1937-02-26 — Page 18

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1937.

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The

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Thongkong Telegraph.

of

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1937.

NORTH CHINA

SMUGGLING

If any evidence were needed

was enough for me

by

Ᏼ Ꭼ Ꭱ Ꭲ .

HAVE just come out of Spain, where

I have been flying and bombing for a month for the Government.

I went to Spain from New York because good money was offered to me and I needed it. It was also put up to me as a light for democracy against dictatorship.

I have como away because it was no use try-

ing to keep on with the kind of 'planes I was able to get. I bear

по

grudge against

anybody, but as

the extent of smuggling far as the fight

activity in North China, in- stigated by Japanese

for democracy

interests, was concerned,

it is to be found in ample measure in

on

dictator ship everywhere and

I am not going to try to draw any distinctions. It was interest- ing and exciting while it lasted. '

ACOSTA

-famous pilot and Atlantic flier, who, after resigning from the Spanish Government Air Force, tried to hold up the arms ship which left New York for Spain on Wednesday, as being the property. of the Spanish Air Minister, whom he is suing with a claim for com- pensation for his services.

the survey of well there was China's trade for the past year, just issued by the Inspector

Customs. It General of

is estimated that the duty evaded goods brought in by illicit means through East Hopei dur- ing 1936 reached the staggering total of fifty million dollars Despite all that has been done by the Customs authorities to

HAD no more idea of cope with this evil, and not- withstanding official protests by

flying and fighting China and by the British and in Spain than flying to the moon American Ambassadors in when late last October in New Tokyo, the situation remainsYork I received an offer, and at practically unchanged, with the the same time three of my inward flow of smuggled goods friends with whom I went to Picture shows a Spanish Government continuing on adarge scale, Spain and left Spain received pilot bestüc his plane after being There is some decrease in the the same offer. volume of commoditica entering

I

"

"We decided it

was a suicide patrol

"

shot down.

Holland, ahead and to the left of me, had just dropped his load of bombs when a half-dozen Ger- man 'planes rushed up. I saw Holland's 'plane wobble and fall, but meanwhile I had time to let go of my load, knowing that the Russians were right behind.

My 'plane was not a bomber, but a British Miles Hawk, which looked more like a pursuit 'plane, which probably saved me, as the insurgents evidently thought I was part of the pursuit 'plane escort.

Fred Lord Was attacked and barely es- caped 'as the Russians start- ed diving on the Germans as they fired up into Lord's bomber.

The Russians told us later that they must. have been Ger- man pilots, judging by the fierceness and'.

tenacity of the

attack. For

novices in Spain

we did fairly good work, as we burned

up

decided to send us right out. ten planes in the insurgent air- For that money he evidently port. thought we might as well be One thing struck us immedi- killed off right away.

ately. Even the tenacious Ger- He ordered Fred Lord to take mans pulled off when the Rus- him up in an out-of-date French sians came up; they are the plane. At 400 feet up the wing most aggressive fighters and struts gave way. Gascon scream- under.perfect command. ed to Lord to climb so he could

parachute to the ground, but So we returned from our

In the name of the Spanish found ourselves compelled to fly consulate we were offered £300 out for a short flight of twenty Lord, having no faith in the

first day's bombing

the smuggling area, but this is solely due to the palliative mea- sures instituted by the Customs authorities in their unequal fight with the armed smugglers and

Our contracts were renewable best we could by dodging into Before the admiration of all ly because we experienced a to the accumulation of stocks. monthly. At the end of the clouds as the fast German the fliers and mechanics Garcon period of heavy clouds, and part- Organised efforts to outwit the first month we talked it over 'planes raced down upon us. restrained his rage. When the ly the, Russian pursuit pilots. I' Customs still persist, with and decided there was nothing

a month and £200 cach for or thirty miles right into the parachutes, decided to land, one missing, but afterwards we every enemy 'plane we shot insurgent air force, drop our making the prettiest landing had better luck; partly because down, and £400 in insurance. load of bombs, and get back the with a broken wing.

we got to know the terrain, part-

protests

The

vessels shall cease to operate We flew under most impossi- complete

country.

Japan ignoring the

we got to Spain 'plane was examined it showed were catching on to our way of WHEN against this interference

to it. We resigned, and here in

we were all struck that it had been machine-gunned flying right in, dropping our load China's internal affairs.

we are out--well out, but with

the German pursuit 'planes in. position has arison owing to the a memory of some fine fighters by the aspect of the country and the struts had not been re- and disappearing while they held

with all of its red revolutionary paired.

check. Customs being compelled to Spanish and Russian fliers, for flags and clenched fist salutes Gascon immediately sent Lord

I flew twenty days altogether, comply with demands by the whom we carried away only a every second, which was not in the air again with another

usually going up about eight in Japanese military

authorities feeling of great admiration, quite what had been painted to machine, this one with the motor the morning and two in the after- that the former's officers func- They saw us leave with regret

spluttering; so Lord came down

noon. Every time I managed to tioning within the "demilitarised and, I feel I can say without us in New York.

