Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-31
MYRIADS OF STARVING CHINESE
ARE SAVED BY FOREIGN
PREACHERS.

miles at a time in water above her waist:
on one occasion she was barely out of a
house before it collapsed. Native churches
and native homes, both alike built of mud
or of sun-dried bricks, crumbled before the
attacks Of the waters. So before China
herself knew that there was to be a famine
the missionaries were sending home their
pleas to the religious papers. missionary
relief committee was first in the field. but
it was later rendered unnecessary by the
larger, stronger general committee at
Shanghai. which soon had the missionaries
who live in the district busiIy employed
distributing its funds.
Chrstendom can never understand the
Chinese not even when 1t sees him in his
native element. The depth and callousness
of his selfishness and materialsm Is simply
beyond the telling In sharp contrast with
the activity of the missionaries in behalf
of the homeless and the hungry was the
Indifference of the Chinese officials At
first they reported that there was no fam
inc. Then they tried to minimize it. Then,
when it became evident that relief funds
were in sight, affording rich pickings to the
raScalS, they SWelled the figures enOr-
mously. My own investigation confirms me
in the belief that the missionary figures are
conservative-1O,OO 100000 people, over 10000
square miles. affected by the famine, and
O,OU
less given aid until next summer.
A normal resident Of a civilized country
can scarcely realize that a nation should
be Indifferent over the impending death of
3.0OO.0OO of its subjects. Yet the Chinese
seemingly have of compassion.
For simon-pure self1shness they Outrank
even an American corporation. When a
Chinaman does good deeds 1t Is for his own
advantage. not for the other mans assist
ance. In most cities in this country there
are societies for laying up merit by doing
good works." the supporters are after the
merit which Buddhism assures them.
societies saw three little children, aged
perhaps twelve, eight and four, apply for
help. The two youngest were ashen with
cold and hunger, and they were crying
with noisy inprecation. I asked him what
allied the wee one, which seemed to be suf-
fering sorely., He said the children are
which covered this little ones shoulders
was its only protection from the penetrating
cold. Still 1t did not occur to him to help
upon the children to follow. one Of them
led the way to his home, where he obtained
some garments belonging to his own child
ana gave them to the little nd Inc o1e
coolie trying to dress that Chinese waif In
the kits and pantalettes Of a Scotch laddie
was highly entertaining to great crowd
Of Chinese. Incidents could be multiplied
by the score, all drawn from personal OBJ
servation, showing the utter heedlessness
on the part of the Chinese Of a neighbours
suffering.
From the American consul general here
I learn that considerable is being said in
America about the danger to missionaries
at this time. This is only another adroit
manifestation Of the Chinese crafty CRAFTY
politics. The officials here are merely try
ing by these wiles to force the foreigners
to place the disbursement Of the relief
funds in Chinese hands.
1t is matter Of f1rst-hand knowledge
that the sentiment toward foreigners In
the famine region Is wholly friendly
found the peasants expressing distrust and
hatred Of their own officials and looking to
the foreigners for help With no escort
whatever and with no Chinese speaking
companion, Mrs. Ellis and I Travelled
through hundreds of miles of the territory
which the officials declare to be so danger
GUS. We went through the refugee concen-
tration camps and even ventured to give
assistance to especially needy cases, which,
1t has been owlishly averred, would be al
most certain death to any one attempting
1t. Absolutely alone, with no other foreign
ers near nor any English-speaking Chinese.
we attended Chinese execution and were
the center of mob of many thousands,