Current Events February 12, 1944;

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 1944:

WASHINGTON, Feb. II. (AP)—

The state department revealed officially for the first time today that more than 22.200 American and Filipino war prisoners died of Japanese mistreatment In one Philippine prison camp alone during the first few months of their detention.

                             RENO. NEVADA. SATURDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 12. 1944

BOMBARDMENT

AGAIN SLOWS

ENEMY ATTACK

British Use Bayonets,

Grenades, Gain

Some Ground

22,200 PERISH

AT ONE PRISON

1N FEW MONTHS

Nipponese Bestiality

Charged By War

Department

WASHINGTON, Feb. II. OJ.F9—

The state department revealed officially for the first time today that more than 22.200 American and Filipino war prisoners died of Japanese mistreatment In one Philippine prison camp alone during the first few months of their detention.

                                                             Just Partial

It made plain that this appalling figure was only a partial toll of Japanese bestiality visited upon the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor. The disclosure was contained In the full teport of a protest to Japan against  "cruelties wanton neglect-

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READ FULL DETAILS!

For the complete, shocking

details of Jap brutality and

American suffering at hands of

the Nipponese follow the tragic

story of the late Lt. Col. Dyess,

published daily In the Nevada

State Journal.

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mistreatment and hardships" to which American and Filipino war prisoners and civilian nationals have been subjected.

                                                    Beaten Into Graves

The full and official bill of particulars. placed before the world for the first time, charged the Japanese with such ghastly tortures as burying prisoners alive and

beating them down with shovels as they sought to "rise from* their graves." It detailed instances of starvation and decapitation Inflicted upon prisoners for minor offenses: slave labor: bayoneting of prisoners and deliberate withholding of medical relief supplies which might have prevented thousands of deaths.

The 22,200 deaths In one prison camp alone— at Camp O'donnell in the Philippines— Included 2200 Americans and 20,000 Filipinos. And the announcement noted that these men were reliably  reported to have died In the first few months of their detention.

Palmer Hoyt, former director of the domestic branch of the Office of War Information, revealed in a recent magazine article t h a t "most" of the 50,000 American and Filipino prisoners have died. But previous to today's state department disclosure, the only official death figure was contained in a joint-army navy atrocity report which said that 5300 to 7700 Americans and "many more" Filipinos had perished.

                                                         Violate Civilized Laws

In Its protest to Tokyo— transmitted January 27 through neutral Switzerland—the United States charged that Japan persists in violating all "the common laws of civilization."

Notice has been received that the protest has been placed In Japanese hands, but thus far Tokyo has ignored the matter—as it has many times in the past.
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