Farmers Object to Interference with Amusements At about 3 am, on February 11, according to the vernacular press, 8 fight occurred at the Chenju Village, on the Shanghai-Railway, between members of the Public Safety Bureau and more than 100 farmers who were found gambling. A number of shots was fired by the police whom the farmers attacked with all kinds of weapons, ranging from axes, daggers, and clubs to pistols. Six policemen' were seriously wounded and 16 farmers were arrested and the police lost a number of their n uniforms, and other property, the report.
Chenju is only 18 It (about si miles) from Shanghai and is, the first station from Shanghai North. Tt appears that the - unemployed of the village, as in previous years, encouraged the farmers to assemble at a gambling house so that they could make some money, In nearly all villages throughout China, gambling had been permitted during the Chinese New Year holidays and did not stop until after the 16th day of the first moon when the veeply formally resumed their business. #This year was no exception to the farmers of Chenju and, more than 100 farmers assembled at a house at Kingkong, not far from Chenju, to gamble.
Upon learning of this, Mr. Yang] Ping-tue, a leading resident, who was determined to stamp out the evil, reported to the Public Safety Bureau and requested the arrest the gamblers. The inspector in charge at once sent a police party under an officer to Kingkong. About clit li from the village, the police ted four farmers acting in a picious manner. They were led_upon to subject themselves to search, but they refused to obey and attempted to escape.
was given and one of the farmers who could not catch up with the others produced a whistle and began to blow it, whereupon more than 100 farmers gathered wit a few minutes, beating gongs, earrypistols, daggers, clubs, axes and all kinds of weapons, and, at the jame time, shouting: "Forward! Kill As the police were greatly outnumbered by the farmers, the officer in charge sent a subordinate to report to the inspector, at the same time warning the farmers that he and his subordinates had been sent there to arrest gamblers and to stamp out the evil. He ordered the farmers to remain quiet so. that any misunderstandings might be cleared away.
Unfortunately, the farmers turned a deaf ear to this and some of them drew pistols and opened fire. ut ten minutes. having been exhausted, the farmers then attacked the police with daggers, clubs, ete. However, the officer ordered his subordinates not to return fire, but to take shelter in dark and strategic places. As a. result, several policemen received serious wounds.
Half an hour later, more than 40 extra police arrived. Seoing that they were unable to resist any long-ex, the farmers quickly dispersed, Dut not before 12 had been arrested.
When about two li from the Bureau of Public Safety, a large num-bor of farmers rushed up from behind with the intention of rescuing their comrades. The police were then compelled to fire a number of shots into the air which seared the farmers away and four more arrests were made.
The wounded policemen have been brought to Shanghai and are now atthe Paulun and Chi Sen Hospitals, The 16 arrested farmers, meanwhile, are being kept at the Bureau, pending further investigations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.