The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-11-04
Van NORDEN AMONG THE LOLOS
MISSING NEW YORKER NOW AT
WORK WITH THE HEATHEN.
Man Who Disappeared After He Said Two
Women Had Robbed Him or SIS 900
Is in China Making war on the Opium
Habit OF for a big Caravan Trip.

Warner Montagnie Van Norden. who
was president Of the Van Norden Trust
Company before it was merged in Jan
uary 1910. with the Carnegie Trust Com
pany, and who complained just a week
before the merger that two women had
held him up one night on East Thirty
third street and had taken from an inside
pocket a roll Of $4,000 belonging TO the
trust company. is now in the wilds of
southwestern China among the Lolos, en-
deavoring to win them and kindred un-
tutored tribes away from the opium habit
The first word of Mr.. Van Norden' 3
whereabouts that has been heard after
nearly two years silence is in the shape of
an article in the China Press of Shanghai
on September 20, illustrated with the for
mer trust president picture.
Edward Waite Thwing, general sec
retary of the International Reform Bu-
reau of Washington. and Warner NJ. Van
Norden. former proprietor Of Van Nor
den's Magazine. to-day will begin Il re-
markable tour into the interior of China.
Mr.. Van Norden, who is the son of W Van
Norden, New York capitalist and vice.
president Of the Presbyterian Boar q Of
Foreign Missions. has been touring north
ern and central China provinces for the
better part of eighteen months.
A large part of their present trip will
be devoted to an investigation of the
opium problem, with special eye to the
efforts of the Chinese officials to stamp out
the cultivation of and traffic in the opiate
The party will go from here lShanghan
to Canton by sea, stopping al Foochow.
Annoy. Swatow and Hongkong. From
Canton they will proceed into the interior
overland, stopping at Lienchow. where
Mr.. Van Norden's S father has built a hos
pital for the foreign MISSIONS at kweilin,
kweiyang and Yunanfu.
The trip will have to be made by cara
van. Some of the mountains TO be
| crossed are ~ 900 feet in height. They
will spend two months among the wild
| Lolo and Mao tribes, which roam the
| mountains of Kweichow and Iunnan n,
escorted by troops provided by the vicc-
roys and living with the tribesmen. with
whom they will converse by means of
| Chinese interpreters. IL the uprising in
Szechuan is found to have been put down
in time the travellers will go to Chengtu;
otherwise they will turn eastward and
! travel down the iangtse to Shanghai.
The trip will cover nearly 5000 miles,
about 800 of which will be overland
among the wild Lolos and Miaos"
Mr.. Van Nordens interest in the social
condition of the Chinese has been of long
standing. He is a director of the Shan
tung Christian College. He was for many
years deacon in'the Fifth Avenue Pres
byterian Church and shared with his
father enthusiasm for missions in China
to which the elder Van Norden contrib
uted largely
Shortly after May Williams and Bessie
Roberts had been arrested by the police
and held as responsible for the highway
robbery of which Van Norden had com.
planned it was announced that Van Nor.
den had sold his summer home in Rye
and that he had gone to Carlsbad under
not appear before Judge Rosslsky in Gen.
eral Sessions when the case of the two
women came up for trial. and after they
had been held a month longer on the
chance that the complainant might re-
turn they were discharged.