Two Wealthy Men Tortured by Communists Fros Ove Owx Connesroxoent Hankow, Feb. 26.
News reaching Hankow yesterd: from Puchi and Hanchwan sho} how terrible the brigand menace is becoming in Hupeh province' while all the authorities are busy with tasks forced upon them by political happenings. One message told how the busy little town of Yanglotung in the heart of the tea district has been looted again. This time the attacking band was composed of If-styled communists, wearing white headbands and armilers and having a half-moon badge on the left breast of their coats. Many of the band were armed, "After overcoming the local militia, looting was indulged in and then the band left for their fastness taking with them eleven citizens.
The news from the county town of Hanchuan was much more terrible though it did not involve the town itself. It will be remem-bored that Hanchuan has been a Communist centre for the last two years. On the 22nd one band emerged from the hills and terrorized a section of the country-side. At Hsimakow, the centre of- the trade "in coarse earthenware, a Buddhist devotee named Yung was hacked in pieces. At another large place the band' searched for two wealthy brothers' named Chou, Who had incurred the enmity of. the 'Communists. After their home' had been robbed, these two men were: tied together. Their hands and feet were cut off and their lips were burnt, Large crackers were forced up their nostrils and exploded, and then the poor fellows were put, out of their misery by stabb The proposal to. inva boundaries and verify the measurements of the French and Japanese Concessions, and also to examine the holdings of the various landrenters there, has met with' a. check. The men sent by the City Board of Works notified the Japa: nese Concession police of their intention to begin work and were. naturally not interfered with while they measured outside the Concession boundaries. But when they wanted to work inside the boundary line the Japanese police informed them that they could not do so, till the City authorities had_comniunicated with the Japanese Consul-General and arranged for a joint commission to go into any questions which needed investigation., The surveyors thereupon withdrew.
Another case has occurred "ofa stray Dalle striking a person inside house. On the previous occasion an old man of seventy was Killed! as he sat in his home. This time a bullet passed through the hand fa lad who was handing out damp towels to the guests at a feast.in a restaurant. The police arrested two men in military clothes near at hand, but on examination it was found that neither of them.was carrying a weapon of any kind. The number of weapons in the hands of "unlicensed persons. must be enormous. The S.A.D.1 police Jscized no less than thirty-five weapons and-much ammonitionsin fa little shop. early. this: week.'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.