38
THE BOMBING OF CANTON: A DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCE.
As Surgeon to the Canton Hospital,-the oldest Hospital in the Orient, where China was opened at the point of a lancet, I have been asked by my colleagues, the American and British Physicians and Nurses of Canton, the ancient city of Rams, to tell you something of the bombing of this great city, during a period of two weeks.
Large squadrons of Japanese naval bombing planes, often numbering thirty or more, daily and nightly fly over this city, and are from the sky raining death and destruction. Thousands of high explosive bombs have been dropped at 250 different places throughout the city, killing more than a thousand people and wound- ng many times that number. The planes usually fly at a great height, so that discrimmination is absolutely impossible even were this not an obvious attempt to terrorize the people, to demoralize the city, and destroy the private property and public institutions of the com- munity, with the object of conquering and enslaving the Chinese people.
We, foreign physicians, who have witnessed these ruthless and barbarous bombings, and have ourselves cared for more than 500 severely wounded men, women and children, all non-combatants, in our Hospitals, have cabled to America and Great Britain, appealing to the humane people of the world to take decisive steps immediately to stop these persistent and terrible mass These dispatches have been signed by Doctors W. W. Cadbury, C. A. Hayes, R.L. Lancaster, F. Oldt, T. D. Stevenson, P. J. Todd, J. O. Thomson on our own initiative, and also on behalf of the Chinese Medical Association.
massacres.
We have all served in China for many years and are accustomed to caring for large numbers of wound- ed soldiers, but this is the first time that the wounded in great numbers have all been civilians, women and children as well as men. The wounded are often brought to our Hospitals, particularly the Hackett Medical Centre and the Canton Hospital, while the airmen are bombing other places. At times the bom- bers return and many Red Cross workers have been wounded. Some are in our Hospitals. The Hospitals of Canton resemble field hospitals after a large battle, but the wounded are not soldiers. They are ordinary The whole per- people like you and your loved ones. sonnel of our institutions are required to care for the wounded men, women and children. Everyone works steadily until all have been operated upon and relieved of pain; but the staff is almost exhausted. As many as 160 severely wounded people have been admitted to each of several of our Mission Hospitals within a period of an hour or two, Ninety-nine per cent of the deaths and casualties are due to high explosive bombs, the same that are being used to blast the Chinese armies that are defending their country, their homes and their families. The explosive force of the bombs, the bomb fragments and the collapsing buildings cause terrible wounds. The dead are more fortunate-for the wounded children and women as well as men, with large and painful wounds, often lie in agony, pinned
down in the ruins of their homes, awaiting rescue, or death from hemorrhage or shock-often whole families are killed, sometimes one may be left maimed, penniless and homeless. The Chinese men say, "We don't care they kill us men, but why do they kill our women and "chivalrous" children?" Women of Japan, why do your airmen, soldiers and sailors kill women and children in large numbers?
Is this "just and fair" as your military leaders declare? Do you approve of this? You in foreign countries who are providing the Japanese militarist raiders with the materials for this slaughter of the innocents their blood is on your heads.
We can never forget the young doctor brought to us with both thighs shattered, one twisted as if by a typhoon. For lack of a bed he lay on the floor quietly, uncomplainingly, quite conscious, calmly awaiting death, for he had done his duty, nobly and courageously. His distracted wife, weeping daughter and sorrowing brother begged us to save his life. We could do noth- ing but relieve his pain. His wounds were too severe and he had lost too much blood. We had to turn away from that pathetic group to save the lives of others. "Greater love hath no man than this-that a man lay down his life for his friends."
The Red Cross organizations and personnel, boy and girl scouts, and the staffs of our Hospitals are doing They are well worthy of your magnificent work.
support. The heads of our medical institutions and of the Health and Red Cross services are splendid Chinese men and physicians, distinguished and worthy graduates of American and British medical schools mostly.
