Gripsholm's Second

The Swedish liner Gripsholm stood ready for another errand of mercy. Into her hold went medicine, clothing, cigarets, food packed by Red Cross volunteers who worked day & night shifts. Aboard went the pathetic little gifts, prepared with great hope and sorrow, by the families of the American men & women who are spending the war in Japanese prison camps.

Ahead of the Gripsholm lies a long, weary journey. Not until Oct. 15 will she cast anchor in the Zuary River, inside the hilly coastline of Goa in Portuguese India.

There she will meet the Japanese Keta Maru, which in better days flew the French flag as the Aramis. She will ex change cargoes -- and above all civilian prisoners of war.

If the Gripsholm's returning passengers are lucky, they will be home -- after "two years' imprisonment -- by December. Of the 8,500 Americans interned in the Far East, only 1,250 can get aboard the ship.

The able-bodied must stay behind; the Gripsholm's passengers this time will be the aged, the ill, 300 children. They will require care: besides its load of toys for the children, the Gripsholm will carry four doctors, eight nurses.

Since the wheels of communication between nations at war turn slowly, this will be the first exchange of prisoners and gifts since last August. One cause of the long delay: Japan's insistence on the return of a selected list of her citizens interned in the U.S.--many of whom flatly refused the opportunity.

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