The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-05-15
CHINA'S FAMINE
AT ACUTE STAGE
100000 Suffering and In
Danger Of Starvation.
THE NEED OF FUNDS URGENT.

Many Thousands Must Die Unless
Their Condition Is Relieved Until
Harvest-Need 100000 to Carry on
Work-charles w. Harvey's Report.
Reports from China received at the
national headquarters of the Red Cross
at Washington recently say that the
famine Is now at it's most acute stage
During the next few weeks, while the
new crops are ripening, the need for
relief will be most intense. At present
the relief committee is employing 90
600 men on public work. and the earn.
ings Of these men are saving probably
100000 persons from starvation. Mean
while certainly 100000 are suffering.
and many thousands must die unless
the relief measures are greatly ex-
tended.
Charles W. Harvey of the Y. NJ. C.
A. Of Tientsln made recent Journey
through the famine districts and at
the request Of United States Minister
Calhoun at Peking prepared a report
OF his observations. The character of
this report, which has been forwarded
to the state department and is now
in the hands Of the Red Cross may be
indicated by quoting briefly from its
contents as follows:
What Mr.. Harvey Saw.
No children were seen at plav No
grain, meat. vegetables or foodstuffs of
any kind except the bark OF trees. dried
grass, wild garlic and roots were seen.
We found no sign OF clothing anywhere
except the rags on the backs of the peo-
pie, no bedding, . . few farming inple-
ments, nothing that could possibly be
turned into money except an occasional
piece of furniture and the doors of the
houses or rafters in the thatched roofs
In many places we noted the absence of
doors in the homes and saw the mud walls
of houses stripped of roofs, which we soon
found had been used for fuel or exchanged
for food.
On the first morning out of Chingki-
anSpu we met man pushing a wheel
barrow containing a low fiat basket, in
which were huddled the starving forms of
his wife and child and beside them a few
charred pieces Of wood which he hoped to
exchange in the city for food -" shall
never forget one little mud hut without
door, window or furniture. on the mud
'Ooi "a bdI - young woman OF
twenty-five with a child of two years
lying on its face moaning. When 1 asked
her why he moaned she replied without
comment: 'I cannot get him to eat any
more grass. He is starving to death"
Starving to Death.
In all our visits to the homes of these
starving peasants there was no begging,
no appeals to our pity, no tales of their
suffering, no fears, no emotion but sim
ply the one sentence over and over again.
"Wo men Essu lac" ("We are starving
to death') Unlike the beggars so COM
mon in the cities. these people a few years
ago were successful farmers and laborers
unaccustomed to begging. They have not
learned to beg. We found several homes
in which only children were left, and in
one homo a single little child of eight
years huddled in corner with a bowl of
cooked bark and weeds, which she was
eating with chop sticks. She was the last
OF her family. The workers in famine re-
lief said 1t was usual for the father to die
first. then the mother then the older chill
dren, and the younger children last of all.
showing that affection and self sacrifice
persisted even under these conditions
The American Red Cross has for
warded to the relief committee in Chi
ma over $4,000 since Jan. /, but the
committee in China pleads for at least
$4,000 more to enable it to carry on
its great task until the new harvest
ripenS