Our Hospitals are full of wounded those whose limbs needed to be amputated expectant mothers injured-- children with shattered bones. Very few cases with bomb wounds of the abdomen survive, they You would be interested in many of are too serious, those who fill our wards. There is the newsboy whose calf muscles are torn away: The fruit peddler whose leg was blown off. He cannot now provide for his family. The young woman, a member of a happy family of seven. A bomb dropped on their home and one of her feet was blown off. When she recovered consciousness she learned that the other members of the family had been killed. The fireman who was machine-gunned by the airmen while putting out a fire caused by an incendiary bomb. After dropping their bombs near the Wong Sha (yellow sand) station in the city, the bombers swooped down and machinegunned the people as they ran out of their collapsing houses. A mother was injured, a nine year old boy was killed and a baby boy five months old had a bullet through the thigh. There is the mother of four small children whose legs were shattered and who will be bedridden for months. The baby girl of four months, part of whose foot was blown off and mother whose was killed while she was nursing her, will probably live. A cobbler with his right hand shattered. With most of these people it is a hand to mouth existence. If they cannot
work they cannot eat. Many would prefer to be killed rather than be maimed, for they can neither support themselves nor their families, but are a burden to them. We try to save as many limbs as possible, but have had to sacrifice dozens, and will have to provide them with artificial ones, One of our girl nurses remarked, 'If I am struck by a bomb I hope I will be killed outright rather than have a limb blown off!" It is very unpleasant for everyone in Canton--for there are no neutrals nor non-combatants-when the bombers dive overhead, and no one knows where the bombs will drop and scatter fragments of human bodies all over a wide area. Most unpleasant is it for those who have already gone through both mental and physical torture once, to anticipate further suffering. The wounds are extensive and multiple, requiring quantities of dressing and medicines. We are grateful to the Lord Mayors' Fund, the Red Cross Societies and individuals for help. Much more will be required. Are you acting the part of the Good Samaritan?
A Japanese spokesman declared that "accurate bombing of Canton had been carried out". These objectives "accurately bombed" include the French Hospital on the Bund with large flags painted on the roof. (The beautiful young woman whose leg we had to amputate thought that it was a safety zone). Bombs struck directly a group of sampans in the river, people on the main streets of the city, schools (mission and others), hundreds of private homes and shops. We have wounded from those places in our hospitals. We refuse to term these and the essential Public utilities, such as the power plant and water works, and administrative offices of a great municipality "military objectives". Bombs fell close to buildings of the Hackett Medical Centre and beside the Hospital of the New Zealand Mission adorned with flags, and on Lingnan University. We must assume from their own statement that the Japanese air force considers these 'military objectives" and deliberately bombed them. Our Hospitals are functioning under great difficulties. The destruction of the major power plant deprives us of our lighting systems, X-rays, refrigeration of serums and food supplies, water pumping, elevator service, cooling fans-Canton is in the sub-tropics. It is mid- With the destruction of the public utilities which is the Japanese declared intention, the city could be destroyed by fire caused by many incendiary bombs. Thousands of people have taken refuge close to Shameen-the Anglo-French Concession here, but the Japanese bombers have made a practice of diving low over the Consulates flying the American, British, French and other flags to slaughter the people nearby. Is it fair to the Chinese to tolerate this? Are we respecting the treaties our nations voluntarily signed with the intention of securing the integrity and sovereignty of China from just such an aggression?
"
summer.
39
3
The ruthless bombing of non-combatants has not been confined to Canton. Four hundred air-raids have been made upon various places throughout this Province during the past 9 months-an average of nearly two daily. The despatches of such reputable press agencies as Reuter and United Press have deen substantially correct. You may have read that several Japanese planes machine-gunned two passage boats with hundreds of passengers, most of whom were killed or wounded. That six planes attacked a group of cargo junks with firewood, killing and wounding. That Japanese airmen dropped incendiary bombs on a sewing factory full of young women, scores of whom were killed, as many maimed and burned-a terrible sight. That bombs were dropped on a train on the Hankow railroad com- ing south and that the aeroplanes then opened fire with machine guns killing and wounding passengers. That half a city was destroyed and many injured in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy a small military objective". That bombs were rained on stations of the British financed Kowloon railway killing and wounding old men, women and babies. These reports are not propaganda, but the truth, for some of the wounded have been admitted to our Canton hospitals and those of our medical colleagues at Swatow, Kong Chuen, Fat Shan, Shiu Chow, Kong Moon, Tsung Fa and other places, and treated by Doctors H.R. Worth, O.L. Eaton, G.W. Hollings, H.R. Hartnell, R.L. Cockfield F.E. Bates and Nurse James and others of the Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican, Seventh Day Adventist and Unit ed Churches of England, the United States of America, Canada, and New Zealand,
The killing of non-combatants but strengthens the determination of the Chinese to resist in order to bring peace and security to China and Asia. Canton cannot be captured from the air. Will the people of Britain and America allow it to become a second Nanking? Will you not actively help to hasten the time when there shall be neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain-the time when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more? or will you continue to be an isolationist and watch the hands of the clock of civili- zation and of Christianity put back to the dark ages- America and Britain were given their goodly heritage for a world mission. In the judgement of the nations will America and Britain hear the words: "In as much as you have done it unto the least of these (Chinese women, children and men) my brethren--you have done it unto me?"
This letter has been written during day and night air raids still continuing.
J. O. Thomson, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Canton, CHINA.
June 12, 1938.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.