Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-11-17
AIDS
FAMINE IN THE
CHINESE CRISIS
Frost Will Kill. All Edibles
In The Famine Stricken
District

Picking, Oct. 15.-tBy Mail)-Chol-
era is adding to the general distress
in the fanine-strickcd district. where
from 100000 0 to so, 900, 900 people
are facing death by starvation.
The Associated Press correspondent,
who recently travelled through the
heart of the territory most seriously
denuded of food. found conditions
even more desperate than had been
indicated by information previously
received here.
In the town of Hwai-an, where there
are 100 families. 80 persons had died
OF cholera, and sirnilar reports arr
common from various other districts
The picture presented to the eye
Of the correspondent was a dismal one
The soil barren as in mid-Winter
prices soaring, migration of those hav.
ing more money or enterprise, the PEG.
pie living on a diet of weeds, chaff
thistles and leaves; children. especially
little girls, offered for sale at the av.
erage price of a small chinese mule;
cholera from undertaking, suicid Is
of individuals in extreme despair. old
women n children CLEANING patches
of weeds, men with no work to dc
and clusters of refugees living in the
shelter Of temples in market towns.
Crisis soon TO arrive.
Information obtaine9 by the corrc.
+. spondent indicated th&t the presen,
suffering is only a FORECAST of that tc
come in the course Of eight or ter
weeks when the real crisis VIII arrive
Conditions in the belt he trdversed III
a Journey by cart betweenttwo railway
lines neal Techow are believed to hi
typical of those generally existing
throughout large. areas in the prov
inces of Chilli, Shantung, Honan and
Shansi.N He found indescribable mis-
cry and stoical facing of starvation
by millions of people who already had
disposed of everything salabls and
saw in the future nothing but death.
When the frost will have killed the
unconsumed leaves and weeds there
will be literally nothing to eat for at
least half the population. One out OF
ten has already migrated without
money and without destination. In the
worst spots half the people are already
subsisting on the proceeds of the sake
Of furniture n clothing. which
means that those temporarily cscap.
cold and exposure.
In the town of Chi Chow, which is
typical, the magistrate informed this
correspondent that out of every three
families two are quite surc to starv,
before the end of the year, barring
erIectlVe relief from outside. There
are 100000 people in the administra.
tive district in question.
In Ming Ching two bankers who
were engaged in raising relief funds
said that the crop had been an abso.
lutte failure following two or three
previous and serious shortages. O,
10000 families, they estimated tina
eight out Of ten were practically with.
out One of the informant,
said that he was the owner of TIL.
largest pawn shop in the vicinity.
There are constant streams OF
farmers coming with clothing, furni.
ture, implements. anything upor
which to realize a few coppers. The,
are selling their children where posi-,
BILE or leaving them where there i,
hope that they may be fed he sad
.Chaff and residue from cottonsees
after the oil has be extracted have
become valuable beyond the reach g,
the average person, who exists on :
watery connection chiefly Of leave.
and weeds. with perhaps a few ker.
nels of grain, and a sort of cake, il h.
is affluent enough, made out Of tn,
cottonseed waste.
EE- 49,