Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-09-07
SAVE The CHILDREN,
A Story of The India Famin


LORD Curzou is happy. Rains ar
falling and now the famine districts
heretofore the abomiuation of desola
tion, will again bloom like garden
Still five and half millions renal,
at the Government Relief Works earn
ing three cents day for nine hours
hard work breaking stone, buildin.
tanks, or making reads. When a
last relief does come and these poo
beggars are permitted to return home
many vacant place in the famil,
circle will bear witness to the terri
bic ravages of starvation, cholera
plague and smallpox. The crop l,
still two months off - and that it viii
prove totally inadequate is foregon,
conclusion.
Only Yesterday DIR. Klopsch in be-
half of The Christian Herald cabled
another hundred thousand dollars
which means life to just that many
people for another month. Think of
it. hundred thousand men, women
and children in India saved from
starvation for a whole month, through
a single remittance from the country
OF the Stars and Stripes. Was there
ever so unseliish charity as this for
people we shall never see and whose
very thanks in language strange to
us shall never reach our ears? Truly
this a Christ-like charity and unless
every word of the Bible be untrue the
good people of our own country will
not 60 without the blessings promised
to those who consider the poor.
But famine's deplorable work still
continues. Only last month man
at Thana, relief station 25 miles
from Bombay, was arrested for hav-
ing buried alive his two children. His
story was pitifully sad. He and his
wife and two children went to the
Relief Works. There his wife died.
He himself caught the fever. He
could not shake it off. Atlast driven
to despair he took his children one
night and left the station. Ills suf-
ferlngs were fearfully intensified by
those of his little ones. They finally
reached point where they could no
longer walk. Death was staring him
in the face. IL he did not get where
help could be found, they must all
perish. His children. helpless. unable
to continue the journey, blocked his
progress. He dug a grave, threw
them in and filled it up. The fever
had made him irresponsible and Gov.
ernment will probably act leniently
in his case, but the incident dem On
strates the fearful depths which the
helpless famine victims have reached
during this terrible diSpensation Of
Providence.
In recent interview DIR. Klopsch
said that he was under an everlasting
obligation to the press Cf this coun.
try for their hearty cooperation in
this great work and that India could
never repay the debt she owes
to American journalists. During
his stay in India he never missed
an opportunity of expressing him.
self on this subject and many of the
leading papers of India directed the
attention of the people TO the extent
of their Indebtedness to American
newspapers for the tremendous assis-
tance they had rendered in awaking
public interest in the sufferings of
lndia's starving millions. Indeed.
nine. tenths of all the contributions
were the result of newspaper work
and never was the beneficent influ.
ence of the press more manifest
than III this particular instance.
The great problem indeed the
greatest-that now confronts Chrk-
tendon III connection with this most
appalling tragedy of the century is
that OF the orphans who must either
be promptly cared for or perish. Sta
tlstics carefully gathered by missiona-
rleshx the number now hopelessly des-
titute at 100000. What to do with
these boys and girls is the paramount
question of the day inIndia. Through
out the famine-strlcken area little
children are wandering about asking
of any who will listen to their small
plaintive voices: ''Ma bab humone
Khavanu Kahan mulse," which,
translated, means; "Where can we
get something to eat" The traveller
in India sees this spectacle daily
little children reduced to skeletons by
starvation asking their way to the
nearest poor-house. Orphan asylums
are almost unknown among the Hin
docs. a few have been organized this
year but their facilities are so limited
that not half of one per cent can be
accommodated, The missionaries on
the other hand have exercised inselli-
gent forethought and have dotted the
famine district with large commo-
dious buildings for their accommo>
datlon,
But where are the means for their
entertainment to come from? 1t costs
$l5 a year to shelter, feed
clothe and educate a child. Were
they to take 100000 it would mean
81 100000 a year, and who will give
this vast sum? The Ch, istian Herald
has cabled its guaranty to support
5000, with the prospect of taking
another 5000 before the end of the
year. That leaves 10000 still to be
cared for.
Now it is proposed to afford Chris
4 rax, l. A A 4 4