The Rice belt journal., 1907-04-26

for want OF food. Lack Of rain in the
first instance, excess of it in the sec
Ond Is the cause.
Five provinces in China and 21 In
Russia are affected, and, while from
the former country come awful tales
Of the bartering Of human flesh for
food, of the sale Of little children, and
Of the breaking out of the plague
among the clOSe-paCked sufferers, from
Russia comes a wall Of despair, where
men, women and children are trying
to cling to life, with almost nothing to
eat and with no fuel in a temperature
Of Is degrees below zero.
Conditions are such in both Coun-
tries that it is estimated that what in
this country would be the price of a
single visit to the theater would save
human life until returning crops
bring self-support.
The Christian Herald of New York,
which has taken charge Of the Ameri,
can end Of the Chinese famine relief,
pledged itself to supply 10000,00O
| pounds OF flour, corn, COrnmeal, medi
cal supplies, etc, in addition to what
had already been sent. The govern
ment gave the army transport Gen
Buford to carry this consignment from
San Francisco to Shanghai.
Government Aid inadequate.
In Russia the famine is being re
lieved to some extent by government
aid, but the restrictions this aid car
ries with it make it very inadequate
It involves the delivery Of one pound
Of bread day only to sufferers les!
than II and more than SO years O
age. Infants under one year, and al
the vast majority between II and 5!
get nothing except what the unselflsl
among the more fortunate are wlllin;
to share. And, above and beyond this
there is the fact that the black hant
Of Russian official graft appropriate
for private ends at least one-half 0
the money the government voted TO
relief.
Bishop Potter, of New York, Is pres
ident and DR.. Samuel J. Barrows, fol
merly of Boston, is secretary Of tn
American relief for Russia.
It is hard to judge between the two
but perhaps the situation in China /
the more pitiable at present. Stats
tics gathered early in February in on
Of the five stricken Chinese province
showed a total of $4,000 deaths. Thi
is but a small section of the awfr
aggregate
A foreign correspondent writing
description of the affected district
says: Every semblance Of gras
plants and roots has disappeared, an
starving parents are eating their chi
: dren. know this to be true, an
: have myself found human flesh o
[ SALE"
r Three Months In FamIne's Grip.
The district involved in the famin
Is known as "Kianpeh," meanin
north Of the river" the stream bein
the Yangtse. For more than thre
months this region in northern Chin
. has been in the remorseless grasp {
famine and famine-bred disease. Fort
days of rain and consequent floot
, heaped calamity upon the 40,O(
square miles Of territory and its Il
100000 Of people. Before new crol
can be raised 1t Is estimated tina
i despite the best efforts for relief, Il
: death list will exceed that Of Maple
|, One.
D Writing after tour through one
|. the famine camps of 10000 starvir
9 refugees, a correspondent said recer
d ly: Little more than an hour ago
g saw two women, presumably moth
Q and grandmother, wailing over Il
|. tiny coffin Of a child that had BET
o part of grim famine's daily toll.
# 1T is all so horrible, so overpowe
r ing, so haunting, so heartrending, tn
0 one cannot write Of it in orderly fas
= ion. 1t seems as if only the repeat,
n cry Of Help! Help! Help!' can
n fashioned for the ears Of the prospt
n GUS American people, to whom G,
II has given year of plenty, while t
= poor Of China perish from want
d" "Out of the awful mass Of sufferil
a succession Of individual pictur
J cones trooping before my visic
- There WIS the man, too weak to sta,
/ erect, who bore on his back, as old
Is brothers carry babies in China, /
:, blind old mother, the mere skin,s
" bone framework Of woman. Tn
& wanted help, and pleaded for 1t in t
thin whine of the utterly miserable
and dared not give them so much
a copper!
& The Mothers Suffering.
"or that mother. hard-eyed q