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From
BERLINER TAGEBLATT
Morning
Edition
Saturday, August 17th,
1935
(Article
by
Paul Scheffer
-
Editor in Chief).
- - - -
- - -
“Gareth Jones Murdered — Shot by
his Kidnappers”.
The reader will find in this edition the news that Gareth Jones, who for
18 days had been in the hands of bandits on the Mongolian frontier, has
been shot by his kidnappers. Kidnapping is a common form of crime
throughout China; it is not limited to the wild and politically
disorganised districts on the Mongolian and Manchurian frontiers. But
usually it is (as in a much discussed case at Shanghai) a matter of
thieving and not of openly seizing the human person. In this case
however, the car in which Gareth Jones and Dr. Mueller were travelling
was held up by a
regular cannonade and robbed of everything.
Dr Mueller returned - released
as an intermediary. There then followed some very obscure
negotiations. The bandits first reduced their demand for £8,000 and
agreed upon a smaller sum but the money offered was not collected. Why
is not clear. In regard to this it must be remarked that most of the
money would have to be paid by the Governor of the Province. Afterwards
we were told Jones was handed over to another band. The Japanese
Military Attaché went to the “General" of the Peace Corps to which the
bandits “formerly” belonged. This was reported in our morning edition.
But when the Attaché reprimanded General Tschang Tschung Tschang and the
latter declared he would do all he could towards securing Jones' release
the unfortunate man was already
dead.
Fear seized the bandits. Was this due to the presence of Japanese so
close to the Mongolian frontier? So was Jones a victim of the fact that
whereas the power of the new masters was imposing enough to cause the
bandits to renounce the 80,000 dollars, it was not imposing enough to
compel the liberation of the unfortunate captive? His end lies in the
obscurity of the historic changes spreading over those immense
territories
Another power was involved in this tragedy - Eng1and. Gareth Jones told
the bandits after his capture that he was an Englishman and what they
must not dare touch him. He was. thereupon mishandled. He was murdered
although the murderers knew who he was and although it was formerly even
in China true that the Englishman in most cases was sacrosanct. That
outlook has changed during the last decade - especially in the districts
adjacent to Soviet territory. The incident is nevertheless stupid and
at time we know of no other case in which an Englishman was deliberately
murdered liberate kidnapping. Without a doubt certain silently
introduced changes in English protective measures play a part in the
matter and also the defensive situation thereby created in the Far East.
In these general reflections over the security of white men in distant
lands, we do not forget Gareth Jones himself. He was a born Journalist,
an ornament of his much maligned and, in its essence and obligations,
much misunderstood, profession. He was modest, clever, indefatigable
and above all, honourable. He was, without saying too much thereon, an
enthusiastic English patriot. He was a Journalist because he was always
receptive to new ideas, never failed in their analyses and in the urge
to report on them in the light of his own direct impressions, fully and
truthfully. Through his articles on the “Soviet Union” to the Times,
which did not appear under his own name, he immediately, though quite a
young man, made a name for himself. He did not succumb to routine. He
worked indefatigably in order to widen his outlook. He knew that
without a wide outlook it is impossible to segregate and analyse
impressions and to display them in all their dimensions. He regarded
himself as one in the making, and never abandoned this view. He had
that flair which makes the Journalist.
He developed himself on a definite system - by accepting promotion and
then, after securing the gain, undertaking travels which he financed by
writing articles for newspapers in different countries. During the last
world tour for instance (for which he had worked for two years) he wrote
for the “Berliner Tageblatt”. Jones then did editorial work for a
provincial newspaper in his native Wales, thence accepting a new
appointment in London. He thus was learning and simultaneously working
as a Journalist without binding himself too early.
The number of Journalists with
his initiative and style is nowadays; throughout the world, quickly
falling, and for this reason the tragic death of this splendid man is a
particularly big loss. The International Press is abandoning its
colours - in some countries more quickly than in others -but it is a
fact. Instead of independent minds inspired by genuine feeling, there
appear more and more men of routine, crippled journalists of widely
different stamp who shoot from behind safe cover, and thereby sacrifice
their consciences. The causes of this tendency are many. Today is not
the time to speak of them.
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