The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-25
MILLIONS In DISTRESS
YELLOW RIVER FLOOD HAVE
CAUSED FAMINE IN SECTIONS
OF CHINA
AN APPEAL TO AMERICANS
sands of Lives In the Stricken
Dfstrtcts-Money Is Also Needed
ing and StOck-A1nerican at Che
Foo Make the Appeal.

WASHINGTON, March 24-Citizens Of
the United States residing in Che Foo,
China, have made an earnest appeal,
through Consul Fowler, at Che Foo, to
the charitable in America and elsewhere,
on behalf of the sufferers from the ap-
palling- Yellow river floods of this year
These floods have been described as
"China's sorrow" and the petitioners
state that never before was the distress
SO great and heartrending as now The
most conservative estimates place the
number of starving at 100000, and time
and the Increasing cold weather will I'M
doubtedly augment the distress. The
petitioners say they are daily, almost
hourly, in receipt of reports from their
countrymen in the interior depicting the
famine Of the refugees. Hundreds Of
villages are submerged; cities surround
ed by water; homes, furniture, clothing
In fact everything is under water or
destroyed; the natives themselves are
living In straw huts, many have abso-
lutely no shelter from the winters cold
and snow, subsisting on bark, willow
twigs, roots, etc. The summers crops
have been a failure, the seed for next
springs sowing is gone, and there Is
nothing for these starving millions to
hope for in the future
MISERY IS WIDESPREAD.
with our knowledge of the terrible
want prevailing" says the American
committee, I'VE venture to call upon the
charitable in our home land to assist
US In trying to alleviate at least a por-
ton of this misery. Therefore, we shall
be glad to receive contributions of mon
ey and corn. We earnestly beg the
merchants and others on the Pacific coast
to contribute steamer load Of corn;
the natives of Shan Tung, unlike those
down south, subsst upon corn, and we
believe that, If the grain men of the
West will ship to the United States con-
sui at Che Foo, direct from the Pacific
slope. steamer loaded with corn, it
will be the means of mot only saving
thousands of lives, but Of opening a
market of from 25000,e00 to 100000 con-
sumers later on, as, under normal con-
ditions, American corn can easily COM
pete with native, and, IF this corn be
sent, we guarantee that it will be dis
tributed under the dfrAct and personal
supervision Of Americans now residing
In or near the submerged districts.
MONEY IS NEEDED.
I'VE ask for money to be- sent to the
united states CONSUL here, with which
food, clothing and stock can be bought
for the sufferers, and we guarantee a
strict accounting for every dollar thus
received.
Shan Tung Is peculiarly interesting
to American merchants as the best mar
ket for their products lin all China to
the missionaries because there are five
denominations represented. comprising
lis adults, scattered au over this vast
province, and to whom we look to assist
us In distributing such relief as may be
contributed. Probably In no other place
In the world, and probably not in this
generation, has there been so much suf-
fering as is now being endured in Shan
Tung.
THE natives are doing all in their
power; one firm In Che Foo has con-
trfbuted the equivalent Of $4,000 in cash
and 10000 bags of corn, and all classes
are contributing, but let us not forget
that there are 100000 starving