Evening star., 1946-03-24
Suqumo Prison Houses
!, Jap NotubIes Of Past
War Criminals in Cleaned-Up
Jail; Other Travel Notes
BIZ B. M. McKel,Dny


By B. M. McKel,oay.
One of the places missed by our
bombers in Tokyo is Sugamo Prison
and good thing, too. For this is the
prison filled now with top-flight war
criminals from TOTO on down. From
descriptions of the place when our
troops took it over, it must have been
| pretty bad. 1t was dirty and it had
no heating facilities. The former Japa-
nese Minister of Justice, when incar-
cerated as a war prisoner, complained
bitterly to the Americans about such
conditions, until he was reminded that
it was his jail-not ours.
American resourcefulness and the pro-
fessional soldiers insistence on spotless
cleanliness have made the jail source
Of considerable pride among our people
in Tokyo. They are glad to take visitors
through the place, but the war criminals
are held strictly incommunicado, as far
as newspapermen are concerned. We
looked into Tojo's cell, but he was out.
being interviewed by the intelligence
officers. We were allowed to see Tokyo
Rose" not-unattractive young woman.
We interrupted her reading, pocket
edition copy of Ngaio Marshs Death
and the Dancing Footman."
/ A necessary appurtenance Of any good
jail is the gallows. The one at Sugamo
is of quaint Japanese design, in excel
lent condition. 1t is chiefly interesting,
however, because 1t was one Of only six
in all Japan. The Japanese used the
gallows in capital punishment but we're
superstitious about having too many of
them available.
In Shanghai there is an oficer-Maj.
Robert T. Dwyer of the Air Judge Ad-
vocate's Ofice-who has been de-
voting months to tracing down the
people responsible for numbering the
Doolittle flyers and his pursuit of the
evidence has taken him all over the
Far East. His story may be told some
day, along with stories Of other detec-
tive work by Americans in Tokyo and
Manila assigned to gather evidence
against war criminals.
"A COllNCl odLAOll UCtWCCll WV OdPoACSC
overheard in restaurant in Shanghai
led to the location. in Japan, of the
burial place of B-29 crew, executed by
the japanese. name scrawled in PEN
Gil on the wall of cell in Japanese
prison led to the burial place of an
other B-29 ofIicer, and the subsequent
investigation to determine the manner
Of his death.
Japan is being searched with fine
tooth comb for all such evidence Of
atrocities and the suspects are being
tried daily in the Japanese courthouse in
Yokohama. Our party sat in three Of
these trials one day. The Japanese
prisoners have their own Japanese
counsel who works with defense coun-
sci, an American Army oficer assigned
to each case.
Military commissions conduct the
trials. A dramatic moment in one OF
them was when an American lieutenant
colonel. flown to Tokyo from the United
States, took the witness stand against
the expressionless prisoner who sat in
the dock, and testified to the brutalities
inflicted by the Jap while the American
flyer was a prisoner of war. The verdict
OF guilty, with the death penalty, which
quickly followed. was not unexpected.
The generalissimo, Chang Kai-shek,
is slighter man than one would judge
from his photographs. He has re-
markably expressive face and alert, in
telligent eyes. 1t is hard to think of
him as war lord, or to associate him
with the atrocities laid to his troops
years ago in Nanking.
He is described. of course, as Chris
tian and some of the missionaries who
have been in China for years regard
him as such. His secretary described
daily routine which includes an hour
Of prayer, or solitary contemplation,
when he does not permit interruption.
He drinks nothing but water-not even
tea, unless courtesy demands it.
The generalissimo is having the Bible
translated again into Chinese version
which he regards as more appropriate
to the literature. I was told that the
original translations of the Bible in
China were made by early missionaries,
much Of whose Chinese was learned
from house servants, and that the re-
suit Is in scme parts a vulgarity. in
addition to being incomprehensible to
many Chinese. The generalissimo's
translation is being done by Chinese
scholar, DR.. G. H. WI, graduate of the
University Of Michigan, who brings his
work to the generalissimo once week
and reads over what he has written.
The generaliSsimo then suggests
changes which in his opinion will en-
phasize or clarity to the Chinese reader
the significance of passages.
X ~
An American hostess, with some ar
tistic talent and enough grains of rice,
dyed in suitable colors, might borrow
an idea from Nine. Chiang's table deco
rations which would make a lasting
impression on her guests.
The dinner table at the generals
simo's home in Chungking was con-
spicuously attractive by reason of what
appeared at first glance to be the large,
colored flower design embroidered in the
center, and stretching to both ends, of
the tablecloth.
Our expressions Of admiration brought
from Nine. Chang the explanation that
the design was executed in grains of
colored rice, and she introduced to her
guests the artist-who was waiting on
the table.
The design included orchids, bamboo