

John C. Waddell oral history interview, September 15, 1980

Date: Sep. 15 1980 | Identifier: OH0061
John C. Waddell worked for Universal Leaf Tobacco Company when he was sent to Shanghai, China, to operate a redrying factory in 1930. Waddell comments on living conditions in the International Settlement, including social activities and the fear of being kidnapped. He also discusses competition between tobacco companies, Chinese tobacco quality, and wages paid Chinese tobacco workers. Waddell discusses the death and destruction in Nanking (1937) and Shanghai (1932, 1937) during the Sino-Japanese War, the effect of the war on tobacco production, and the 1937 evacuation of American women and children, including his wife, to Manila on the President Jefferson. Good descriptions of Chinese life are also given concerning transportation methods, villages, a funeral in Shanghai, effects of binding on women's feet, and the execution of a robber. Interviewer: Donald R. Lennon. more...