The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1878-02-09
The Chiaese Fssat.e.

The aggregate OF human lives bllghtet
aud destroyed BY famine is almost in
credible From the bibiicslly recorded
seven years famine which began seyen-
teen hundred years before the Chris
tian era down to last years famine in
British India, and the famine now
devastating four provinces in northern
China, and the appalling misery, OF
which hunger is n chiei element that
the RussJ-Turkish war has spread from
the Bosphorus to the gulf OF Ssloniea,
an iucouceiyable sum of Suffering has
been inflicted by these scourges of man
kind. u isa mistake, however, 10 sup-
pose that mere hunger is the sole cause
~ the deaths which mark 4 famine. In
many cases famine is attended by
plague, as at Rome in A. d. 262. OF it
leads 10 q pestilential fever. a. in Eng
land and, France from 1893 TO lgj. la all
cases it accompanied by such a general
reduction OF the vital forces as renders
ia victims peculiarly liable TO the at
lacks OF variety of diseases THIS WAS
so, to formidable degree, in the Madras
famine OF last year. when the half nils
lion OF yicsims attributed to il, was
actually increased to more than mil.
lion by all sorts of maladies, OF
which il was both cause and effect.
And Il is doubtless so in the Chinese
PROVINCES which are nov being depopu>
lated by famine In those PROVINCES
the number of sufferers is set down at
no less than nine millions. The human
mind Is so eoustitu.ed-happily, per-
baps. or otherwise it would be crushed
by so hideous tale of woe--that it
cannot adequately realizs the enormous
loss Of millions OF lives by either war,
earthquake, pestilenee. famine or flood.
\ single death by accident. which we
may witness while passing along the
street, appeals more powerfully TO our
sympathIes than reading about the de-
struetion of all these millions. But
one horrible detail--the forced sale of
children for food officially given rs an
Incident of this famine in China cannot
saii TO stir the sympsthies of all parents
IN other countries An appeal in be-
half Of the sufferers has been made to
England and America il has not been
made by the Chinese themselves
For their very indifference to
their own wretched lives, and to
the welfare or the sufiarines of
and unsoeisl nature is the main cause
oi--lust such catastrophe Is that
which has beiallen them now. Living
apart, ia isolated families, working
apart, IA their several calliugs, without
partnerships or combinations, never
lending helping hand to others, they
are correctly described q rsce that can
not work together for the common good
--as poor units of humanity, wholly
wanting in the first conditions of social
advancement and freedom There is
no middle class which il a principal
source Of wealth and power in western
civilized nations Chinese society is
composed OF madsrins and htersii, on
one side, and on the other, millions of
wealth producing toilers, who never be-
come rich themselves. Their climate,
soil cheap food and clothing. have en-
Outraged the most extraordinary mul-
/ tiplication of inhabitants, China is the
most densely settled country ia the
world But although every inch Of
( ground is lsboriously cultivated, its
/ products do not belong to the tiliers Of
tho sod. Even in the midst OF plenty
they earn bat bare subsistence, and
when famine and pesiilepee come they
die of at once They perish. too. as
the iamine-stricken in india perish.
with plenty tantslizing their dying eyes
Even il they were perishipg from sheer
lack OF food, there are no railroads and
| other civilized methods of distributing
provisions throughout the land, and
thus relieving them II is proposed to
respond to the appeal by American and
oiher consuls in behalf of the victims Of
the Chinese famine by having Congress
vote to send tack to China the surplus
Of the old Chinese indemnity fund yet
remaining unclaimed in the national
treasury But 1t is not olsrs 10 give if il
really belongs 10 the Ch.nese govern
meni There seems 10 be no mode oil
relieving the sufferers except by such
appeals TO public and private charity rs
met with 20 noble q response on the
part Of the American people during the
distressing scarcity Of food in ireland
IN ls45 aud lst6. II the United States
owes China, by all means let the debt
be paid at once. with the urgent re
quest that the money be used in reIiev-
ing the prevailing distress.