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Parent | China Press, April 10, 1946 |
---|---|
Date | 10 April 1946 |
Language | English |
Collection | David Nelson Sutton Papers |
Box | Box 14 |
Folder | Folder 60 | [Add Description] |
Repository | Virginia Historical Society |
[relevant article text]
Morrow Concludes China Tour Gathered Evidence for Trial
(United Press)
Nanking, Apr. 9 – Colonel Thomas H. Morrow, of Cincinnati, O., and David Nelson Sutton have completed a four weeks’ tour of China on behalf of the international military tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to gather documentary and eye-witness evidence for the trial of top-ranking Japanese war criminals.
They arrived in China March 12, visited Shanghai, Peiping, Chungking and Nanking and are leaving Nanking tonight for Tokyo via Shanghai.
Morrow, who is assigned to duty in the prosecution section of the Tokyo tribunal, and Sutton, who is associate counsel of the court in Tokyo, are accompanied on their tour by Jack Crowley, Cleveland, O., and Henry Chui, secretary to the Chinese judge in the Tokyo tribunal. The party worked hard the past four weeks with the “hearty co-operation “ of the Chinese Government, Chinese populace and foreign circles in China, succeeded in gathering “hundreds of documents” regarding Japanese war guilt and atrocities, and interviewed “hundreds” of eye-witnesses, some of whom will have to be taken to Tokyo to testify when the trial opens.
They told this correspondent the indictments will be returned by the tribunal about April 15 and the trials will open about May 15. The party paid special attention to the infamous rape and massacre of Nanking in 1937. One popular story in Nanking today is that during their one week stay here they interviewed 120 eye-witnesses in a single day regarding the atrocities in Nanking in 1937.
They told me they frequently go to bed at 3 a.m. after interrogating Japanese war criminals, detained in China and talking to witnesses. They revealed they talked with detained Japanese in every one of the four Chinese cities they visited. The party may have to come back to China soon for additional material but now the members have to return to Tokyo to report to the tribunal.
The party was sent to China by the international prosecution section of the tribunal which was formed by nine judges and is popularly called the nine judge court – one judge from each of the nine powers the Japanese surrender to – United States, Britain, China, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia.
They said the tribunal will only try top-ranking Japanese war criminals who are found to have “conspired, instituted and conducted aggressive war in violation of treaties.” Now all materials, documents and records obtained in China a repacked for presentation to the tribunal.
Before joining the army Morrow was a judge in Cincinnati and Sutton was a practicing attorney in West Point, Va.