet, so Marcel and | were taken off her
and brought before the Admiral on his flag
ship, after which we were landed on the Lao
tung Peninsula and taken to the headquarters
OF General Nogi, in charge of the Third Army
investing Port Arthur.
OF course my previous japanese assign
ment to one Of Nippon's armies availed me
nothing. Marcel and | were regarded as I'M
warranted interlopers and were sent as
prisoners on a japanese troop ship to Sasebo
near Nagasaki, there to be tried by a Japa-
nese prize court as blockade runners. The
prize court on our own confessions found us
guilty and ordered us to be kept confined at
the torpedo station of Sasebo. Thus | found
myself once more in Japan.
More Trouble
Lloyd must have been informed of my pre-
dicament by the japanese authorities, for
soon i had a pleasant letter from him, asking
whether he could do anything toward tighten
ing my confinement at Sasebo. He intimated
that | might be released as soon as Port
Arthur capitulated. AT the same time he
transmitted to me letters from my relatives
and friends that had been entrusted to him.
Though | forebore from bothering him
about my Imprisonment, he must have exerted
himself on my behalf, for the japanese naval
authorities at Sasebo treated me with marked
consideration Moreover our American con
sui, stationed at Nagasaki, presently came
to Sasebo and had a private interview with
me during which he told me that Minister
Griscom at Tokyo would not let him lose sight
Of me.
When General Stoessel presently sur
rendered Port Arthur to General Nogi an
order came from Tokyo for the release of
Marcel and me. On the same day the Ameri-
can consul came from nearby Nagasaki to ac-
company me there and to facilitate my speedy
return to Tokyo. On my arrival there Lloyd
assured me that the japanese authorities
harbored no grudge against me and were
ready to accredit me once more to one Of their
armies in the field as a neutral correspondent
in good standing. OF course / understood
that | owed this wholly to his kind diplomatic
offices and | was accordingly grateful to him.
As | look back now on my Japanese adj
ventures then / must confess contrition for
all the embarrassment caused to Lloyd.
Not long after returning to Tokyo my
French companion in captivity gave a little
dinner at the Hotel Metropole to which he
invited the military attache of the French
Legation, me and Archibald Douglas, a Scot.
During the dinner Marcel's compatriot,
under the influence of copious rotations SO
far forgot himself as to call me a japanese
spy. | threw a wine glass at his head, which