Miss Ling Nyi Vee, Chinese student of Wesleyan College at Macon, Ga.. made a non-stop flight from Macon to Shanghai in 24 hours. Alone above the Pacific Ocean she had only crackers and pickles with which to fight hunger. She was forced to fly so high that her radio messages were frozen. When she reached Shanghai she was given a tremendous and well-deserved reception.
Only one U. S. newspaper carried the story last week. This so incensed the editor of the Richmond Christian Advocate* that he published an editorial flaying the U. S. press for not recognizing the epic achievement of a Chinese student of a Methodist institution of learning. Said the editorial: “We are glad a Chinese girl won the honor. Had some society woman, sponsored by some rich party, done this deed, volumes of front pages would have come to her.”
The paper that accomplished the scoop was the Macon, Ga., daily Telegraph, in its special Annual Jester Edition, written by students of Wesleyan College. The editor of the Richmond Christian Advocate had read the Jester Edition and stupidly believed every word of it.
*Official organ of the Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, covering the territory between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the sea.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com