ENTERED AS SfcCUNLHCEASS MATTER AUGUST 20, AT TUB FUST urKltl
AT TRYON. N. C.. UNDER THE ACT OF CONGRESS, MARCH 3.187 y
ffiruon jßatlu
(The Smallest Daily Newspaper In The World)
Vol. 10. Est. 1-31-28
EUGENE TURNER WRITES LETTER
FROM CHINA TO DAILY BULLETIN
The letter below written on Nov.
30 at Hangchow, China, was sent
direct to the world’s smallest daily
newspaper, with the request that
copies of it be sent to numerous
friends throughout the United
States. Mr. Turner’s home ad
dress is now Tryon which he visits
every seven years. He has many
friends throughout this section who
will be interested in his personal
account of" the war situation. The
mail service has been so uncer
tain that some letters written last
reach their destination first. On
December 10th he wrote the New
York office: “For three weeks we
had no mail. Last week 200,000
letters arrived in one consignment
only a small staff to handle
of January 6th a Canadian insur
ance surveyor cabled from Shan
ghai, that one of the first things
the Japs did after capturing Hang,
chow was to declare a three-day
holiday for the soldiers which re
sulted in much looting of Chinese
wine shops, private homes. Hun
dreds of women and girls were
ravished. In many places mission
aries had to stand between the
women and Japanese soldiers. The
whole place went wild and some
of the retreating Chinese joined
in the looting. The Canadian
praised the work of Gene Turner
and others for their bravery in
risking their lives on many occa-
TRYON, N C., WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12, 1938
sions to save refugees. Mr. Tur
ner’s letter is as follows:
y Hangchow, China.
November 30, 1937.
Dear Mr. Vining:
Within the past month I have
had the unbelievable experience of
seeing more than a half million
people move out of this city to
ward the . upland regions of the
Province. Di*iven by fear of aerial
bombing and the possible coming of
Japanese troops, the people have
poured out by the tens of thousands,
taking everything of value with
them that they possibly could.
First there went the people of
means, with the valuables, then
from day to day the process con
tinued until only those who could
not afford the inflated prices of
the road were left in the city.
There are probably less than fifty
thousands of the normal population
of more than a half million left
here now. Not only have the peo
ple gone from their homes, but in
the night with its covering dark
ness and protection from planes,
proprietors of shops moved out
their goods in gi’eat bundles, usual
ly wrapped in white cloth and the
thousands of dollars worth of the
choicest silks and s.atins have gone
thus on the backs of coolies, in
rickshaws, on hand carts and in
trucks and private cars.
During the past few days, the
few foreign residents here, about
a dozen English, ,and six, or seven
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