U. P. War Correspondent and Panay Survivor One of Nieman Fellows Here

With the experiences back of him of going through the sinking of the Panay and witnessing over two hundred air raids while he was war correspondent for the United Press in two wars, Weldon James has settled down this year to the relatively quiet role of a Nieman Fellow in the University.

In the summer of 1937 James had his first taste of war when he was sent out to China to help cover the Sine-Japanese conflict. That December when the Japanese army was threatening Nanking, the American embassy staff and all other nationals were evacuated to the Panay.

In Last Panay Life-Boat

While the doomed vessel was sinking after the attack by Japanese airplanes, James unwittingly earned for himself the name of here. As he was in the last boat to leave the ship, he spent the interval of waiting rummaging among the sailors' lockers to see if he could pick up anything that was left behind. He found a few blankets and cigarettes.

Although James claims he refuses to endorse any cigarette ads, he said that the cigarettes he rescued from the sinking ship proved indispensable to the victims of the disaster who had a rough and uncomfortable time ashore.

Reported Spanish War

From China, James left for Spain after spending a few additional months in the southern part of China. he became a correspondent behind the Loyalist lines; in fact, he claims that every warring country had better look out if he should be its newspaper correspondent, because he infallibly seems to bring bad luck. Both armies with which he worked have been the losers.

When he finally left Spain in December, James joined up with the Washington press bureau, and then he applied for the Nieman Fellowship. When the European war broke out, he was debating whether to go abroad or come to Harvard. He finally decided that a year would stand him well as a means to "collect his wits."