Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1912-03-09

'96) / made visit to the fam
NJ inc district of Anhui and what
we then saw may be taken, as
characteristic of other districts in
China where famine 10 still raging
1t requires a close observer, an ex-
perienced famine relief worker. to
locate the trouble from outward APP
pearances. But such q man can point
II out to the visitor like myself. APP
preaching a village, you see that all
but these pretty green fields is bare
and desolate Many OF the trees that
beautify every town stand gaunt and
white. stripped of their bark A
number have already gone In decay,
writes G.. Q. Hanson from Shanghai.
In the Chicago Daily News. Crows
inhabit them. The willows still stand
and furnish some hope for the peo-
pie. for their leaves, as soon as they
are little larger, will serve for food
On the threshing floors there ia not
a vestige of the usual straw; all has
been sold or eaten. The chickens and
the pigs. which are part of every
farmers household, have gone long
ago. Even the omnipotent dog has
been starved to death or has served
as nourishment for men. And as for
donkeys, horses and cattle, whereas
almost every household possessed one
or more last summer. village Is for
tunate which can display one today.
The doors Of, the houses and their
straw roofs have been sold. The mud
wails still stand only because they
have no market value. But even some
Of the walls have been carried away
by the flood waters. The first cause
of the desolation was a terrific rain
fail In July Of last year. covering the
wheat land for thousands Of square
miles. The heavens seemed to open
and pour down upon the whole fam
inc region. In period OF hours a
blanket Of water from nineteen to
thirty inches deep came down and
the possibility OF a fall crop was
instantly wiped out
The people Of Anhui and northern
Kiangsu are supported from May I'M
til December by their spring wheat
crop. In the autumn another crop is
harvested. part Of which is sold But
II this crop be wiped out starvation
ensues.
More. than 100000 people are ON
the governments relief list. about a
million Of whom are actually reached.
The Joint Chinese foreign committee
has reached another half million AS
. result not SO many people are dy-
ing now az In the months when the
snow covered the ground During
March 1t was estimated, though no
enumeration was possible, that be-
tween 1000 and 5000 persons died
daily from hunger and cold. but now
Il IN believed that the famine fevers
Of tho warmer weather are claiming
all told not more than few hundreds
each day, III
We stood in the village street
studying the people. Cochran trying
20 decide whether one distribution OF
grain would keep the people here
alive until the time OF harvest, for
every ounce Of grain IL also needed
laewhere--indeed. many villages
throughout this vast tract OF devas-
tnted country are not even on the
Hats for distribution
The greatest sufferers are always
the last to gather in crowd They
are too weak to move about quick
" with the stronger ones. In one
place at q distribution of grain 81 OF
these less fortunate people were
trampicd TO death Yet there is much
kindness among them; II is not all a
selfish struggle for ones own exist
ence.
That middle aged man who has just
Joined the crowd about US, whose
neck is 80 thin that the bones and
tendons Of his throat are visible. is
typical OF class, When the famine
f1rst drew near Last November he and
HIS wife put their household posses
sions. his aged mother and the chill
dren ON whselbarrow and stsrted