The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-11-06
lNFANrIcIpEIN CHINA.
Testimony Showing that Children Are Burn
ed, Drowned, ana Thrown out for
Dogs to DtyOur.


The japan Mail of Aug. 81 alludcs
Mt length to m inquiry recently made
by the China branch of the Royal
Asiatic society concerning infanticide
in China. "T~wenty-one gentlemen"
says The Mail. prepared replies"
The question was. as infanticide pre-
valent in China or IS it notw" A great
majority was in the affirmative.
"Therc were, however, a few notable
exceptions. Rev. J.. Macintyre, of
Ncwchwang, declared his conviction
that there is nothing for which a moro
healthy respect is entertained in China
than for children Infantic,de, accord
ing to this gentleman who. it should
be observed. does not speak from per-
sonal knowledge, is not in any true
sense general in China. He thinks
that an erroneous notion on the sub
iect has probably been created by the
practice of exposing sick children to
die in the open air when nee skilled
opinion has been given that recovery
is hopeless Even in Newchwang,
'Whcrc children are above all things
precious. incurable infants and 'Small-
poN children are invariably thrown
out to the dogs This most cruel Gus
tom is, nevertheless, said to be dictated
by humane motives. Ii the child is
allowed to die under the parental
roof. its spirit is supposed to take pos
session of the next child born there.
Accord ng to Mr.. Macintyre, the pre-
valence OF this superstition explains
how the Chinese are the greatest child
lovers in creation, and how yet a
mother can give up her babe to u
stranger ct must be done by a strang-
cry who places it where he knows the
dogs will eat it, But it must be con.
fessed that when one has to choose be-
tween the degrees OF barbarity re-
CURED to throw Il sick child to the
dogs and to drown n healthy one. the
former seems the revolving. Ac-
cording to western notions, a mothers
love is most intense and capable of
largest sacrifices for her ailing or de-
~ oliopIihSs HI oaSllt y SlSC lCt
natural affection is supplemented by
the thought that to her alone in all the
world can the afflicted little being look
for sympathy and succor. 1t would
be difficult to say anything worse of
a nations morality than that this
beautiful instinct is prostituted to a
superstitious apprehension on account
of q child not yet born"
The MGii allutles to a statemcntb by MIR
Giles to the effect that girls are always
marketable, and comments as follows:
This reasoning is not conclusive, for it
assumes, in the first place. that lnfanti-
eide is regarded as u crime, whereas
Mir. Fryer tells us that to kill female
babies is NO more regarded as a crime
than to drown superiluous puppies or
Kittens 1t assumes. also, thar Gu
pidity alone need be satisfied, whereas
it seems quite certain that one of the
most powerful reasons for killing te-
male children is to punish the per-
verse spirit which las elected to be
born in the form of a m Thus
DIR. Jameson tells of the burning of a
nearly. born girl. 1t was the last of
a long series of female infants, all
OF whom having been made
away with by gentlcr processes with
out any useful result, the parents de-
termincd to administer a severe les.
son to the soul which had chosen to
clothe itself so frequently in female
bodies But, indeed, the question
scarcely admits discussion in the face
of such overwhelming evidence rs
thar brought before the Asiat,c oc.ety.
Several gentlemen adduced their W
! personal experience. A~rch-deacon
Moule. for example, knew of three
families in which infanticide had been
~practiced. An unonvmous resident
of twenty-three years exper ence in
southern China was personally &C
quainted with 4 woman who k, He'd or
acquicsced III the KILN, OF live or SIX
children successfully born to her. one
after the other, until she gave b nth to
a SON. MIR. Cooper has had IN amah
IN his service, q strong active, good
tempered woman who acknowledged
that three of her infants had been kill
ed at their births by their mouths and
nostr,ls being stuffed with finder OF
burnt cotton rags and that she her.
sell had assisted ut the death OF sever
nj other women's female in ;luts. Mr..
/ JryaT. Sui1 fl,., I sip fln, ,Nnnrn, 4 ict,. 4, Z.
OF the interior the women make no
secret Oh the fact that the ntan!lcide
OF girls is tearfully prevalent, aud con-
fess to having themselves pcrpetratcd
the crime without the least emnrse or
shame. Miss Feldo gave sta st cs
showing that 100 Oh nese women had
destroyed 1913 infant daughters and
brought up 63S sons, ana Il. b. Drew
knew of "a family servant a k nd. ten
der hearted little I'm who &C
hnowledged that Two of her children
had been sacrificed in this way and
who 'lold the story us Il very sal one
AL these details lett no room for
doubt, and at the Aslatic society it was
uecideu, Almost unanimously, that
Z 'infanticide does prevail in China. for
reasons and to Il degree not recogniz-
ed IN other countries
The method pursued in most cases
seems to be drowning. In the Han
kow district n thin strip of wood is
laid across a wide and deep tub OF
water and tho infant l.; o,.oJ grn,,
n end to the other, while a ditty is