BESTIAL JAPANESE

Evening Star, Issue 24328, 17 October 1942, Page 5

BESTIAL JAPANESE

BISHOP AND PRIESTS MASSACRED OUTRAGE IN KEI ISLANDS (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) SYDNEY, October 15. The murder by the Japanese of the Dutch Roman Catholic Bislitop of the Kei Islands and seven priests is reported by the Netherlands Indies Government Information Service. The murders, which were committed at Langgoer on July 13, have been reported by eye-witnesses, whose statement says that Bishop Aerts and seven members of his missionary staff were herded together on the jetty at Langgoer and massacred. Other missionaries and sisters were taken away by soldiers, and their fate is unknown. Bishop Aerts, who was about 70, had spent most of his life on these and in the surrounding islands, the statement says. His medical and education assistance, besides his activities as a missionary, had made him one of the most beloved figures of the whole area, and the entire population Protestant, Catholic, and Mohammedan alike—revered him.

It is not certain what caused this bestial behaviour by the Japanese, but eye-witnesses indicate that possibly it was caused by the fact that the bishop issued orders to bum the mission launch before the Japanese could take it. The entire population of Kei and Tenimber Islands has been enraged by this bloody massacre.

ANDALUGIA STAR SUNK (Rec. 10 a.m.) BUENOS AIRES, October 15. One passenger, three of the crew, and one stewardess were lost when the 14,943-ton British liner, Andalucia Star, was torpedoed and sunk off Freetown, Sierra Leone, according to a Blue Star Line announcement. EXPLOSIONS IN BOMBAY BOMBAY, October 15. Twenty-five persons, including merchants and financiers, were arrested in connection with the recent series of bomb explosions in the city. Fifteen out of 56 members of the Orissa Legislative Assembly have been detained under the defence regulations. PAMPHLETS DROPPED OVER ITALY WASHINGTON. October 14. Mr Biddle told the House Immigration Committee that millions of copies in the Italian language of his message that unnaturalised Italians in the United States were no longer classified as enemy aliens had been dropped from planes over Italy. He predicted that the action would have a tremendous psychological effect. Questioned about Japanese aliens, Mr Biddle said the Japanese was in a class of his own, and nobody seemed to understand the operations of his mind. U.S. WORKERS FEEL LACK OF COFFEE NEW YORK, October 15. According to the C. 1.0. regional director, limited coffee supplies in Buffalo are causing drowsiness and lack of “ pep among war workers. MAN POWER DRIVE NEW MEASURES IN AUSTRALIA CANBERRA, October 16. The compulsory call-up of Australian women when proper facilities are available for them in industry is announced by Mr Curtin. Longer hours will be worked in factories, offices, and the 'Civil Service, where the present hours are considered <,too short. Idle men and women will be called up to assist the war effort, while the Direc-tor-General of Man Power will be given extensive powers to transfer men and women from one employment to another. A reduction in the consumption of foodstuffs is also to be considered. Mr Curtin said there was a prospective delay in fulfilling the man power requirements for 1942, including considerable army reinforcements, and the tempo of Australia’s man power drive must be accelerated. Arrangements will also be made for the part-time employment of women in a wide range of industries.