Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1894-01-02
CRIME AND SORROW
Hospitals and Prisons Alike :
Disgrace to the LAID
NATIONAL IGNORANCE RULES


he tufu<@1 people are nWaotuknXs
With thsss of their own numbsr who
are lswbrsakers they have bat Little
sympathy. and the gosernment hss
none a. All like China. I like the
ckisese. Moreover. I respect them
Bat Ia two details Of their pational
lie they merit unqualified eondemna-
ton Their hospitals and their prisons
are unmitigstsd national di-graess- On
second tho1xhts. withdraw the word
tkroagh which l vent were almost
exsrything that hospitals should not
b. Bnt the patients themselves would
no<t strenuonsly have resented any izn-
progements along The line Of their eva
eomfort The savants OF China are held
back By the t4ut ropes of public opin-
ion; they are enchnised BY the general
ignorance. - are their rrototypesevery
where else.
The d<plorshie condition Of the
Chinese prisons h justified In the "a
tionai philosophy. To the Chinese
mind . Law il thing to be obcyed-
A la~ concerns the millions and eon-
s<rves the welfare OF millions Il
must be held invioi2te by the indi-
vidual. be his whim--his personal beat
--whstsver II may. The Chinamsn Who
dizregzsds any item Of the Chinese law
becomes . social Iep<r Individual ten
deacy, moral IN health inherited traits
they are taken into account not st all
This Il cruel? Yea, But 10 renders
sxistencs possible In the overdensity
Of Chinese population. . writer In the
Pail Nah Budget ssyx
A ChinsmAn L. forgiven nothing b.
cause Of hts ancestry. nor does he suf-
fer Tor tha. ancestry. Prom the mo-
meus Of his birth each Chinaman has
an equal chance with every other
vsn<rated than In China. Nowhere
docs In secure 10 It's pos-essor more
benefits. more privileges. but IL Is not
inherited. IL il conferred by the en-
peror-eonferred for personal merit or
for personal achievement No China
man II mobile" except through per-
sonsl fitness. There are two excep
tions 20 this rule-two only. The d.
rect descendants OF Confucius have .
rank Of their own IL Is q high rank.
II Is respected But IL gives thcm no
power Of interference with national
afTairs- The descendants of an en-
pcror are never less than royal But
they have no necessary power. In
brief. then. In China "evsry man Il
served according to his deserts" and 10
n greatly TO the national credit that
they who do not Escape whipping"
are 50 very few
AChinese prison Il cslleda "cangue."
Its outer door is barred with bamboo.
and Is guarded by petty soldiers or
policemen. The ''cangue" contains
I've rooms and two yards One room
and one yard are for ncn- The other
room and yard IRE for women. The
space set apart for women il very much
smaller than that for men, But the
woEncn's quarters and the mems quar-
tors are alike I'm being entirely devoid
Of any provision for personal comfort,
or tor personal dcccncy.
Chinese prisoners are By the govern
nent provided with Absolutely MOTH
ing bat the space beyond which they
may not yass- IL thcir friends thrust
food n them through the bars OF the
prison fence the law does not tnterpose.
Otherwise the prisoners may starvc.
The law does not intcrpose.
used 90 take food 10 the Shanghai
prison yards I was not jcered at A
Chinese crowd Il. believe. incapable
OF ieerirg ~ . woman But was con-
demned for II. And high Chinese
Official reconstructed with my husband
used ~ buy Chinese food ~ n cheap
ehov-chcw shop and when l reached
prison fence hire q cooiie 10 feed the
poor starving wre'chcs- did not
quite care % feed them myself And IL
was quite impossible for then 20 feed
themselves No Chinese prisoner can
reach his own mouth, for his meek Is
in~sribly locked into board which Is
sbou; three feet square II n very
heavy. Rnd gplIs the neck n biisters
or c@sihes the shoulders The pig
tail-drngs heavily over st.and pulls the
poor erloc<sd head uncomfortably 20
one side. II prevents the henss from,
lifting rice or water TO the craving
r4outh and from brushing fron the
$500