Bonfire Made of Official Documents: Ghastly Cruelty Hankow, Nov, 1
The Rev. Clifford J. King, Mineville, New York, who is connected with the Catholic Mission at ly Sinyangehow, has arrived in Hankow from a tour of the. bandi infested region of Honan province Jand related an interesting account of brigand and Communist activities jof that section of China. Father King was captured by bandits June, but was rescued by Government troops under dramatic cir cumstances after remaining in the hands of his captors for nine days.
According to. the—Americam Catholic priest," practically every section of Honan province is now overrun by bandits and with "the growing Red menace the suffering of the inhabitants is appalling. The Communists directed by Moscow trained leaders and actually practise ing Soviet methods, are steadily gaining a firm footing, They have raided village after village and at pro send are still holding four large towns, Shangeheng, Sibsien, Kwangshan and Loshan' where Miss Bergliot Evenson of the United Lutheran Mission was captured. "Mr. Bert Nelson, also an American and of the same Mission, was taken from Father King recounted to the United Press details of the Communist raid on Loshan where Misu Evenson together with the Rev-Tvedt, a Norwegian, were made captives, revealing that the city was attacked and captured by twe thousand well-armed Red troops. As they entered they committed looting massacres, striking terror into the hearts of the population. Government offices were thoroughly searched and all official documenta seized, the latter Inter making a bonfire, Father Thomas Megan was lucky in being able to, get outside the city during the attack, He escaped over the city wall through the aid of a rope and then proceeded on foot to Sinyang..
The Catholic mission was occupied, Jconfiscated and converted into head~ quarters of the Communist, Army.
Nanhitse, another grain-Producing, town, is also in the grip. of Reds. In this little place two Jesuit-fathers, Father Hidalgo and Father Avite have been held since the fet Father King gives the opinion that unless civil fighting cease permanently and no effort will be spare for the suppression of the hordes, Communism in Honan will spread like prairie fire as the people, drivem into desperation by hardships and extreme poverty, are joining every day in large numbers the Red forces. Suffering: brought about by fighting and exorbitant taxation are forcing inhabitants to eithoe turn, Communists or audits, Honan to-day there ate at least 200 different bandit' organizations terrorizing a wide area. "People fol-usually find it lucrative. Farmere during hard times would rent guna froma bandit group and engage ives in the—plundering ensure themselves of a livelihood for until they: stent enough to a couple of months.
Most of the bandit gangs are bent on killing and on inflicting dreadful tortures on their captives. In one instance, a horde under the notorious. brigand chief, Wang Tai, captured _Jone small town and when they withdrew they left behind them over 1008 corpses. They boiled worten and children in oil and drove nails into the feet of their men captives, it was declared.—United, Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.