The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-15

pense than scant food and poor clothing.
The master may n1altreat or even Kill ms
slave; the police will not interfere. the
sole method of escape from cruel mas
ter is by flight, and even then the child
held in bondage is pursued and usually
captured, to be brought back to greater
degree of oppression than before. The
only chance of liberty Is to get out of
the country.
The lot of the girl slave is particularly
sad The mistress of the household has
absolute command over her, and often
will not permit her a moments respite
from toll.
She must be astir in the morning long
before the other members of the family
and prepare the breakfast. Later she
must take care of the children, perform
the household tasks, go to market and
do everything quickly and we'll. W
Blamed for Everything
If anything goes wrong In the domestic
arrangements, If the children are fretful
or naughty, or the mother Is out of hui
NOR. all the blame Is laid on the lowly
drudge, and she is punished frequently
for the faults of others by cruel beatings.
Not long ago one of these young slaves.
only years of age. was brought to hos
pital. The poor child was covered from
head to feet with wounds caused by pitt
less Negotiations. while the ends of her
fingers were infamed and swollen from
deliberate burnings.
For several days the little patient ret
fused to tell how she came to be INK e
state of such suffering. Then, gaining
confidence In her nurses. she exclaimed
that the mistress of the family in which
she was a slave was accustomed to beat
her. sometimes with stick. but oftener
with a poker, and to burn her fingers s
q fouy he vurf1o fhn vryou
somewhat better, the woman, feeling the
lack of her services, came to reclaim her.
The matter had been brought to the at
tention Of the police, however, and 1t was
decided that the child need not be sent
back. This was the only punishment the
woman received for her inhuman conduct.
Little girl slaves are thus maltreated
with impunity in China, because the law
recognizes the master and mistress las
having a right of life and death over
their human chattels.
the young slave girls are not retained
In the families where they have been
doomed to such ceaseless toll. Numbers
| Of them are sold again to an even worse
fate. Others are purchased as wives by
peasants and farmers. Many run away
from their hard-hearted masters and mis-
tresses. The great majority however, re-
main IN hopeless slavery.
Some Kindly Treated
There Is to be found some Chinese fam
lilies who are kind to their slaves. In
these families the children purchased. to
assist In the domestic service. especially
the boys, are really considered as adopted
into the households. IL, ~
A boy thus taken into Chinese ahome
| Is sent to school until he Is old enough
to be married. A wife is then found for
him. and the fact that he was bought as
a slave IL forgotten. He is a son of the
house and entitled to share in the es-
tate of his adopted father. The offspring
of the marriage are regarded as adopted
grandchildren.
1t Is to the ancestors of the family into
which he was adopted and not to- tht
names of his own forbears that thedyOune
/ man pays homage and these adopted an.
cestors are worshiped by his children.
A kind family will try to find a. good
husband for a slave girl. II this endeav
or succeeds her marriage is to her de-
liverance from slavery.