Evening star., 1945-08-16

ceased Immediately and notify Gen.
Macarthur. Tokyo said the text
reached government hands at ii
am. today, Tokyo time 90 o'clock
last night, EWT), adding:
Necessary arrangements are ac-
cordingly being made promptly"
At noon yesterday, the Signal
Corps in Manila transmitted to
Japan a message from Gen. Mac
Arthur in which he informed the
Emperor of his appointment as su-
preme commander of the Allied
powers to effect Japan's surrender
and asked that Tokyo area radio
station be designated for communi-
cation purposes.
A little later, a second message
instructed japanese leaders to order
hostilities ceased at once, then
notify Gen. Macarthur of the "ef-
fective date and hour" whereupon
"the Allied forces will be directed
to cease hostilities." In great de-
tail, the message told of procedure
for representatives to fly to Manila
by way of Ie Shima, west of Okinawa
in the Ryukyus, to receive instruc-
tions in surrender procedure.
Gen. MacArthur's statement en-
phasized that nine hours went by
before his first message was ac-
knowledge.
Transmitting facilities in the
United States were asked to assist
in transmitting the supreme COM
mander's messages to JAPAN" the
statement noted.
Japs Bombarded With Directives.
by early wednesday, evening,
many agencies in the United States
and in neutral capitals of the world
were bombarding Japan with these
directives.
"By 9 pm. Manila time, an ac-
knowledgement was received that
message No. / had been received
and understood. BY II pm, re-
ceipt of message No. 2 was acknowl-
edged. Up to this time, no reply has
been received"
When Gen. Macarthur issued his
statement, more than IL hours of
waiting for a reply had passed.
During the tense nine-hour pc
riod between the time the first mes
sage was transmitted and acknowl-
edged, listeners in Manila had re-
manned tuned to the assigned fire.
quency for that first response.
Repeatedly during that unprece-
dented beginning Of direct contact
between rival representatives more
than 1900 miles apart, the radio
waves cracked with calls to Japan.
On Ie Shima, near Okinawa,
Americans have painted white iden-
tifying marks on the runway of an
airf1eld where an unarmed Japanese
plane-painted white with green
crosses-is due to arrive tomorrow
from Kyushu, If the japanese fol-
low Gen. MacArthur's instructions.
Will Fly to Manila Airfield.
From there, the Representatives
are to be flown to Manila airfield,
as yet undesignated. Everywhere on
the way to the meeting with Gen.
Macarthur, the Japanese delegation
will see the handiwork of their own
forces during the street fight in
Manila and the preparations the
Americans had made to use the city
as springboard for future opera
tions.
Gen. MacArthur's Office is in one
corner of the battered City Hall
where shell holes still cape some
walls. Across the street is the
fantastically tumbled ruins of the
Legislative building. Nearby is the
neatly stacked rubble which marked
the outer edge of the Intramuros
(walled city,.
Hundreds of ships of all kinds
are anchored in the bay from which
protrudes some of the sunken hulks
Of Japanese vessels. Whatever the
field where the delegates will arrive,
they are likely to see the junked
wreckage Of japanese planes on the
edge of it..