Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07
Efforts to Improve on Relief
Workers Some Curious
Precautions Adopted
Rags, Bones and
Death.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
Copyright, 1907, by Joseph B. Bowles.)

Copyright, lS0i, by Joseph d. Do"'eSD
SHANGHAI February 1, 1907.
A famine at close range is not a pretty
sight. 1t gets on ones nerves. Homesick-
ness, starvation, freezing, disease-'nese are
not pleasant to contemplate day and night,
for months on end. That some OF the mis-
sionaries are beginning to show signs OF
the strain is not surprising, for they, and
they alone of all foreigners, are living eye
to eve with the famine at its worst. Since
thew are cultivated, refined men and wo-
men, with sensitive sympathies, they are
In many instances doubtless suffering more
than the furnishing Chinese themselves.
1t rather interfered with my slumbers
at Suchien to hear the weird, plalnt1ve and
prolonged wall of a beggar at the gate,
crying until far into the night that he
was starving, starving, starving, and
would perish unless the noble-hearted for
egners would give him help. The num-
bers of corpses to be seen on the streets
of mornings proves that his prediction is
no idle beggars' plea; the mortality among
mendicants, since the people who ordinar-
lily feed them have themselves become beg
gars, is really appalling. Thrice I passed
through the streets of Suchien at night,
and at every turn there was huddled some
shivering homeless, hungry creature, wall
ing his starvation cry.
There is scarcely a missionary in the
famine region who does not retire at night
with the nerve-racking cry OF beggar at
his gate resounding in his ears. Yet it is
impossible, I have seen, to give help
at the gate; such an action would bring
down perpetual mob upon one; mob,
distinguished from tbs absolutely perish
ing. In these times, only the latter can
command attention.
X
1t Is not for gratitude and loyalty that
these suffering Chinese are being helped.
Three times out of four the beggar to whom
handsome largesse has been given, instead
of knocking his head on the ground in
gratitude, after the Chinese custom, will
only importune for more. These poor are
like the horse leachs daughters, crying,
Give, Give!" and, like Sheol and Abad-
don, they are never satisfied. The impress
sion that these famine victims are going
about singing the praises of those who have
put bread into their mouths Is mere
fancy. The Chinaman Is an ungrateful Gus
toner and unless he is closely watched he
will, by ways that are dark, secure a double
portion of relief for himself.
The women missionaries at one station
are giving their time to making over clothes
for the innumerable ill-clad refugees; as a
result some persons have presented them
selves absolutely naked at the d1spensary. 1t
was found that some Chinese were coming
twice for Clothes now every recipient for
aid Is marked between the shoulder blades
with nitrate of silver pencil. In q former
famine the expedient was adopted by the
missionaries of shaving of portion of one
eyebrow as a means Of identification. The
authorities at some points require each per-
son who receives government relief to dip
his hand into a bowl of dye, but the shrewd
natives know how to remove this, and the
missionary doctor has been applied to for
some chemical which cannot be washed Off.
This is the sort of thing which makes all
missionary work in China so discouraging.
One day 1 went with the missionary to
take a census of destitute village.
Further investigation showed that every
| family had for this occasion increased the
number of its children two-fold, while no
less than ten families outside of the VIII
| lage had registered themselves as resi-
dents. II there are any more constant and
unblushing liars in the world than the Chi
| nese hope 1t may never be my lot to have
| dealings with them.
An admirable trait Of these missionaries
| Is that they are impelled to their labors by
deeper motives than the deserving of those
whom they seek to help. They realize
that even If the Chinese are unlovely and
| dishonest, they are none the less fellow
mortals In need. The very village that
have just mentioned was facing imminent
starvation; not Grain Of yicos or wheat