The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-02-19
Ihtc II. z. Buhner III ScrlDMer's,
Foot Binding I'm China

In the Picayune of January 10 there
appeared an interesting article about the
war on foot binding which reformers are
now waging in China. This article ut
tractcd the attention Of Mrs. Charles
Barrow who writes the Picayune that
the credit for inaugurating this move
ment belongs to Mrs. Alice Little, the
wife of prominent English physician
located i'll China. Last year. while max
ing tour around the world, Mrs. Bar
row met Mrs. Little, and became much
| interested in the talented English wom-
an and the ause she has espoused with
such earnestness. In a recent letter to
Mrs. Barrow, Mrs. Little gives the fol-
lowing interesting account of the anti
foot binding movement: But my great
occupation she writes, "has been start
ing and carrying forward the Natural
Feet society, Wives of all the cons,,ls-
general at Shanghai are on the commit
tee, and representative ladies for the ex-
ecutivc. One object is to unbind the
feet of the women of China. We are
memorializing the Emperor, holding
meetings, offering prizes for essays, and,
l am glad to say, are successful far be-
aries are particularly jealous and sue
| cessful. Any contributions you could
send lis from America would be CRATE
fully received. We try to influence pub
lie opinion, leaving it to the missionaries
to make individual converts. But in
Chinese society here-the most crippled
Of cities, where, women beg by the way
side. bound and crippled, and society la
dies have feet only 21a inches long
even here l already know two
young men of position who say
they will not bind the feet If
| their little girls. Until women are re-
| leased from this feet suffering, done only
| to please the men, there is no hope for
China. l only got the society started
when we went down to Shanghai for a
| month or two last spring. and already
1000 women living in the East have
| joined i'll the memorial. Now, will the
Emperor receive it, a memorial from
| women. foreign women? It has to be
written OH white satin. in gold letters, I
think. There is one Chinese lady on
| our committee, but she is married to u
Dane. | have recently heard of forty
| five girls whose feet were unbound at
| one city. and eleven married women and
| twenty girls at another. OF course the
| feet 40 not grow quite right. but so
| that the women can walk, and after Il
WHILE are free from pain. The suffering
| or the women from their bound feet
seems to occur at intervals all their lives,
even when it does not bring Oh horrible
| illness, or result in the toes and feet
| dropping off. There are three girls here
whom l know who have lost both feet.
| l have also heard of many cases of
paralysis. But, worse than physical
pain, is the ina bility to work and the
| hardening Of the heart to the little
girls sufferings caused by their own
mothers. 1t is dreadful to see how sick
| the little girls get to look during the
three years, while it is being done. The
bandages are frightened every five days.
1t is 1000 years since the custom begun.
so we have given the Chinese plenty of
| time to change the custom, if they
would. And evidently now is the time,
for the Chinese are really trying to
change in many ways."-New Orleans
Picayune.