That was not our affair, but with Gascon running out scream- outwit the insurgent defence, zone" shall not be permitted to immodesty, with mutual ad-

we could not help seeing the ing to him to take off immediate- but they almost got me the next. carry firearms, and that Customs mination.

ly for the front for bombing. confusion in the

to the last day when I was flying "You got to go up," Gascon alone with an observer as we screamed at him. When Lord Eevry organisation was inde hesitated Gascon shoved his ment west of Vittoria in the

were looking for a gun emplace smuggling activity was at its except for one Englishman, Syd- pendent of the others, all armed, automatic into Lord's stomach, hills, peak, in the middle of last year, ney Holland, who flew with us. all arresting and executing. The screaming continuously, "No dis

If we had had 'planes such only order and the only organi obedience here. No back talk clouds and the Russian pursuit wore heavy broken million dollars' worth of goods as the Russians have in Spain sation evident was the Russian. Get off" Lord obeyed, but be- planes lost us as we came out of were arriving in Tientsin every that might have been another Every time we saw Russian fore he roached the end of the

matter, but we didn't. We had soldier of a Russian lorry it was runway mechanics

a cloud. The enerry saw us and nothing but Commercial obviously part of an organised rushed out and blocked the way, which I was flying was fast rushed up, but the Miles Falcon 'planca fitted comme body which was carrying out When Gascon saw this he shut enough to enable me to lose my racks, and day after day we orders in the midst of local hope himself in his office to save what self in a cloud. as the attacking was left of his authority. The Germans hovered, fearing the We did not aec much of this following day a Russian com Russians were ambushing in the at first, however, as we were mander came over and gave cloud.

within three miles of the coast ble conditions. We didn't kick, included in the zone, "When the and we all escaped with our lives

it is calculated that some two

week from the east, on which no duty whatever had been paid. Attempts by Customs officers to intervene against the Korcan ronin engaged in the smuggling have resulted in a series of sori-

ous incidents, and when some of

the channels were partially closed, the smugglers began to operate from Tientsin south- wards towards Shantung by. the use of motor trucks Jaden with valuable goods, escorted by Japanese and numerous Koreans' armed with revolvers and other weapons, This move

was met by the Customs erecting extra bar- riers at points outside Tientsin, but, in face of armed threats, these stations have not been able to function effectively, Such, in brief, is the story of Japan's interference with China's fiscal autonomy, which is not only resulting in serious losses to Nanking, but is affect- ing the indemnity and loan ser- vices secured on the Customs revenue. The issues inised con- cern many nations, and it is little short of scandalous that the present state of affairs. should be allowed to persist.

old out

There may be

Catch in it v

"One fine night George took his wife to the dirt- track to see her brother who was riding there.

are

a

"Look, there he is," said George as they arrived.

"Yes, I see him," she re- plied. "How many

Natur- there in the raco?” ally, after living

with George so long she did not expect a simple answer to a question like that.

Instead, he said, "You'll get the number by adding together two-thirds of the number of riders behind him to half the number in front of him."

"And how many's that?" : she asked wearily. The answer's in Column Seven...

less confusion.

en masse

flown off at once to Santander. Gascon hell, which he took.

There

The clouds deserted us over

We were a disappointed lot IT was a nice start for Andrica, and the pursuit 'planes

when we saw there with 'what

all of us, but we said from San Sebastian sighted us.

we were expected to bomb nothing-we had learned the and rushed up, but just after I Franco's depots.

only chance of safety in Spain had dropped my load, so I was There was one satisfaction, was tight lips.

able to duck back into a stray We were told to bomb only de- The next day we

were all cloud and get back to safety. pots, air-fields. At least we ordered to bomb an insurgent were not going to bomb anybody airport, and though no

THE next day we had to flying who was not fighting us.

outfits had been issued to us we to renew our contracts. We had decide whether or not

con, an

excitable

If

(Continued on Page 4.)

WELL, we flew under went up in civilian clothes, but lost only one in twenty days of

suicidal

conditions toning up our coats against the flying, but it was thanks to luck for twenty days but the worst intense cold.

and the Russians. We were a miscellaneous 'col- of it was right in the airport.

We decided it was a suicide The commander to whom we lection of 'planes of all speeds, were assigned was Captain Gas- without a gun among us, with

little man

only a row of bombs attached screaming at the top of his under the 'planes.

The weather was hazy and we voice most of his time and re-

tried to remain in a group. There primanding pilots publicly.

At first he told us foreigners were five of us bombers, with "we would awalt new 'planes as Russian pursuit 'planes following there were only enough—about UB. We were flying at about a dozen remodelled commercial 8,000 feet; and had succeeded in 'planes for the Spanish pilots, gotting over the insurgent air- but in a couple of days when he port before we were observed.

didn't you

see

it Answer to the problem in. Column Three is seven rid- era. The catch is that on a continuous track there are just as many in front as be

hind.