Manila—" Open Town "
On Saturday last the Japanese Air Force in the Philippines, having already bombarded the ships and piers in the harbour of Manila, transferred its attention to the centre of the town and the residential areas, destroying historic buildings and houses, and machine-gunning civilians in the streets. This occurred two days after General MacArthur, Commander of the United States and Philippine military forces, had declared Manila an open city, and withdrawn troops, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons of defence. While the wisdom of this course is open to grave question, it was clearly a decision which could only be taken by the man on the spot, and he may have good reasons for his action. Henceforward the Allies must understand that, against the Japanese as against the Germans, international rules provide no security, and that there will be no immunity for any place or any class of the population except such as their own defences plovid,!.. The record of the Japanese in their pitiless war in China has abu.klalkly. shown that they are no whit less brutal than their Nazi ,:xemplin-s. The fact. that anti-aircraft defences had been removed evidently 'trade it all the more certain that
Manta.' b4' bombed. But the Japanese, too, have made their misca:cilliitazins, for they hoped to take the heart out of the Filipinos, and weaken their will to co-operate with the Americans. The opposite has happened. Infuriated by the savage attacks on their people, the Philippine soldiers have been fighting with a spirit unsurpassed in their own annals.
