Page 23 - Unit 731 Testimony

the best-run railways in the world. Terry's Guide to the Japanese Empire, a
travel guide published in 1933, reports that

Manchuria . . . with vast riches and a promising future, is rapidly
being developed and modernized by the capable and progressive

Japanese. A great factor in this development is the South Manchurian
[sic] Railway, originally constructed by the Chinese Eastern Railway
Company as a link in the trans-Siberian route, but acquired by Japan
from Russia at the close of the Japan-Russia [sic] War. Under the
present able Japanese management the rapidly spreading system has
become one of the great highways of the world, and it is as modern, as
safe, and as dependable as the best American railway. Fast express

trains, commodious sleeping cars and luxurious dining cars are
features of the line, the employees of which speak English and
Russian.

Apart from the transport services that it provided, the South Manchuria
Railway also published English-language pamphlets for the major cities of
Manchuria. They included maps, points of interest to tourists, and some
historical background. The pamphlet for Mukden printed in 1933 contains

an account of local history:

Manchurian Incident and North Barracks
At 10:30 P.M. on the 18th of Sept. 1931, the Manchurian Incident was
started by the insolent explosion of the railway track at Liu-tiao kou
between Mukden and Wen-kuan-tun stations of the South Manchuria
Railway, which was executed by the Chinese regular soldiers. After
the explosion, the Chinese soldiers attempted to flee themselves in the
direction of the North Barracks, but just then they were found by the

Japanese railway guards under Lieutenant Kawamoto, who were
patrolling the place on duty. Suddenly the both sides exchanged the
bullets and the Japanese made a fierce pursuit after them. On the next
moment, the Chinese force of some three companies appeared from the
thickly growed Kaolian [sorghum] field near the North Barracks,

against which the Japanese opposed bravely and desperately, meantime
despatching the urgent report to their commander. The skirmish