The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-05-07
FAMINE SHIP READY.
The Quito Will Garry Grain
to the Starving in
India.

The most interesting ship in the harbor
at present is the Quito. She now lies at
the West Central pier in Brooklyn. She
was inspected Saturday by Lieut.. Com
mander J. A. H. NickeIs and Pa.master
Jackson Of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and
accepted by the Government. On Mon
day she will begin loading her cargo Of
100000 bushels of corn which will go to
help feed the starving millions of India.
This splendid gift is an expression Of the
sympathy of one people for another. 1t
has been contributed by the charitable of
all creeds and conditions in every part of
the country Many social, religious and
political organizations have contributed
to the fund. The ship will sail on Thurs
day from Pier at four P. M, for Bonn
bay.
Special services will be held on board
the Quito the day of her departure. Prom
inent National, State and civic officials,
clergymen, missionaries and other inter
ested in the India relief work will be
present The public is cordially invited.
The cargo will be distributed by the Inter
denominational Missionary Committee in
Bombay. DR.. Louis Klopsch will arrive in
India this week to arrange for the dis
tribution and transportation of the corn
to points where there is the most pressing
need of it.
More than sixty millions are now suffer
ing the pangs of hunger in India. Thou
sands are dying daily of starvation. 1t
is the most terrible famine ever known.
The Rajputana district is in the most
critical condition of all. A letter just re-
ceived from Missionary Inklis al Ajmere.
in that district, gives one an idea of what
the word famine means. Mr.. Inglis, a
missionary of the Presbyterian faith, had
just completed a tour of hundred miles
about Ajmere. In his journey one morn
ing he discovered forty dead bodies lying
beside the road. They were men and
women who driven from home at last by
hunger had started out for relief and died
of weakness on the way. The next morn
ing he passed thirty-two bodies of such
unfortunates and the next twenty-five.
One young Lao was dragging the body of
his father by the heels TO save it from
the jackale.
To quote the words of the Bombay
Government, "destftution has reached, or
will reach, a higher stratum of society
than has ever before been affected since
famine area covers three hundred thou
sand square miles, or five times the size
of England. Thousands of farmers in
regions where rain has always been abun-
dant, and who have never known poverty.
are this year begging for bread to sus-
tain life and falling dead of hunger in
quest of help.
There are great relief camps outside of
l
women are breaking stone in the glaring
sun or roing other work for a few cents a
day to be exchanged for food. The rates
of payment vary according to the funds
in the hands of the relief committees.
From four to eight cents a day, according
to the strength and efficiency of each, are
paid. Most of these thousands come to
the relief stations absolutely naked. In
deed. they ring very little but their bones
and their hunger.
In every city it is no unusual thing to
see scores of children looking in the dirt
and refuse of the street like chickens for
seeds of gram. Women stand on the
street corners begging people who pass to
take their babies out of their arms and
carry them away where they may have
food. When one considers that the
mother may not for a long time. if ever
see the child again, once it has been sent
away from her, he will know what famine
means.
1t is to save the lives of such victims as
these and to alleviate suffering in the
famine districts generally that the fund
has been raised. Over $4,000 in money has
already been cabled to and distributed by
the Missionary Committee at Bombay, ex-
elusive of the cargo fcorn about to be
sent on the steamer Quito.